Xitang, water town, Venice of the East

Apparently a number of these water towns are called the Venice of the East. There is a canal through the town with boats travelling along them. We went in the boat to a temple that honours a man who gave the locals grain so they wouldn't starve to death. The emperor of the area put him to death for that. So the people honour him every year on his birthday still today. It was very interesting being in this little town. We felt like we were finally in China and eating real chinese food which was quite good. There were little shops filled with all kinds of interesting merchandise. I bought 2 pictures that are created when the artist carves the scene in a block of wood and then prints on to paper. The artist was there, an old man, and he signs the back of the frame for you when you buy something. These were only $3. each. I bought an embroidered picture of yellow and blue flowers. The matting on this picture is also yellow. It looks quite lovely on my wall. I also bought a table cloth - brown and white for everyday use. We also went into some museums and gardens here. The Drunk Garden and the West Garden, the button museum and the root carving museum were the highlights. They were all very small and interesting although we were all anxious to just shop. This town is not very touristy as apparently some of the other water towns are so it is quite cheap to shop in still. I forgot my camera but 2 of the others were taking pictures. I just tried to post them but they wouldn't upload. Not sure why. On the way home from Xitang we stopped at a silk factory which is really only a model of a factory where they show you how the silk is produced from the larvae and threads are combined. It really is just another place to shop and shop I did. I bought a silk quilt (that is the inside which is layers and layers of silk) a cover and pillow cases. It cost about $270. altogether. We saw a fashion show and then were showed into the area where you can buy the clothes all silk of course. None of us bought anything there. It was a great day and we all felt like we have finally seen the real China.