The digital village is not something you can visit. Wusi village (五四村), in Deqing, at the eastern foot of Moganshan, put itself onto one live map in 2019, and the map runs on a screen in the village office. Visitors come for something older: a disused quarry pit that reopened in November 2024 as a café, with a lawn and a waterfall.
Wusi village, Deqing: what it is and where
Moganshan (莫干山) is a bamboo mountain and former hill station in Deqing County (德清县), Huzhou (湖州), Zhejiang, about 60 km north of Hangzhou and 200 to 240 km from Shanghai. It is not Moganshan Road in Shanghai, the M50 art district. Wusi sits on the flat ground at the mountain’s eastern foot, at what China Daily calls the scenic area’s “east gate” (东大门). Zhejiang Daily put it 6 km from the mountain in a straight line.
East gate and 3A scenic area, China Daily (中国日报网), 13 July 2021, tier 2. https://cn.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202107/13/WS60ed53b2a3101e7ce9759726.html
6 km in a straight line, Zhejiang Online (浙江在线), carrying Zhejiang Daily (浙江日报), 25 October 2016, tier 2. https://zjnews.zjol.com.cn/zjnews/huzhounews/201610/t20161025_2020769.shtml
| Wusi at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Size | 5.61 km², 478 households, 1,623 people (2023) |
| Town | Moganshan town (莫干山镇); Fuxi subdistrict (阜溪街道) in 2016 |
| Come for | The quarry café, greenways, rafting, bicycles (2023) |
| Entry charge | None in any source we read |
| Rooms | 12 listings with a Wusi address (August 2026) |
Area, households and people, Xinhua (新华网), carrying Tide News (潮新闻), 18 May 2023, tier 2. http://www.news.cn/info/20230518/737499829c4e4cf59a56f2dc95475da4/c.html
Wusi under Fuxi subdistrict, Deqing News (德清新闻网), 22 January 2016, tier 2. http://dqnews.zjol.com.cn/dqnews/system/2016/01/22/020127795.shtml
The name is a date. The village was called Si (四村, “village four”) until the spring of 1954. Mao Zedong was working on the first constitution of the People’s Republic that year, and passed through on his way up Moganshan. The villagers renamed it Wusi, “five four”, after the year.
The renaming in 1954, People’s Tribune (人民论坛), 20 October 2020, tier 2. http://paper.people.com.cn/rmlt/html/2020-10/20/content_2028936.htm
For decades Wusi lived by cutting stone. In 2000 its collective savings were RMB 179,000 and income per head RMB 1,722. From 2002 it rented its farmland out in one block, and it closed its three quarries. By 2022 disposable income per head was RMB 57,000.
Stone, the three quarries, and income in 2000 and 2022, Xinhua (新华网), carrying Tide News (潮新闻), 18 May 2023, tier 2. http://www.news.cn/info/20230518/737499829c4e4cf59a56f2dc95475da4/c.html
In October 2016 a national meeting on leisure farming and rural tourism, held in Deqing, named Wusi a Beautiful Leisure Village of China (中国美丽休闲乡村).
The 2016 award, Zhejiang Online (浙江在线), carrying Zhejiang Daily (浙江日报), 25 October 2016, tier 2. https://zjnews.zjol.com.cn/zjnews/huzhounews/201610/t20161025_2020769.shtml
The digital village, and who called it first
In 2019 Wusi put the whole village onto one map. China Daily described a three dimensional map filling a wall of the village office: rubbish sorting, water, unsafe houses, weather and care for the elderly, more than 120 functions in all. China Daily’s English edition counted more than 500 sensors.
The one map and its 120 functions, China Daily (中国日报网), 13 July 2021, tier 2. https://cn.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202107/13/WS60ed53b2a3101e7ce9759726.html
2019, more than 500 sensors, county wide by 2021, China Daily Global, 1 December 2022, tier 2. http://epaper.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202212/01/WS6387dd7da310777689884e6a.html
Rubbish came first. In 2015 Wusi became the first village in Deqing County to trial household rubbish sorting, China Daily reported. By 2021 the system had spread across the county, so Wusi is now one village of many running it. By 2023 its map stacked 17 layers and 232 kinds of data from county departments, from farmland to transport, according to Sichuan Online (四川在线).
