Huzhou
A single resilient hair is chosen from ten thousand to crown the calligraphy brush; a skein of raw silk raised vast merchant fortunes on water.
The Tiao River flows northward into Lake Tai, where thousands of ancient mulberry-dike fish ponds nourish this serene northern Zhejiang realm. Huzhou's dignity has always favored restraint: deep in the canal quarter of Nanxun, late-Qing silk moguls converted fortunes from raw Jili silk into brick baroque ballroom villas and the tranquil ten-acre lotus pools of Xiaolianzhuang. In the village of Shanlian, brush-makers sit before porcelain water basins with ox-bone combs, sorting goat and hare hairs strand by microscopic strand. Wealth here was preserved not in gold, but in sixty thousand rare woodblock volumes in the Jiayetang Library.
What to see
Nanxun Ancient Town stands as a textbook example of late-Qing silk wealth marrying classical Chinese garden design with European architecture. Shanlian village preserves centuries of writing-brush ateliers along the Mengxi River. The southern shores of Lake Tai and the sweeping waterfront promenade at Moon Square offer boundless horizon views of returning fishing sails.
What to eat
Huzhou cooking pairs freshwater lake catches with traditional savory-sweet braises. The 'Three Whites of Lake Tai' are served simply steamed; braised eel shreds sizzle with hot lard and minced garlic; and Nanxun 'double-topping' noodles feature slow-braised beef alongside crisp fried pork cutlets. Local sweet shops wrap savory pork lard and fine red-bean paste inside fragrant bamboo-leaf zongzi.
Getting here & around
Huzhou Station sits on both the Shanghai-Huzhou and Nanjing-Hangzhou high-speed lines, reaching Shanghai in under an hour. Regular express buses run directly to Nanxun, where walking along historic stone canal banks is mandatory.
Choose a neighbourhood
Each area offers a different side of the city. Pick one to explore at your own pace.
Nanxun Ancient Town & Xiaolianzhuang
The private garden of silk magnate Liu Yong, where sprawling lotus ponds frame imperial stone arches and waterside walkways. Adjacent lies the Zhang Shiming Mansion, an astonishing hybrid featuring classical carved-brick gateway halls that open unexpectedly into French imported stained-glass windows, Krupp steel beams, and a baroque brick ballroom.
Wandering merchant estates and admiring East-meets-West architectural details unique in Jiangnan.
Shanlian Brush Town & Mount Han
The historic home of China's premier writing brushes along the Mengxi River. Canal streets house traditional brush ateliers where artisans sort animal hairs submerged in cold porcelain basins. Mount Han outside town serves as a historic sanctuary to silkworm deities, overlooking endless dyke-pond networks.
Stepping inside active scholar-brush workshops and learning the exacting discipline of the Four Treasures of the Study.
Digang Village & Mulberry-Dyke Ponds
A heritage hamlet recognized by the UN FAO as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System. Thousands of water ponds alternate with mulberry dykes: silkworm droppings feed fish, and nutrient-rich pond silt fertilizes trees. Ancient stone paths wind past Ming bridges where teahouses serve traditional three-course tea.
Discovering living ancient ecological agriculture and relaxed, untouristed canal village rhythms.
One tip from ten thousand hairs
The renown of Shanlian lake brushes across a thousand years hinges entirely on one word: selection. Brush artisans use only downy underbelly hair from specific mountain goats pastured around Lake Tai, or prime winter hare fur. From kilograms of raw fleece taken from a goat, barely a hundred grams of fine, translucent tip-hair qualifies for use.
The artisan sits before a shallow celadon basin filled with clear water. Using a hand-carved ox-bone comb under the surface, fingers separate and discard broken, hooked, or blunt hairs strand by strand. Assembled into bundles, tied, and set into bamboo shafts, a razor blade trims the final stray hairs under direct sunlight. A finished brush must possess sharpness, alignment, fullness, and spring, gliding across paper with uniform, responsive ink delivery.
Jili silk and the merchant mansions
The soil and water of Jili village in Nanxun produced raw silk so remarkably white, lustrous, and strong that Ming and Qing imperial courts reserved it for weaving dragon robes. Following the opening of Treaty Ports in the nineteenth century, Jili silk flooded European textile centers, minting fortunes that surpassed imperial treasuries.
The silk magnates did not squander wealth on gaudy displays. They converted bullion into sixty thousand rare Song and Yuan woodblock volumes housed in the fireproof stone halls of the Jiayetang Library. Strolling beneath the unbroken arcade of the Baijianlou canal rowhouses, whitewashed gables reflect in the tranquil morning canal, preserving the serene confidence of old merchant China.