Waterways flow through every corner of Zhouzhuang, flanked by well-preserved old houses with white walls and black-tiled roofs.

The ancient town of Zhouzhuang celebrates a storied past and an environment-friendly future, all in a setting that's straight out of a Chinese watercolor, Guo Anfei reports.

Zhouzhuang is one of the few places where you can experience the life of a typical Chinese water town. Acclaimed as "Venice of the East", the town near Suzhou in Jiangsu province attracts a constant flow of visitors throughout the year with its well-preserved old houses and picturesque landscape of crisscrossing waterways.

Twin Bridge, built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), is a must-see in Zhouzhuang.

Zhouzhuang was listed as the world's Top 10 most beautiful towns by CNN in 2012. It was lauded as a Global Green Town by Global Forum on Human and Settlements in June.

Streams flow through every corner of Zhouzhuang, creating the pulse of local life and making the town look like a watercolor drawing painted with a Chinese brush.

Among the most eye-catching features in this picture-perfect landscape are the bridges, in different shapes and sizes－built with stone or wood.

The Twin Bridge, built during the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), is considered the symbol of the town. One of its arches is round and the other is rectangular, which makes the bridge look like an ancient Chinese key. Thus locals also call it the Key Bridge.