Dec 26 2021

Shaoxing Chinese Venice

In last century, Shaoxing was like today’s Venice. Inside the city, there were many small rivers, and many small boats sailed in the river.
City transportation depended upon those small boats. Rich people can have a private boat and employee a man to sail the boat just like a driver of today’s private car.
Shaoxing is a big city with a mountain inside the city. There is a big river around the city. Even today you can take a motor boat to trade around the city. It will take three hours.
Last century many houses were built by the side of the river, back door facing the river. By four o’clock in the afternoon many fishing boats would pass by. Your just waited in the steps of back door, then you could buy fresh fish, shrimp from the boat, saving time to go to the market.
Shaoxing has a very big river outside the city, called Jianhu, water of which is very special different from other parts of the river. Shaoxing wine is made from the water of this river. That is why Shaoxing wine is so famous in China.