Liquor workshops

In the old days, Zhouzhuang had more than 100 liquor workshops. People of Zhouzhuang would drink liquor in all seasons to celebrate or commemorate countless different events, such as family reunions for the lunar New Year, weddings, funerals, one-month birthdays of babies, and birthdays of elder people.

More often than not, men would simply take out their wallets, buy some dishes and liquor, and gather together to drink for fun. The most common dishes served with the liquor are salted hog face meat and white radish.

Greedy children would huddle around, and the cook would give them some scraps of the meat and radishes. Old wine would usually be plentiful, normally bought in big wooden buckets.

This tradition still remains in Zhouzhuang. Tourists, poets, and bosom friends would gather at riverside inns of this ancient town, order some famous local dishes, and enjoy themselves with the local Wansan liquor.