Nanxun Old Town

Nanxun is a water town in the north of Zhejiang that grew up on silk: the famous huisi grade came from here, and in the nineteenth century its merchants were reckoned the richest in the Yangtze delta. Canals divide the town into quarters, and along the water run the covered langpeng galleries, under which the shops worked in any weather. The eastern bank is taken up by the row of houses called Baijianlou, built under the Ming dynasty for the servants of the Dong family of officials. The merchant mansions here combine Chinese courtyards with European ballrooms and stained glass brought from France. Unlike neighbouring Tongli and Zhouzhuang the town stays comparatively quiet, and in the evening the embankments and bridges are lit.

On the map