The 2015 sorting trial, China Daily (中国日报网), 13 July 2021, tier 2. https://cn.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202107/13/WS60ed53b2a3101e7ce9759726.html
17 layers and 232 kinds of data, Sichuan Online (四川在线), 3 December 2023, tier 2. https://sichuan.scol.com.cn/ggxw/202312/82421001.html
You will read that Wusi is “China’s number one digital village” (中国数字乡村第一村). The phrase comes from a 2024 case study by a research centre, not from an award. The dated record claims less.
| Claim | Who says it | Date |
|---|---|---|
| The one map platform was a first for Huzhou (湖州市首创) | Sichuan Online (四川在线) | 3 December 2023 |
| First 5G smart mobility village demonstration in the province | People’s Tribune | 20 October 2020 |
| National digital village pilot area | Zhejiang Online: a title held by Deqing County, not the village | 16 July 2022 |
| “China’s number one digital village” | Beautiful Town and Country Research Centre (美丽城乡研究中心), tier 4 | 2 July 2024 |
First in Huzhou, Sichuan Online, 3 December 2023, tier 2. https://sichuan.scol.com.cn/ggxw/202312/82421001.html
The county’s pilot title, Zhejiang Online (浙江在线), 16 July 2022, tier 2. https://cs.zjol.com.cn/jms/202207/t20220716_24529945.shtml
The “number one” label, Tianhe Economic Research Institute (天和经济研究所), carrying the research centre’s case study, 2 July 2024, tier 4. https://www.cntianhe.org.cn/ninfo_482.html
What costs nothing in Wusi
None of the sources we read mentions a fee to enter the village. Xinhua’s 2023 report found village greenways (绿道), public bicycles and free wifi. The farmland the village rented out now grows rice, red maples, fruit and roses, so the lanes cross working fields rather than a park.
Greenways, bicycles, wifi and the crops, Xinhua (新华网), carrying Tide News (潮新闻), 18 May 2023, tier 2. http://www.news.cn/info/20230518/737499829c4e4cf59a56f2dc95475da4/c.html
The rafting, an RV camping base and a mountain sports park are businesses, and we found no current price for any of them.
Eating and drinking in Wusi
Gelien Coffee (格里恩咖啡) sits in an abandoned quarry pit, with a lawn, a waterfall and red roofed wooden huts below a dark rock face. Deqing News found it busy on a weekday, 26 November 2024, days after it opened, with the car park nearby full. People’s Daily Overseas Edition reported the nickname “little Iceland” (小冰岛) the next spring.
The quarry, the lawn and the full car park, Deqing News (德清新闻网), 28 November 2024, tier 2. https://dqnews.zjol.com.cn/dqnews/system/2024/11/28/034822127.shtml
An abandoned quarry pit, People’s Daily Overseas Edition (人民日报海外版), 30 May 2025, tier 2. http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/pad/content/202505/30/content_30076370.html
The address is 88 Hutangli (湖塘里88号), from the county paper’s café directory of June 2026. No official price or timetable has been published that we could check. The cave café and the quarry café sets out what to confirm before you go.
The address, Deqing News (德清新闻网), 17 June 2026, tier 2. https://dqnews.zjol.com.cn/dqnews/system/2026/06/17/035232330.shtml
A second café, Qingzhi Forest (青芷森林), was placed “in the little wood at the very back of Wusi” by a visitor in 2021. Nothing newer says it still trades.
Qingzhi Forest in Wusi, Dianping (大众点评), a visitor’s note, 1 April 2021, tier 3. https://m.dianping.com/discovery/588215999
No dated source names a restaurant in the village. Eleven of the twelve Wusi listings we captured have one, so most guests eat where they sleep. In autumn the Huahua Shijie (花花世界) farm sells Taiqiu sweet persimmons; in 2026 they went on sale from late September to the end of October at RMB 20 to 40 a kilo.
