At the entrance, a lamp is lit at night to cast a ring of warmth on the porch.

The four guestrooms inside the small courtyard are fitted with wooden furniture and decorated in antique style. The soft yet firm mattresses are modern products, but the silk quilt covers transcend a sense of a vintage style.

Zhenggutang sits by a river at the center of the town. Sometimes, boats pass by while boat women row and sing folk ballads.

Zhengutang was where Shen Tilan (1897-1976), a famed educator and activist, spent his childhood. Zhen, in Chinese, means true to principles, and gu means perseverance. Shen's father told him that a man who has these two traits can get things done.

Address: No 1, Hougang Street, near Quanfu Road, Zhouzhuang town, Kunshan