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Watertowns : Zhenze

  • Kevin
  • 22 hours ago
  • 3 min read

Part of a series on Watertowns near Shanghai and Suzhou.



Click on the first image above to go through all of the photographs as a gallery - then read the text below :)


I'm in the process of photographing 25 of the larger, and most popular, of these unique ancient water-towns, between Shanghai and Suzhou, for a new book to be published later this year (ca. Summer 2026). Therefore I thought I'd make a series of short blog posts to highlight some of these wonderful places, both to showcase the book's progress and to give a taster of what I hope will be as unique a book as are the water-towns themselves! There will be 5-10 photos per post in this series and up to 30 photos per water-town in the PDF/Softback/Hardback books. This post is on the ancient water-town of Zhenze (more information is given in the caption below each photograph) which has a history of over 2,000 years. The photographic book will be printed in 3 formats; PDF, Softback and Hardback. The PDF will be priced substantially lower than the books to make it accessible to tourists to Shanghai or Suzhou who want to be armed with the only modern photographic record of the towns to assist them in making a choice as to which of them to visit that will meet their personal criteria. And of course since it's downloadable it can conveniently be stored on phones and tablets! Each book will contain :-

  • Between 20 & 30 top quality and professionally taken photographs, shot in colour and B&W, of each of the watertowns selected for the book (there are over 200 water-towns in the region) ! However as the final number of towns has not yet been selected, nor the final photos to be used curated from the vast number I've taken, I'll therefore just make an educated guess that in total there will be anywhere between 300 and 500 photos in all formats of the book, however there will be more in the physical book.

  • There will be maps (in both English and Chinese) with basic logistics.

  • The book will be bilingual (English & Chinese), so that you can also use it to ask for directions wherever required.

  • My personal assessment of each ancient water-town with information on key aspects of each town for consideration in making a decision on which to visit.

  • Distances and transport options, to/from both Suzhou and Shanghai.

  • Anyone buying the PDF version will be able to download the updated version, free of charge, to be published each year (I've lived in Shanghai for 27 years so I hope there will be many more to come)! Soft and Hardback books will be updated with new photographs, and information, as they become available. A discount will be given to previous purchasers of the books. Overseas orders will be taken, with transport costs and import duty payments being the responsibility by the purchaser. Please register on this website if you wished to be informed of the availability and pricing structure once the PDF and Books are available for sale. Click on the Register Here button below and go to the bottom of the page to Subscribe.




The beautiful 700-Year-Old Ancient Ciyun Temple & Pagoda.
The beautiful 700-Year-Old Ancient Ciyun Temple & Pagoda.

There is a spectacular entrance to Zhenze after having parked your car you wander through the streets down to the canal, to be greeted by the view to this temple, towering pagoda and ancient bridge.


Air drying speciality meats - on your walk down to the main canal and temple.
Air drying speciality meats - on your walk down to the main canal and temple.

Inside the beautiful Ciyun Temple grounds
Inside the beautiful Ciyun Temple grounds

The many cafes and canal-side restaurants here seem to be more authentic than in the larger water-towns.
The many cafes and canal-side restaurants here seem to be more authentic than in the larger water-towns.
Gorgeous views from the canal-side cafes towards the Ciyun Pagoda.
Gorgeous views from the canal-side cafes towards the Ciyun Pagoda.

Zhenze isn't a very large water-town. It's maybe a 3 kms round trip walk from the car park to the farther reaches and back again.


One of the superbly maintained Ciyun Temple courtyards
One of the superbly maintained Ciyun Temple courtyards

Another shot from the lovely Ciyun Temple
Another shot from the lovely Ciyun Temple

An awesome vibe to this incredible old cafe. Imagine sitting on that waterside terrace sipping tea.
An awesome vibe to this incredible old cafe. Imagine sitting on that waterside terrace sipping tea.
Locals love to chill playing cards, eating snacks and drinking tea, in the canal-side cafes. A very different vibe to most watertowns I've visited!
Locals love to chill playing cards, eating snacks and drinking tea, in the canal-side cafes. A very different vibe to most watertowns I've visited!


Remember to subscribe below for book/PDF updates and please bookmark my website and check back often for new posts on the many different watertowns I've photographed. There will be new posts as fast as I can process the photographs and upload them here ! Hopefully 20 watertown posts by June ! Click on the Register Here button below and go to the bottom of the page to Subscribe.






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