Any suggestions for a two-day itinerary to some of the water towns near Shanghai -- which one, and what to see? I am also interested in going to Suzhou to see the I M Pei museum. Is there a best time to go to the towns to avoid the hordes of tourists (of which I am one!) that I hear so much about?

In times past the best information for all things China was on Peter N-H's forum, the Oriental List. I suggest signing up to see if it's ongoing:

http://www.hmssurprise.org/wa.cgi?SU...ental-list&A=1

> Is there a best time to go to the towns to avoid the hordes of tourists (of which I am one!) that I hear so much about?

Short of going a bit further afield, not really.

A few years ago I found Anchang outside Shaoxing almost deserted, although clearly geared up for larger numbers. There are larger numbers everywhere now, of course, but still Anchang would be much less visited than anything in the Suzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou area.

The train journey from Shanghai to Shaoxing is around 1.5 hours. The buses from there are very slow and stop everywhere, and it's only 25km by road, so a taxi would get you there a very great deal more quickly.

Shaoxing itself, although much redeveloped in recent years, has some splendid watery areas, and lots of canals, including the area around the 八字桥 (Bridge in the Shape of the Character for 'Eight'), and 'The Master Calligrapher's Native Place' (supposedly where goose-loving Wang Xizhi, traditionally the greatest calligrapher of all time, lived).

Well, now you've heard from the man himself so I guess no need to sign up for the forum. I was a great help to me, though, so I recommend it and since he didn't say it was gone, I have no doubt I'll be back there myself sooner or later.

Thank you all for your suggestions!