Old houses are seen along the Wuyang River in Zhenyuan ancient water town in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizho

Old houses are seen along the Wuyang River in Zhenyuan ancient water town in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou province, 23 June 2017. Dubbed the "Venice of the Orient", Zhenyuan is a surprisingly unspoiled ancient water town located in the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwestern Guizhou. Surrounded by gorgeous mountains and rivers, the town is best-known for its picturesque landscape, historic sites and mysterious ethnic cultures. It offers adventurous travelers the chance to see something a little different. It is featured in few travel guides, which is a surprise. The old streets of Zhenyuan are not as commercialized as the towns mentioned above. What makes it really stand out is the way it gives the visitor a taste of other great qualities of China, all within a short ride or hike outside town. The Wuyang River cuts through Zhenyuan and hills and mountains tower over the town. At the northwest edge of the town is the entrance to the southernmost section of the Great Wall. Zhenyuan¯s section of the Great Wall may not be connected to the ones known and loved just outside of Beijing, but it is part of a 300-kilometer wall that extends east into Hunan province that protected the Ming Dynasty from the local Miao ethnic tribes more than 500 years ago. The views over the town are spectacular. During spring and summer the surrounding terraced rice fields outside Zhenyuan are the stuff of landscape photographers' dreams.