Zhujiajiao Water Town

Introduction 

Zhujiajiao Water Town is a fan-shaped town located about 50 km from the Bund in Qingpu District and it covers an area of 47 square kilometers. This ancient town is over 1,700 years old and is made up of 36 ancient bridges, waterways and traditional Chinese-style residences. It used to be a trading center and its canals were used to ferry merchandise. The old town features canals, ancient narrow lanes and ancient houses with gardens. There are relaxing boat rides on the canals that take visitors all around the town.

Things to see and do on a visit

Cruise Zhujiajiao

There are small gondolas that visitors can use to explore the water town in either short distance trips or long-distance trips. Short distance trips cover the distance to the main and last for about 10 minutes while the long-distance trips take visitors all around the town. 

Qing Dynasty Post Office

Located on Xihu Street this post office was built during the Qing Dynasty and is said to be the best-preserved post office with many ancient exhibits including old letters written on bamboo and antique postcards of old Shanghai.

Bei Dajie 

There are nine old streets in Zhujiajiao and Bei Dajie is the best-preserved amongst them all. Its buildings date back in the Qing Dynasty era (1644-1912) but are now occupied by coffee shops, restaurants and bars. 

Fangsheng Bridge 

Fangshen Bridge was constructed in 1812 and is the largest stone arch bridge resting on five arches. It stands at 70 meters long and 5.8 meters high and is one of the main attractions among the ancient 36 ancient stone bridges with some of them remaining to be just a yard wide.

Kezhi Yuan

This is where the tallest structure of the ancient water town is located. The five-story building with a pavilion on its roof makes up the landmark of the gardens. This garden is situated at the northern edge of the old district on Xijing Street dating back to 1912. The word “kezhi” means to learn to plant, a class about plants or a lesson about plants. This was initially an area to see and learn about plants, now it is made up of a garden, an artificial hill and the main hall.