The persimmon season and price, Deqing News (德清新闻网), 29 September 2026, tier 2. https://dqnews.zjol.com.cn/dqnews/system/2026/09/29/035303196.shtml
Staying in Wusi
Xinhua counted more than 20 guesthouses in 2023, among them Wai’an No. 5 (外安5号). Of the 809 Moganshan listings we captured from Trip.com in August 2026, 12 give a Wusi address. Eleven list a restaurant, three an outdoor pool and two a gym. One calls itself a hostel but lists a pool and two restaurants, so read the room type, not the name.
Facilities and review counts on 12 captured Trip.com listings with a Wusi address, BeyondBorder Group Ltd primary research, captured 8 August 2026, compiled 29 October 2026.
A short list follows, chosen for what the record says about each. We rank and rate none of them and print no room rates.
| Listing | Address as listed | Why it is here |
|---|---|---|
| Aideri Moganshan Tongguanzhuang Resort | No. 48 Tongguan Bridge | The most reviewed Wusi listing: 548 reviews |
| Moganshan High Mountain Forest Adventure Park, Xuan Yong Shilily Hotel | Lake Louise, Wusi | Outdoor pool and a playground |
| Chum Lure | Mengxihu Villa, Qingdiaowu | Outdoor pool and a café |
| Waian Five Hotel | No. 5 Wai’an | The Wai’an No. 5 that Xinhua named in 2023 |
| Moganshan 6373 RV Park | No. 50 Shengtangtou | Listed as an RV park, not a hotel |
This piece carries no booking links. Search the name on any booking site, and read minsu explained first if the guesthouse model is new to you.
Walking and cycling in Wusi
We found no waymarked walking route in the village, and nobody on this desk has walked it. In 2022 the Ministry of Agriculture listed a rafting run on the village streams of about 2.48 km, with a fall of about 10 m, from north of the Sunshine Eco Park (阳光生态园) to north of the science park of Zhejiang A&F University (浙江农林大学).
The rafting route, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (农业农村部), 29 July 2022, tier 1. https://www.moa.gov.cn/ztzl/xnl2022/202207/t20220729_6405868.htm
Xinhua’s 2023 report says the village laid out three tourist routes (三条精品 旅游线路), but it doesn’t say where they run. The public bicycles of 2023 are the easier way to cover the flat.
In 2025 the Kailas (凯乐石号), a weekend shuttle from Xiantan, ended at the Wusi visitor centre (五四游客中心) and the Moganshan Sky Pool Resort (莫干山天空泳池度假村). It ran on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays to October. No source we can reach confirms it ran in 2026; the shuttle system has the detail.
The Kailas stops in Wusi, Shanghai Observer (上观新闻), 25 June 2025, tier 2. https://www.shobserver.com/wx/detail.do?id=934833
Who should base in Wusi
Families with a car who want a pool and something to do between meals: three listings have an outdoor pool, and the rafting and the café are in the village. Cyclists will like the flat lanes. So will anyone who wants a working village rather than a resort. Xinhua found holiday visitors here playing sport, picking fruit and trying farm work.
It doesn’t suit a first visit without a car. Yucun has the restaurants and the transfer centre.
The honest downside
Zhejiang Daily was blunt in 2016: the village has none of Moganshan’s scenery (并无莫干山的美丽景致). It is fields and lanes at the foot of the hill. For the bamboo and the old villas, you drive up.
The crowds come in waves. Xinhua’s 2023 report described coaches and private cars pouring in on every holiday, and the café’s car park was full on a weekday in 2024. No dated bus timetable for the village turned up. Without a car, Wusi is a taxi ride from everything else on the mountain.
The villages below Moganshan sets out the alternatives.
Last checked 30 October 2026 by Echo Peng. Prices, timetables and entry rules on this mountain move without notice, so confirm anything you are booking around.
Photographs on this site are representative illustrations, not documentary images of the specific building, property or service described.
