San Mao in Zhouzhuang

San Mao left a beautiful story in Zhouzhuang. In 1989, she traveled to Zhouzhuang with journalists from the Suzhou Daily. She said it was "unforgettable" to show how impressed she was seeing the quaint town.

San Mao, (March 26, 1943 - Jan 4, 1991), was a female writer and traveler who still has a lot of fans in mainland China, despite passing away more than 20 years ago.

Zhang Qihan, a famous writer born in Zhouzhuang, once made contact with San Mao and wrote an essay named 'Sanmao in Zhouzhuang'. Sanmao wrote back to him in June 1990, in which she mentioned she would like to visit Zhouzhuang again, eat 'Grandma tea', and crabs and "see all the wonderful sceneries in all alleys of your hometown".

However, San Mao wasn't able to keep her promise. She died three months later. Zhang Qihan was so shocked and sad to hear the bad news that he opened a teahouse in her memory.

The tea house was named "San Mao Tea House" with pictures of San Mao all over the walls together with all her correspondence with Zhang. The visitors to the tea house are mostly readers of San Mao's books who admire her talent and personality. There are also notebooks for visitors to leave a word to San Mao. It seems she hasn't passed away, just hidden somewhere for people to discover forever.