24 Aug 2026 - WUZ Day 4: Check-in to Wuzhen Water Fair Inn (乌镇水市客舍)

From Tongxiang station (桐乡站), it was a 45-minute DiDi ride to Wuzhen. There were many hotels situated outside of Wuzhen, but we decided to stay inside Wuzhen Xizha Scenic Zone (乌镇西栅景区) for the night. Though it's slightly more costly, the stay includes the admission fee to enter the area. We did our maths and the total costs ended up being about the same whether we stayed inside or outside of Xizha (which excludes the admission fees). One advantage of staying inside the scenic zone was that we could explore the area late into the night. And we could start exploring this ancient town early in the morning before the day trippers start to stream into the area.

After we did our hotel checkin at the visitor center, we took a slow walk towards our hotel through the Wind and Rain Corridor (风雨长廊) while our luggage would be delivered there in about an hour's time.

Along the way, we saw many interesting sites inside Wuzhen. First we arrived at Xuchang Sauce and Pickle Workshop (叙昌酱园). Operating since the Qing Dynasty, this open-air courtyard was filled with hundreds of large, clay fermentation jars capped with traditional bamboo hats. The facility still produced handcrafted soy sauce and pickles using millennia-old solar fermentation techniques.

The architectural soul of Wuzhen Xizha lies in the seamless harmony between its ancient buildings and the stone bridges that arch over its network of streams. For centuries, these structures were built not just for survival, but to create a visually poetic lifestyle tailored to the water.

Soon we arrived at our accommodation, Wuzhen Water Fair Inn (乌镇水市客舍). It is an exceptional, boutique heritage hotel managed by the official Wuzhen Tourism board. Tucked deeply within the Xizha (West Gate) Scenic Area, this charming property is built directly on the south bank of the historic Water Market (水上市集). Spanning back to roots in the Tang Dynasty and reaching its mercantile peak during the Ming Dynasty, the site historically served as the "Market Info Exchange" (行情会馆), where traveling merchant boat captains gathered to lodge and trade financial news.

While the external facade preserved the timeless aesthetic of the Jiangnan region featuring black-tiled roofs, weathered timber framework, and stilted foundations over the stream, the interior was meticulously updated for comfort.

The inn features specialized family suites and whimsical theme rooms (such as the Super Wings cartoon suites) equipped with building blocks, children's books, and specialized child-friendly layouts. Though we were no longer young kids, we were young at heart and still enjoyed the stay.

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