Zitong Town (梓桐镇) has won a new honor! In 2021, Zitong Town submitted an application to build the town into a Hangzhou Photography Town. After the expert review organized by Hangzhou City Photographers Association, Zitong Town passed the review and the acceptance check, and successfully became a photography town.
Zitong Town enjoys picture-postcard natural scenery. It is a genuine ecological town: it has both the continuous verdant Qingshan Mountain and Yinshan Mountain that is home to many historical relics and spans two provinces; it has not only fjords that stretch for over 60 kilometers and are as calm as a painting, but also Zitongyuan Stream that runs continuously for 23 kilometers. In addition, there are also many natural and cultural landscapes inside the region, including Yinshan Temple (尹山庵), Stone Figures and Stone Horses, Fairy Cave (仙人洞) and Wenjialing Hill (文佳岭). It has won the titles of “national health town” and “AAAA Scenic Town”.
Since it introduced its development goal of "Zitong with Ancient Charm, a Calligraphy and Painting Town" in 2015, Zitong has carried out the construction of "the Town of Calligraphy and Painting" in an all-around way based on its advantage of being the only town of calligraphy and painting in the county. It has successively built cultural and artistic bases consisting of two institutes, two galleries, two parks and two bases, i.e. Fuqianjie Calligraphy and Painting Institute (府前街书画院), Zitong Calligraphy and Painting Institute (梓桐书画院), Zitong Art Gallery (梓桐艺术馆), Ant Nest Art Gallery (蚁巢艺术馆), Automobile Sports Park (汽车运动公园), Sculpture Art Park (雕塑艺术园), Zitong Sketch Base (梓桐写生基地), Wedding Travel Photography Base (婚纱旅拍基地), etc.
Duona Island Travel Photography Base 朵娜岛旅拍基地
Qiandao Lake Automobile Park Travel Photography Base 千岛湖汽车公园旅拍基地
ABC International Camping Base ABC国际露营基地
Ant Nest Art Gallery 蚁巢艺术馆
Zitongyuan Streamside Sketch Point 梓桐源沿溪写生点
Huangchun Village Sketch Base 黄村写生基地
Ancient Camphor Trees and Ancient Bridge Sketch Point 古樟古桥写生点
Huangchun Village Sketch Base Experience Point 黄村写生基地体验点
Zitong is also a famous town with ancient charm and has a long-standing history and profound cultural connotations. It is the hometown of both Chen Shuozhen (陈硕真), the first empress in China, and Hu Gongchen (胡拱辰), the minister of the Ministry of Works in feudal China. It also witnessed the much-told tales, Father and Son Poets in the Tang Dynasty and Two Jinshi* in One Family in the Song Dynasty, etc.
*Jinshi refers to a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations in ancient China.
Zitong is also one of the birthplaces of the folk culture, “Chun’an Bamboo Horse”. At festivals, villagers will hold folk performances and the atmosphere is very lively.
Bamboo Horse Intangible Cultural Heritage Performance 竹马非遗表演
Bench Dragon Folk Performance 板凳龙民俗表演
Lantern Horse Gathering Folk Activity 灯马会民俗活动
Da Tou He He Folk Performance 大头合和民俗表演
"Calligraphy and Painting Zitong” Photography Town Travel Guides:
1. Itinerary: Arrive at the Duona Island Travel Photography Base in Zitong Town in the morning to photograph the natural scenery of the landscape → go to the Ant Nest Art Gallery of Xihu Village (西湖村) to visit and photograph the Mud Wall Ancient Building Art Museum → go to the outdoor travel photography base of Qiandao Lake Automobile Sports Park to take photos of rapeseed flowers in spring → take a break after lunch and then go to Dujing Village (杜井村) of Zitong Town to visit the two institutes and one gallery as well as Ancient Camphor Tree and Ancient Bridge and other sketch points. To conclude the tour, you’ll go to Deyin Pottery Bureau (徳隐陶局) to experience painted pottery. If the weather is good, it is recommended to go to the ABC International Camping Base at night to photograph the stars.
2. Public transportation: Qiandaohu North Bus Station has buses going directly to Zitong Town several times a day. The whole journey takes about 1 hour. You can get on and off at the village stop on the way.
3. Self-driving: A. Get off the expressway from the exit of Qingxi (青溪) of Lining Expressway (溧宁高速) and pass through Qiandaohu Town, Jinfeng Town and Jieshou Town to Zitong Town. The whole journey is 50 kilometers.
B. Exit from Songcun (宋村) of Qianhuang Expressway (千黄高速), and pass through Jiukeng Town to Zitong Town. The whole journey is 16 kilometers.
4. Accommodation: Zitong currently has four boutique guesthouses/hotels. Be sure to make a reservation by phone before you go, in case there is no room available during the peak season.
A. Marginal Guesthouse (边际民宿) 13777815883
B. Zhi Lu Guesthouse (芷庐民宿) 15968101618
C. Ziyuan Guesthouse (梓园民宿) 15267097979
D. Shangkeyou Boutique Hotel (尚客优精品酒店) 13071849927
5. Meals: All of these guesthouses/hotels serve local farm-flavored dishes. It is also recommended to go to the streets or markets to taste corn kueh (an intangible cultural heritage).