Your write up of Jiaxing is excellent. I’ve been there a few times and always admired it for the old water town it is. The “Old Town” you reference is more commonly known as ‘Moon River Street’. It’s a very old part of Jiaxing and a commercial success for the city. Moon River is a virtual rebuild from its original foundation keeping with the expansion and renovation that is on-going throughout China. Judging from old photographs of Moon River, the current version is a much better place and likely much more tourist friendly. On the east end of Moon River is a still standing traditional stone bridge that is 600 hundred years old. It’s a mild sensation to see it, touch it and walk it knowing that countless millions lives also traversed (or toiled) the very same path.

The rice wine is a proud commodity in Jiaxing and supports distribution throughout the region. It’s produced in varying recipes with varying palatable taste from good to bad to non-drinkable. Alcohol content also varies from 4% to 20% but you can’t easily judge that from the label. The harder stuff the Chinese call ‘white wine’ but actually is a distilled grain whisky. It’s Chinese name is Baijiu. It looks and smells like diesel fuel and no doubt can be and likely has been used as such.