Zhujiajiao Water Town - an Exquisite Pastoral Ancient Chinese Town

Zhujiajiao Ancient Town is named as "one of the four famous cultural towns of China". It has a history of more than 1,700 years and displays an atmosphere of a distinguished traditional Chinese pastoral lifestyle and profound cultural intensions. It is a small fan-shaped ancient town, which covers 47 square kilometers. Zhujiajiao Ancient Town seems like a beautiful pearl inserted into a landscape of lakes and mountains. The famous 36 ancient bridges stand there quietly, gradually growing old and more historic.

Reasons for Visiting Zhujiajiao Ancient Town

  • A 1,700-year-old town, which displays a pastoral landscape that is totally different from Shanghai. If you are tired of the modern city and want to enjoy an authentic countryside lifestyle, it is a good choice.
  • Enjoy this "Shanghai Venice" and take a leisurely boat trip to enjoy the peaceful and idyllic scenery.
  • Explore this representative Chinese-style town, which has a layout and design that is more exquisite and delicate than the Imperial Garden in Beijing.
zhujiajiao Zhujiajiao Water Town

Highlights to See in Zhujiajiao Ancient Town

Zhujiajiao Ancient Town covers 1.5 square kilometers, which is three times the area of Zhouzhuang. People believe it is more charming and attractive than other ancient towns in Shanghai, and it features classical cultural landscapes.

A Bridge — Fangsheng Bridge

Fangsheng Bridge is described as the "premier stone bridge in Shanghai" and is also the largest stone bridge with five openings. Compared with Zhouzhuang's bridges, the construction and building skills make Zhujiajiao's bridges more solid. A wonderful experience is to stand on Fangsheng Bridge while admiring a typical local activity — shaking the clippers (it is usually held on July 27th in the Chinese lunar calendar).

zhujiajiao Fangsheng Bridge

A Street — North Street

North Street is an original ancient street and is the best-preserved ancient street in Shanghai even though a hundred years have passed. It's regarded as the "premier street of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1912) in Shanghai" and a "3-li (one li equals 500 meters) street that contains thousands of shops". That is unmatched by other ancient towns and North Street is the most active ancient street.

zhujiajiao North Street

A Temple — Chenghuang Temple

Chenghuang Temple has a history of more than 200 years and is a traditional, solemn, splendid, and glorious ancient temple. A dougong stage, wooden beams, and the central scroll painting are regarded as three treasures in Chenghuang Temple.

Two Gardens — Kezhi Garden and Zhuxi Garden

There are two famous gardens in Zhujiajiao Ancient Town: Kezhi Garden and Zhuxi Garden. One of these is ancient and the other is modern; one is enormous and the other is exquisite. Kezhi Garden is a manor-style building, covering 96 mu (one mu equals 667 square meters). It was built in 1912. There are more than 200 rooms, including pavilions, terraces, open halls, and living rooms. It's rare to see such a delicate layout in private garden buildings. Zhuxi Garden covers over 70 mu and was built in 1956. It features three gardens: a spring garden, an autumn garden, and a winter garden. Zhuxi Garden is small but exquisite, simple but beautiful.

zhujiajiao Kezhi Garden

Twenty-Six Alleys

Zhujiajiao's alleys are famous for being ancient, numerous, and special; other ancient towns in South China are not comparable to it. There are more than 26 alleys, despite the name. Numerous alleys are arranged in a crisscross pattern and visitors can be confused by its complex layout. Beijing's hutongs and Zhujiajiao's alleys are both typical types of Chinese residency architectures. The ancient alleys are full of historic and cultural values, which are popular with the local people and foreigners.

Zhulixing Bazaar

Zhujiajiao was known as "Zhulixing", which was a meaningful name that represented blessings for the people's businesses and lives. Zhulixing Bazaar was an ancient local festival held annually on July 27th in the Chinese lunar calendar. A clipper race was the most important activity in Zhulixing. This interesting race originated from Sungkiang and passed by this ancient town. Before the clipper race, businessmen came from various regions and set up all kinds of temporary shops. It was a very lively scene, which included activities like monkeys performing and acrobatic shows. People were entertained all night and this ancient town was ablaze with lights.

zhujiajiao Local food

Travel Tips

Essentials

  • Theme: ancient Chinese water town
  • Area: 138 square kilometers
  • Climate: subtropical monsoon climate
  • Opening hours: 8:30am to 4:30pm
  • Recommended visiting duration: about 5–7 hours
  • Chinese: 朱家角古镇 (Zhūjiājiăogŭzhèn, joo- jyah- jyaoww- goo- jnn)
  • Location: 36 Meizhou Road, Zhujiajiao Town, Qingpu District, Shanghai; about 40 kilometers from central Shanghai
  • Entrance fee: It's free although you can pay 30 yuan for a folk custom tour or 60 yuan for a water town tour.
  • Best seasons: subtropical monsoon climate; spring and autumn are the best seasons when the temperature is pleasant (April to May and September to November)

Transportation

From the Downtown Area to Zhujiajiao Ancient Town By bus:

1. Go to Shanghai Tourist Bus Center and take a bus from gate 5 at Shanghai Stadium.

  • Duration: 7am to 4:30pm; it leaves every half an hour
  • Cost: It takes about 1 hour and costs 12 yuan.

2. Go to Yanan Road or Old Chengdu Road and take the Shangzhu special line.

  • Duration: 5:30am to 6pm; it leaves every 10 minutes
  • Cost: 9 yuan for a trip of about 1 hour 45 minutes

3. Go to People's Square, Puan Road, or Jinling Road and take the Shangzhu high-speed line.

  • Cost: 12 yuan for a trip of about 1 hour 

4. Go to Shanghai South Station and take the Shangzhu line.

  • Duration: 5:30am to 6:40pm; it leaves every hour
  • Cost: 11 yuan

From Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to Zhujiajiao Ancient Town:

  • Take Metro 10 or bus 806 at the Terminal 1 station, and transfer to the Shangzhu special line.
  • It takes about 2 hours 40 minutes.

Transportation in Zhujiajiao Ancient Town — by Leisure Boat

  • Zhujiajiao Ancient Town is a typical Chinese water town and buildings are standing in the shallow streams. Therefore, the best way to admire Zhujiajiao Ancient Town is by taking a boat trip.

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