Shaoxing

Shaoxing (绍兴) is a city in Zhejiang, near Shanghai and Hangzhou, famous for its traditional Chinese bridges, boats, architectures, yellow wine and a huge number of textile and cloth factories and production.

The fastest way to get there is by plane, stop in Xiaoshan International Airport (XIA), then take a bus or cab to get into downtown, no more than 20 km away from the airport.

The easiest way to get into Shaoxing is by bus, almost every city in Zhejiang will have transportation to Shaoxing.

The downtown is very clean, and very nice to walk around to feel the perfect combination of modern and ancient Chinese culture

Fishermen in this town used to use cormorants (鸬鹚) for fishing, but nowadays the town only has the birds on special occasions. Call the travel association ahead of time to ask before coming here to look for birds.

• Shaoxing Downtown Theatre, (center of the downtown). all day. free.

There are many shopping malls in the downtown area, here recommended some:

• Lotus - in the north west of the downtown, a Thai cooperation's shopping center, offering variety of daily products with comprehensive prices.

• Trust-Mart - in the middle of the downtown, right beneath the center square underground, easy transportation.

• Buxing Road- in the south of the downtown, famous for its traditional Chinese small products like stamps, old money, pets and small hand made gifts.

• Yellow Wine

• Home Inn ShaoXing MoEr, (Inside Mole Modern town in the northern west downtown).
• Shaoxing Hotel, Huanshan Rd No.9, ☎ 0575-5155888, www.365sunny.com. €38-€136.
• Xianheng Hotel, Jiefang South Rd No.680.
• Shaoxing International Hotel, Fushan West Rd No.100.

Qianqing (钱清) A small town not far away from downtown Shaoxing, bus 613 will get you there directly, and it is famous for its cheap textile and cloth materials with nice quality.

• Shaoxing is the birthplace of Lu Xun, so naturally you'll find a lot of Lu Xun love while exploring the area. You can visit his ancestral home, kind of boring except for the rock garden, or visit some of the local restaurants and tea houses. You can even visit the, alleged, bar from Lu Xun's story … • Joseph R.