Chen Yifei in Zhouzhuang

Chen Yifei made his first visit to Zhouzhuang, Jiangsu province in 1984. A "double bridge" attracted his attention. One was a stone arch bridge and the other was a stone beam bridge.

When he looked afar at the double bridge, he was so impressed with the stilted buildings which are scattered along the river that he took many photos of the quaint town and brought them back to the United States.

All his 38 paintings themed on quaint southern Chinese towns were sold once they were exhibited. Among all his paintings the most famous one was the Twinbridge.

In early 1985, his Twinbridge painting was bought by an American. After two years, Chen went back to Zhouzhuang together with his American friends to see the place that inspired him to come up with the painting of the Twinbridge.

He mentioned several times that he had a special feeling for Zhouzhuang because of his painting double bridges.

Chen Yifei paid a lot of attention to the protection and development of Zhouzhuang. He visits Zhouzhuang almost on an annual basis. Whenever he finds something destroyed by people he would report it in the hope that it would be fixed.

Chen is a best friend to Zhouzhuan's people and he regards Zhouzhuang as his second home. He once wrote 'I love Zhouzhuang' on a plaque and sent it to the Zhouzhuang government to express his affection for this remote town.

Chen Yifei is also very famous all around Zhouzhuang and his name is known by everybody around the town.