Travel in China
A 1,700-year-old canal town on the edge of Shanghai - 36 stone bridges, black-tiled lanes and water-lane houses about an hour from the skyscrapers.
Zhujiajiao is an ancient water town in Shanghai's western suburbs, founded during the Three Kingdoms period (3rd century) and flourishing as a trading port on the Dianshan Lake network. Its 47 hectares of preserved old town contain 36 stone bridges spanning the Cao Gang River and its tributaries, with black-tiled, white-washed merchant houses lining both banks.
The Fangsheng Bridge is the town's emblem - a five-arch stone bridge built in 1571 that is the largest in the Shanghai region. Other bridges range from single-slab Song-dynasty structures to the elegant arched bridges of the Ming and Qing periods. The town's lanes and alleys retain the atmosphere of a working water town, with residents drying laundry and shopping at the morning market.
Zhujiajiao is the easiest classic water town to reach from Shanghai - about an hour from the city centre by metro or taxi. This accessibility brings crowds on weekends, but weekday mornings are quiet enough to feel like a discovery. The town's rice dumplings (zongzi) and smoked soybeans are specialities.
Highlights
Fangsheng Bridge
The five-arch stone bridge built in 1571 - the largest in the Shanghai region.
The Canal Boat Ride
Hand-rowed boats through the old town's waterways - 60 RMB per boat.
North Street (Beida Jie)
The 1,000-metre pedestrian lane lined with Ming and Qing merchant houses.
Kezhi Garden
A Qing-dynasty garden combining a Confucian academy with lotus ponds and rockeries.
The Morning Market
Residents shopping for vegetables and fish along the canal before the tourists arrive.
Zongzi (Rice Dumplings)
The town's speciality - sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves, steamed in giant vats.
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