Xinchang
Xinchang Ancient town is around 20km from Shanghai Pudong Airport and is one of the smaller of Shanghai’s Ancient towns with well-maintained old streets. buidings and stone archway bridges over the rivers. It is far less touristy than the other of the Ancient Towns and it was very quiet when we visited. We concentrated our visit around the 1.48 sq km heart which has the largest and best-preserved collection of late-Qing (1644-1911) and early-Republic-of-China-era (1912-49) architecture in Pudong which forms a living neighborhood of traditional shops, homes, and canals. We decided on a long relaxing lunch at the modern One Step Café – a well-known chain of cafes in Shanghai, China, recognized for renovating historic buildings, villas, and unique industrial spaces into cozy, green-filled coffee house.
Typical canal view Xinchang Ancient Water Town
Nanxiang
Nanxiang is around 20km north-west of Shanghai and is accessible by a combination of the metro and bus although a taxi/Uber can be faster depending on the traffic and time of day. You won’t see any western tourists here and it’s much less crowded than the other well-known ancient water towns like Zhouzhuang where all the Western tourists tend to visit. In many ways this makes the visit more rewarding so I highly recommend this as an ancient town experience. Being one of the four most well-known historical and cultural ancient towns in the city of Shanghai, Nanxiang Ancient Town dates to approximately 1,500 years ago. It is also a smaller water town and closer to Shanghai so more accessible. There are boutiques, souvenir shops and eateries lining the narrow streets. It’s hard to escape the overwhelming scent of oily and spicy Chinese cuisine lingering in the air. The main attractions in this town are centred around the Old Street which has the main attractions like the Yunxiang Temple, many other ancient buildings, wells, pagodas, gardens, bridges, and cultural relics. To be honest if you’ve visited one ancient water town the buildings and architecture all start to look the same, so we found most interest in the local food specialities especially the famous Xiaolongbao soup dumplings. The dumplings did not disappoint and by themselves was well worth the trip. Unfortunately, you can only have one lunch (and dumplings can be quite filling!) so this limited what other foods we could try. This didn’t bother Geoffrey so much as he wouldn’t be able to manage the spices!
A large selection of spicy delicacies!
Soup Dumplings Menu
Zhouzhuang Water Town
We visited Zhouzhuang as part of a trip to China 2004 which was some 21 years ago, However looking back at my photos of the town they could have been taken just yesterday. It is now a very popular destination ( a Top 10 attraction by Westerners) due to rich cultural background and well-preserved a ancient residential houses. It is probably the most famous of all the commercialised ancient water towns in China dating back to more than 900 years. It is called the Venice of the East.
Of course with an attraction this old very little would have changed in 21 years ex except that getting there is much faster and straight-forward. Back then we joined a tour. Nowadays its just a 60-75 minute subway or bus ride or even taxi is reasonable. Apparently, there is also now a CNY 200 entrance fee! A visit to the town is typically a half day but you can explore further as the town is surrounded with and divided by lakes and rivers. As usual the main sights are the numerous bridges, famous homes, towers, and temples.
The local food specialty is the Wansan pork hock – and although they looked delicious – they were so big that it was something you bought to take home rather than hoeing into one for lunch. Also the Sanwei Glutinous rice balls and I suspect we would have tasted these
We will always remember this trip – not so much for its’ particular attractions – but for the terrible events a few days later on Boxing Day December 26th, 2004.
Wansan pork hock – the local specialty
Typical Water Canal scene (back in 2004 not so many Westerners!)
Please contact me if you are interested in knowing more about this destination.