A Rustic Suzhou New Year’s Eve Dinner: 1200 Yuan for a Jiangnan Water Town Feast – Is It Worth It?

“Distant, secluded village, wisps of smoke drifting from cottage chimneys. A dog barking in the deep lane, a cock crowing atop a mulberry tree…”

After spending too long in the city, I increasingly yearn for the countryside. But life is like a dandelion seed—seemingly free, yet at the mercy of the wind.

My childhood was spent in the countryside, a beautiful chapter of memories, though my family’s old house was demolished long ago. Without my parents’ home, I’m just a guest in my hometown now.

That day, standing in the winter fields of Xiangcun Qizhuang, gazing at the familiar Jiangnan-style houses, I sighed at how much it resembled the place where I grew up!

Xiangcun Qizhuang, less than seven kilometers from Zhouzhuang Ancient Town, lies in Sanzhubang, Qibang Village. This Jiangnan village blends leisure, lodging, and organic farming, and has become a top pick for rural getaways.

“There’s a lifestyle called Zhouzhuang,” but Zhouzhuang offers more than one way of living—here you also find this picture of serene waterside pastoral charm.

The colorful lights in the fields and the cured goods drying in front of houses all remind us that the Lunar New Year is just around the corner.

The Jiangnan countryside has transformed. That afternoon, I nestled into the Xiangcun Book Bar in Xiangcun Qizhuang, sipping a leisurely afternoon tea as the sun warmed me.

Friends from other cities marveled at this new Jiangnan countryside—the amenities are truly excellent, with such a stylish book bar.

That night, a few friends and I stayed at Homestay No. 3 in Xiangcun Qizhuang, a guesthouse hidden among ordinary village homes.

Homestay No. 3 is named “The 90s,” built around 1993. It’s a modest, serene villa with five rooms in a fresh natural wood style, perfect for a family or friends’ getaway.

Right next to our homestay is Hefengli Restaurant, just a stone’s throw away.

For dinner, a few friends and I simply walked over to Hefengli to enjoy a New Year’s Eve dinner.

The restaurant has a lovely ambiance. The slanted roof and blue walls create a striking contrast.

An old-fashioned kitchen cupboard sits quietly in a corner, blending in perfectly.

Four cold dishes to start—one of them was salted chicken.

Then a large platter of braised Chenghu Lake fish head with radish—the head was huge and deeply flavourful.

Wansan Pork Hock is a must-have main dish at every proper meal when you travel in Zhouzhuang, Suzhou.

“No feast without a crispy hock”—this dish was a signature of the wealthy Shen Wansan, served to honored guests. After centuries, it’s become the centerpiece of Zhouzhuang’s New Year celebrations, weddings, and banquets, symbolising reunion and hospitality.

Oil-blasted river shrimp, plump and intensely fresh.

Bamboo shoots braised in meat broth—the shoots soak up all that savoury richness, a personal favourite.

A claypot of vermicelli, duck blood, fish paste and egg dumplings. In the old days, every household in Jiangnan would fry egg dumplings for the New Year.

Cauliflower with sliced pork, a simple, homey dish.

Stir-fried greens look plain but taste incredible. Picked fresh from the village garden and quickly sautéed in rapeseed oil, they carry a natural sweetness. After a frost, these greens are even more coveted than meat.

In Suzhou, only this particular vegetable is called “greens,” while in the north, anything green is simply “vegetables.”

Stir-fried rice cakes with cabbage, mildly spicy and appetite-whetting.

Shredded pork with pickled snow vegetable and winter bamboo shoots is one of my favourite seasonal dishes. The snow vegetable is pickled potherb mustard, and the winter bamboo shoots are only available this time of year. Suzhou people live by the rhythm of the seasons—eating what nature provides when it provides it.

A generous pot of free-range chicken and wheat-gluten soup. The chicken was big and plump, its broth a golden hue.

A serving of stir-fried spinach, also just picked from the garden, still dewy and vibrant.

Sweet fried rice cake—slices of brown sugar cake tossed in hot oil until caramelised on the outside, soft and sticky-sweet within.

All these dishes, plus four cold starters and a fruit platter, came to 1200 yuan. Do you think it’s worth it?

That’s the à la carte price. But if you stay at Homestay No. 3 in Xiangcun Qizhuang—ten people in five rooms including breakfast, plus this ten-course, one-soup village dinner, and ten tickets to Zhouzhuang Ancient Town worth 1000 yuan—the package is 5288 yuan. Now that’s a real bargain, right?

“Xiangcun Qizhuang” is a rural tourism experience project developed by Zhouzhuang, building on its water-town tourism brand.

I don’t know when it happened, but we left the countryside to live in urban forests. Now, returning to the village is a deep inner yearning. But can we really go back?