Entering the world of Lu Xun’s novels in Luzhen

Located in Shaoxing, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Luzhen features typical traditional black-and-white residences, arched stone bridges and beautiful water views, like many other water towns in the region.

But it is distinctive, since the town is actually a recreation of Luzhen, a fictional town found in the novels of Lu Xun, one of China’s most influential writers.

Lu Xun, who came from Shaoxing, used Luzhen as the location for many of the stories in his novels, including “The True Story of Ah Q,” “Kong Yiji,” “The New Year’s Sacrifice” and “A Madman’s Diary.”

Taking a boat across the Jianhu Lake, it’s easy to reach Luzhen while enjoying the picturesque scenery along the way.

In a theater in the town, visitors can watch a play inspired by the literary works of Lu Xun. The show depicts a boy who happened to travel back to Luzhen a century ago, where he witnessed the struggle of the characters in Lu Xun’s works.

Outside the theater, the main street of Luzhen was built according to the descriptions in Lu Xun’s novels, where tourists can find the shops and restaurants mentioned in the books, and the interiors of the buildings have been recreated to match the descriptions penned by Lu Xun.

There are also statues of the characters from Lu Xun’s novels, depicting the classic scenes from the stories.

Observant visitors may also be lucky enough to find some of these characters come to life on the streets, behaving just as they did in the novels. The actors playing these characters often interact with passing tourists.

The town is also a good place to enjoy local opera performances and savor local specialties such as rice wine and aniseed-flavored beans.