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Unique blend of old and new attracts visitors to famed city

By Liang Kaiyan | China Daily | Updated: 2019-04-17 07:35

Bookstores, intangible cultural heritage and the renowned Wuzhen township form the tourism core of Tongxiang, a place that features a blend of tradition and modernity.

Along the city's Phoenix Lake stands the Bohong City Bookstore, which has more than 11,000 books on its shelves. The bookstore, opened last year, is part of the city's efforts to support cultural development in the region.

Built and decorated in retro fashion, it boasts works of many historic and cultural figures who were natives of Tongxiang, among them Feng Zikai, a pioneer of modern Chinese comic and cartoon art, and Mao Dun, one of China's most acclaimed novelists. The bookstore's name was selected to remember Lufei Kui, a Chinese education leader and the founder of century-old publishing house Zhonghua Book Company, which was widely known by the courtesy name Bohong.

Unique blend of old and new attracts visitors to famed city

About 28 kilometers from the city center is historic water town Wuzhen, which from 2014 has been the venue for the annual World Internet Conference.

Bamboo weaving is a traditional folk handicraft used to make various products such as baskets and mats in Wuzhen.

Bamboo weaving's history in Wuzhen can be dated back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Chenzhuang village and Gushanli village are two major places for people to observe, appreciate and take part in this traditional handicraft.

Lu Yangling, a resident of Chenzhuang village who works for a local bamboo weaving workshop, said the bamboo is a mark of traditional culture in Wuzhen and is used nowadays as decoration.

"Bamboo weaving is a traditional culture in the town, but now we try to innovate in the handicraft's shape and color," she said.

Lu said the staff members in her workshop are all relatively young and provide bamboo weaving DIY courses to guests.

The handicraft has seven key processes including design, selection, breaking and weaving.

"In general, people know little about bamboo weaving but they can learn more about the bamboo weaving culture through the experience," Lu said.

Chenzhuang village was the birthplace of bamboo weaving, but there are only eight households engaged full-time in making this handicraft today, according to Lu.

In recent years, the local government has attached great importance to protecting and passing along these traditional skills. In 2007, the Tongxiang government set up a special bamboo weaving workshop to promote the skills.

"Though we are not the inheritors, we are striving to attract more people to enjoy this handicraft and then to bring this traditional culture to the rest of the country and even the world," she said.

In addition to the traditional culture, the fast development of the internet is also another feature of the town.

In 2016, the Wuzhen International Internet Convention and Exhibition Center was completed. To date, the town has hosted five consecutive internet conferences and the center has become the permanent site of the global gathering.

liangkaiyan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/17/2019 page7)

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