Zhejiang Province, 470km (294 miles) S of Hangzhou, 436km (272 miles) N of Fuzhou
Hemmed in by mountains and looking to the sea, Wenzhou, with its own peculiar local dialect, is an unlovely modern trading creation based on an early treaty port. It sits on a small seaside plain laced with canals, but it is no Shaoxing. Opened by an Anglo-Chinese convention of 1876, it never amounted to much.
Apart from being a useful starting point to visit the bridges of Taishun County, Wenzhou is also a fascinating place to see what deplorable damage the modern economy can do to an ancient agrarian culture. From the designer boutiques and European car dealers downtown, through the poverty of the surrounding shanty towns to the utter hopelessness of those left behind in the villages, visitors can see very clearly how dual economies are tearing the nation apart. Nowhere else is the wealth gap more pronounced than in a city that the propagandists have made famous for its concentration of millionaires. The official media constantly lauds "the Wenzhou model" which, like "socialism with Chinese characteristics," is a way of talking about raw capitalism without having to admit to the Communist Party's U-turn, when in reality it is simply innumerable sweatshops churning out cheap plastic tack that ranges from disposable lighters at best to sordid, ugly sex toys at worst. It's also famous as a source of fake everything -- it's said that within a week of the latestprêt-a-porterfashions appearing in Paris, there are knockoff versions on sale here. There's even a fake McDonald's (Maidanglao) and KFC (Kendeji) combination called Maikenji.