Zhujiajiao Ancient Town:Stepping Back in Time

As one of the best-preserved ancient water towns in Shanghai，Zhujiajiao retains its charm in contemporary China， attractingmillions of visitors annually to take in its scenic waterways，cultural customs and historical architecture.

BOASTING a history of over 1，700 years and a collection of wellpreservedhistorical sites， this ancient water town is one of themost-visited travel destinations in Shanghai. Located in QingpuDistrict near the city center， it covers an area of about 47square kilometers. It emerged as a town during the Song （960-1279） andYuan （1271-1368） dynasties， and by the late Qing Dynasty （1644-1911）had developed thriving textile and rice industries due to the favorablenatural environment and efficient waterway network， becoming a majortown south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Today， Zhujiajiao has been listed as a National 5A Tourist Attraction.Nearly 1，000 buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties line the waterfront，and 36 ancient bridges maintain their historical charm. Its mainattractions include the Kezhi Garden， Hexin Garden， Fangsheng Bridge，Qing Dynasty Post Office， Yuanjin Temple， and City God Temple. Thereis no admission fee to this ancient town， and its proximity and convenientpublic transportation to downtown Shanghai make it a populardestination， attracting streams of visitors.

Gardens

The Kezhi Garden is a mustvisitsite in Zhujiajiao. It is aprivate manor-style garden thatbegan construction in 1912and took 15 years to complete.“Kezhi” means “Do not forget todo farming and planting afterstudying.” The owner， Ma Weiqi（1853–1928）， was a wealthy localbusinessman.

The main structure of theKezhi Garden faces east andoccupies about 64，000 squaremeters， with a built area of approximately2，000 square metersand over 200 rooms for varioususes. The entire garden consistsof three sections： residentialarea， rockery area， and gardenarea， housing an array of buildingsand landscaping featuressuch as pavilions， towers， rockeries，ponds， stone stele corridors，and ancient trees.

Among the most distinctivestructures are the library， Moon-Watching Tower， Lion Hall， andNine-Bend Bridge. This gardennot only combines the iconicarts and techniques of traditionalsouth China gardens butalso blends Chinese and Westernarchitectural elements.

Adjacent to the Kezhi Gardenis the Hexin Garden， named afterthe Hexin Pavilion in it， whichwas originally built in the mid-Qing Dynasty. Constructed in2007， the Hexin Garden coversaround 3，000 square meters andfeatures small， delicate pavilionsand buildings that capture theessence of south China gardendesign. The Hexin Garden alsofunctions as a history and culturemuseum， with all exhibits being authentic items from theMing and Qing dynasties.

Bridges

Adjacent to the two gardens isanother scenic spot， FangshengBridge， a landmark of Zhujiajiao.Measuring 70.8 meters in length，5.8 meters in width， and 7.4meters in height， it is known asthe longest and largest five-archstone bridge in Shanghai and anideal spot to enjoy the landscapeof Zhujiajiao.

This ancient bridge wasoriginally built during the TangDynasty （618-907） by a Buddhistmonk who spent over 15 yearsraising funds for its construction，according to legend. To demonstratethe Buddhist philosophyof compassion， the waters within500 meters of the bridge becamea designated zone for releasingcaptive aquatic animals （aBuddhist practice called "fang-sheng " in Chinese）， which gavethe bridge its name. On the firstand 15th days of each month inthe traditional Chinese calendar，monks and other Buddhistsreleased animals near the bridge，while barriers were set to forbidlocal fishermen from catchingfish in this area.

In addition to Fangsheng，Zhujiajiao has two other renownedstone bridges from theTang Dynasty： Tai’an Bridge andYongfeng Bridge.

Tai’an Bridge， built in 1584，is 26.2 meters long， 3.2 meterswide， and 4.6 meters high， makingit the steepest single-archstone bridge in the town. It facesthe historical Yuanjin Temple，and two flagpole stones， onceused for hanging lanterns toguide boats along the CaogangRiver， still stand at its base.

The Yongfeng Bridge， made ofthree granite slabs， has a humble design and yet is an importantwitness to Zhujiajiao's historicalevents. Notably， to the northof the bridge， two broken stonetablets are embedded in the wall.They were carved from the stonedebris of Yongfeng， which wasdamaged by Japanese invaders’bombs on November 8， 1937.The inscriptions on these tabletsserve as a reminder to visitors ofthat tragic episode in history.

Temples

Yuanjin Temple is a renownedBuddhist shrine originally builtduring the Yuan Dynasty. Onlythe main hall has survived to this day， while the other structureswere rebuilt in modern times.During the Ming and Qing dynasties，Yuanjin Temple was a populargathering place for scholarsand the literati， many of whomleft behind artworks. The temple，therefore， housed a large collectionof paintings and calligraphyfrom famous artists of the time，making it well-known for beinga huge artwork collection and avariety of cultural events.

The City God Temple of Zhujiajiaois another location to experiencelocal religious culture.Covering an area of 3，450 squaremeters， the temple boasts 12attractions. The main structuresare well-preserved， and its signaturetheater stage is best-knownfor its exquisite caisson ceilingformed by 160 pieces of woodenbrackets （an iconic Chinesearchitectural technique called“dougong ” in Chinese）.

Post Office， North Street

The Zhujiajiao Post Office isthe oldest postal institution inthe town and was one of Shanghai's13 main postal stations.It was set up during the lateQing Dynasty as a private letteragency. In 1896， with the establishmentof the national postal service by the Qing court， itbecame an official postal agencyfor Zhujiajiao. In 1953， it relocatedto a site near the FangshengBridge. The old site is a twostorybuilding with a Europeanstylefacade and a dock for postaltransportation. Outside， therestands a replica of the QingDynasty bronze mailbox， still inuse.

The bustling North Street hasbeen the main street of Zhujiajiaofor over 400 years. Thisthree-meter-wide street is nowlined with a number of twostorybuildings built in Ming and Qing style. Their ground floorsusually serve as shops， whileresidents live on the upper floorswhere people can have conversationsand pass items throughthe windows with neighborsin the next building. The streetfollows a winding S shape alongthe riverbank. Historically itwas known for numerous storesselling all kinds of products.Today， many of them have beenreplaced by souvenir shops， yetsome century-old brands， suchas Handalong， a maker of saucepickled vegetables， and the No.1Jiangnan Teahouse， survive.

Handalong， Apo Tea House

Handalong， founded in 1886by the Wu family， is a centuryoldshop known for producingsoy sauce， pickles， fermentedtofu， and vinegars， all producedthrough time-honored secretrecipes and techniques. Thetwo characters for “Sauce Shop”painted on the outer walls aresaid to have been written whenthe shop first opened over acentury ago. Its rose-flavoredfermented tofu and premiumsoy sauce even won awards atthe 1915 Panama-Pacific InternationalExposition. Today， localresidents and visitors from allwalks of life come to purchasethese popular local specialties.

In the past， the women ofZhujiajiao enjoyed having teaparties in their leisure time.They would bring homemadesnacks， sit together doing needlework，chatting， and drinkingtea， thereby developing the “ApoTea” culture. The Apo Tea Housewas built to honor this tradition.The two-story， quaint ApoTea House， with water on threesides， appeals to many visitors，including public figures and governmentofficials from aroundthe world.

To enrich the tourist experience，Zhujiajiao Ancient Townhas rolled out a range of innovativecultural events including“Han-Style Nights，” “Ultra-Immersive Art Festival” and“Kunqu Opera Flash Event，”which take place at historicalsites. These events enable visitorsto immerse themselves intothe unique ambience of this ageoldtown.