Its time again for a trip to the suburbs. This time, we can kill two birds with one stone and visit Zhoujiajiao water town and add Thames Town to our list of Shanghai replica cities.
First, we visit Zhoujiajiao Water town. The town is quite large. We start on the south side and take a boat ride to the main bridge over the Grand Canal. The small canals are lined by beautiful old houses. As we are early, the town is not crowded and it feels spacious. We cross the Grand Canal and start exploring the north part of town. We visit two beautiful gardens that feel almost as grand as the gardens in Suzhou. As we return across the Canal, the town has become much more crowded. We have lunch at the Grand Canal and, after some more exploring, move on.
Our second stop is the british replica town Thames Town. Similar to the Dutch Town in Waigaoqiao, which we visited last year, Thames Town features British houses and architecture. In contrast to Waigaoqiao, Thames Town is very lively. The houses are apparently a hit with the rich Chinese and the town is popular with Chinese tourists.
