An ancient water town in the suburbs of Shanghai conjures up a dreamlike vision of purity and simplicity, writes Paul Rush.
Hungry monks once eagerly hooked up their single daily meal from under the famous Setting Fish Free Bridge in Zhujiajiao. Today, polite tourists practice catch and release, but our tour group favours sightseeing in this quaint water town of 100,000 people and 33 bridges, known as the Venice of the East.
The only audible sound in the still, misty air is the gentle lap, lap of water against the bow of the weathered canal boat as we drift under the most ancient bridge in Shanghai. From the deck, subtle nuances of ordinary life are brought into focus in a remarkably intimate way. On a canal-side seat a lady is preparing beans for this evening's stir fry. An elderly man scrubs a shiny pot lid in the inky smooth water. A greasy food scraps bucket gets a much-needed scour while its contents drift idly away on the current.
Along the canal banks, al fresco cafes and doll's house-size shops beckon to passers-by on the narrow cobbled laneways. Retired folk sit gracefully on rickety chairs contentedly knitting, fishing or people-watching. An earnest granny waves a crooked finger at a man who is obviously entrusted with the important task of going shopping on his ancient bicycle. A shop vendor inhales deeply on a strange bulbous pipe, his own personal form of retail therapy.
We slide through one of the archways of Setting Fish Free Bridge and begin to feel the true ambience and timeless tradition of the water town of Zhujiajiao. To visit this tiny microcosm of life in the mighty Yangtze River delta region is like taking a journey back in time to the Ming Dynasty. Incredibly, this part of the rich tapestry of old Shanghai still survives, so close to the headlong rush of traffic and soaring office towers of the modern metropolis of 24 million people.
