The many Venices of the East

The water town of Zhouzhuang is crowded with visitors during a festival. Photos provided to China Daily

Southeastern China hosts various Venices.

The waterlogged region is a patchwork of canal-laced settlements that each claim to be "the Venice of the East".

Perhaps the only way in which they exaggerate is by boasting exclusivity.

They all fit the bill.

They're places of reflection.

Visitors can contemplate the slower pace of traditional life while gazing into the mirrored images of the settlements that dance atop the waterways' ripples.

Before announcing six-day visa-free travel for foreigners transiting through China via the Yangtze River Delta starting last Saturday, the China National Tourism Administration recommended an equal number of ancient water towns.

The new rules afford time to coast, rather than rush, through these traditional communities.

Here are six water towns in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

Zhouzhuang

Jiangsu's Zhouzhuang, built in 1086, claims to be the country's oldest water town.

Keeping pace with its historical feel, no motorized transport is allowed on roads or canals. Cobblestone streets are traversed by foot and rickshaw, while singing gondoliers sail beneath 14 bridges that frame the reflections cast in the water's surface.

Tongli

Tongli is flanked by five lakes that feed canals crowned by over 40 bridges.

The town flanking Jiangsu's Suzhou city, first settled in 1271, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and hosts the Chinese Sex Museum.

The museum that moved here from Shanghai displays 1,200 artifacts dating as far back as 2000 BC. It's where ancient meets ooh-la-la.