Taking a boat ride in Shanghai Oriental Venice without visiting Zhujiajiao Ancient Town is like coming for nothing

Who says Shanghai only has the trendy Oriental Pearl Tower and the dazzling Bund? It also has the gentle charm of Jiangnan water towns. Zhujiajiao Ancient Town is one of the most popular ancient towns in the Magic City, where you can also meet many foreign tourists, comparable to famous Jiangnan towns like Wuzhen and Tongli.
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🚇Transportation: Take Metro Line 17 directly to Zhujiajiao Station. After exiting, it is recommended to take a boat to Zhujiajiao Ancient Town for 40 RMB per person, which goes straight to the town center. Sitting on the boat, you can enjoy the scenery of the ancient town. There are also oar boats 🉑 to experience inside the town.
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✔️The whole town is heavily commercialized, with snacks and farmhouse dishes everywhere. You may encounter commercial filming. Honestly, the snack flavors are quite similar, but the zongzi (rice dumplings) are delicious.
✔️The ancient town is free to enter, and there is a combined ticket for five major attractions 🈶, perfect 🈴 for taking photos.
✔️Tea houses are a major feature of the town. Hiding in a tea house to experience Chinese tea culture 🀄️ is a great choice, and sitting by the river is quite pleasant.
✔️The alleys are relatively narrow, and it can get very crowded when there are many tourists.
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🌉Bridge Series: Don’t underestimate the bridges in the ancient town; each one is very distinctive.
1️⃣Fangsheng Bridge: The largest and longest five-arch stone bridge still existing in Shanghai, it is a landmark of Zhujiajiao Ancient Town. You can watch the sunset 🌅 from it.
2️⃣Taian Bridge: The steepest single-arch stone bridge in town, with a high and steep bridge body. The bluestone railings on both sides feature "Flying Cloud Stone" reliefs, simple and elegant.
3️⃣Covered Bridge: A wooden structure small bridge with green tiles forming a roof, wooden plank steps on the bridge surface, and wooden railings. The whole bridge has an antique charm.
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🍢Food: 🍃Zongzi: It feels like every family is an old shop, and the zongzi are freshly made. The price of a few yuan is very cost-effective, very glutinous and fragrant, with a high meat content.
🍃Pork Knuckle & Daoxiang Pork Belly: The color is really tempting, but it feels quite greasy.
🍃Pastries: Mung bean cake, begonia cake, gorgon fruit cake — you can try them all.
🍃Farmhouse Dishes: Fresh river fish with stir-fried vegetables, many old shops, all reasonably priced.
🍃One Chi Garden: The ancient town has many tea houses and cafes. I chose this One Chi Garden, which has its own exhibition, perfect for friends who like photography 📷.
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I didn’t explore the 75 RMB combined ticket attractions in depth. I prefer walking on the weathered bluestone slabs, admiring the blooming roses in the ancient town, strolling and stopping, tasting snacks whenever I want, enjoying a free and leisurely day.