Zhujiajiao Ancient Town - "Venice of Shanghai"

Fangsheng Bridge (放生桥), built in 1571, is standing across Caogang River (漕港河), linking the north and south part of Zhujiajiao. It is the symbolic spot of Zhujiajiao Ancient Town. What’s more, it’s called the No. 1 bridge of Shanghai for it is the longest, largest, tallest bridge with five holes. The name of Fangsheng is releasing animals that on the first day and the fifteenth day of every lunar month, monks and Buddhists will gather here to release animals.

Fangsheng Bridge is the best site for travelers, even for photographers to take some awesome pictures – Ming-Qing buildings with white walls and black tile standing both sides of the river, traditional boats coming and going...It will add more exquisiteness to the pictures when it is sunny, rainy, and misty.

Kezhi Garden (课植园) is a hidden treasure with a typical Jiangnan style. The former owner was Ma Weiqi (马维骐) whose family were salt merchants for generations, being one of the richest men in Zhujiajiao Ancient Town. The garden is divided into two parts, one is the study area (Ke Garden, 课园) and the other is the farming area (Zhi Garden, 植园), implying that people should study and farm to keep the house. There are over 200 buildings linking each other and among them, Wangyue Tower (望月楼) and Shucheng (书城) are the architectures with a combination of Chinese and Western style. The poetries of the Four Scholars of Jiangnan (Tang, Zhu, Wen and Zhou) in the Ming Dynasty were inscribed on the tablet corridor.

The North Street (北大街) is the most well-preserved Ming-Qing Street in Shanghai. Strolling leisurely along the stone-paved old street, you’ll be immersed in the busy commercialized feeling and explore different kinds of art shops and century-old brand shops, like Club Teahouse, Handalong Sauce, and Pickles Shop and see the locals talking with each other over the window on the second floor. Walking on the street and looking up, you’ll find the sky turning into a finedraw, so the North Street is also called “A Street of Finedraw”.

Yuanjin Buddhist Temple (圆津禅院) was built in Yuan Dynasty with more than 600 years’ history. This temple enshrines Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and so the temple is called “Niang Niang Temple”. Travelers can explore the peaceful temple by visiting the Maitreya Hall, Hall of Three Saints (Amitabha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Mahasthamaprapta), Yongyue Well, Yuantong Treasure Hall, and Qinghua Pavilion. You can climb up to the third floor of Qinghua Pavilion to have the panoramic view of Zhujiajiao Ancient Town.

Zhujiajiao was flourished with Buddhism and Taoism in ancient times. You have known that Yuanjin is a Buddhist temple while this City God Temple (城隍庙) is a Taoist temple with typical Taoist architecture. The main duty of City God Temple is to protect the wellness and happiness of the local people. Entering into the temple, you’ll see a screen wall with “The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea” and a pair of stone lions. Besides, travelers can have a look at the three treasures – the old drama stage, big abacus and hundred-year-old gingko tree.

Do you know the history and development of post and postal service in China? Paying a short visit to the Qing Post Office (大清邮局) which is the only well-kept Qing-dynasty post site in Shanghai, you will have a brief understanding about the thousand-year-long post and postal service of China. It was first set in 1903 and in the exhibition hall, you can see different kinds of Qing postcards which represent the living condition and folk customs of different social strata.

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Spend about 30 minutes relaxing yourselves on a boat sailing on the lovely water and you’ll enjoy the fascinating scenery of Zhujiajiao along the way. Travelers usually take the following popular routes: Fangsheng Bridge – Kezhi Garden, City God Temple – Kezhi Garden and Kezhi Garden – Fangsheng Bridge. The maximum number of tourists on a boat is six people, which is comfortable and less crowded.

There are eight piers scattered in the whole town and the boats will pass Yong’an Bridge (永安桥), Zhonglong Bridge (中龙桥), Tai’an Bridge (泰安桥), Lang Bridge (廊桥), Chenghuang Bridge (城隍桥) and Yongfeng Bridge (永丰桥) and traditional buildings and sites along the way. Please discuss your favorite route with your local tour guide.

Recommended Visiting Route From South Entrance: The ancient town of Zhujiajiao is not very big. You can walk around it and have a tour for about half a day to one day. After entering the ancient town from the south entrance, you will first come to Zhuxi garden and the Museum of Humanities. Zhuxi garden is a small and exquisite garden, which is now open for free. The Museum of Humanities is a modern white building with unique shape, which records the local history and culture of Zhujiajiao in the form of oil paintings and sculptures.

After passing the Museum of Humanities, you come to the North Street. There are a lot of tourists having snacks and shopping. You can eat the famous rice dumplings, sauced pig's feet, and all kinds of exquisite cakes here.

The distance between Shanghai and Zhujiajiao Ancient Town is 48 kilometers. It takes about 1 hour by car. Linked by subway line 17, you can easily transfer from Shanghai downtown area to Zhujiajiao in Qingpu district.

• From Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station: You can take the subway line 17 from Hongqiao stop to Zhujiajiao Stop with a duration of about 1 hour. After getting off the train, you can get to Bus Zhujiajiao No. 2 to the scenic area directly.
• From Shanghai Tourist Center: there are buses running between the tourist center and Zhujiajiao. It takes about 1 hour from Shanghai Tourist Center to Zhujiajiao.
• From People's Square: travelers can take buses at Pu’an Jinling Road which leaves every half hour and takes about 1 hour.
• From Shanghai South Railway Station: buses are available during the daytime which leave every half hour.

The above is the general travel information and may subject to change. For more detailed transportation info from Shanghai to Zhujiajiao Ancient Town, please feel free to contact our professional travel consultants.

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