Bill and our guide, Susan, stand near one of the famous bridges of Zhouzhang, which is a still-thriving thriving "water town": i.e., a town built with many canals. It escaped destruction during WWII due to its relatively remote situation. People still live in the town, but much of it is given over to tourism. The canals are used to take tourists on boat rides, but also to wash in, and to transport goods, just as always. Susan explained that the young people prefer to live in the new part of town, with more conveniences. But the amazing residences remain, including the residence of a very famous and very wealthy merchant who started as a fisherman and ended up bailing out the emperor financially -- who then became afraid of the merchant's power and popularity and banished him to the hinterland.
Among other things, we found a thriving fish market, not aimed at tourists.
Lunch included the traditional pork dish of the area, eggs with tomatoes, and tofu with preserved egg. The latter was a cold dish, and the broth was jellied, delicious -- but I can probably die happy without having another preserved egg.