Scenic spots waiting to be developed

Shanghai does not need a Disneyland. All it needs are Disneyland-style management expertise and marketing savvy.

As we bid adieu to the abnormally harsh winter days, we were eager to explore the many scenic water towns and historic sites near the city. And so a group of us young and not-so-young reporters and photo enthusiasts ventured one warm Sunday to Xitang, an ancient township through which flows a thousand-year-old canal crossed by several quaint stone bridges with their half-moon arches reflected in the rippled surface of the murky water.

When we were making preparations for the trip, we could not help but wonder why anyone would want to visit replicas of some far away places with which he or she has no cultural or ethnic affiliation while the real attractions dear to every Chinese heart are so close to home. Xitang is one of the many places that have retained a subtle old-world charm that is so well expressed in Chinese brush paintings.