Rain falls on the southern bank of the Yangtze, and I am lost in a three-day drunken dream in Shaoxing

🚶 Walking on the stone slab road by Yantang in Yanchahu, in the drizzle a black-awning boat glides over the ink-colored water, the boatman’s straw raincoat and bamboo hat casting ripples—this is the true poetry of Jiangnan at its core.
🍦 Three days later, clutching a half-melted yellow wine popsicle, I suddenly understood why Lu You “leaned on every temple and tower in Jiangnan.”

🌊 3 days 2 nights itinerary: Relaxing while avoiding the crowds
🗓️ DAY 1: Slow stroll through the old town
😊 Lu Xun’s Hometown (free, reservation required!)
🌿 Don’t just squeeze into Baicao Garden! At 9:40 catch the Sanwei morning reading, compete with kids answering the private school teacher’s “Three Character Classic” questions; in the afternoon go to Fengqing Garden to watch community theater, wear a qipao and perform a segment of Yue opera, the applause from the audience is denser than a barrage of comments.

🌉 Cangqiao Straight Street (free)
🌆 Head straight to Longmen Bridge at dusk! The stinky tofu vendor granny has been frying for 30 years, crispy outside and tender inside with spicy sauce, 5 yuan a bowl eaten squatting by the river. Ten meters ahead, the “Old Street Tea Stall” serves wood lotus tofu sliding down the throat, mint candy water mixed with the aroma of yellow wine.

🗓️ DAY 2: Twin water towns
📚 Hometown of the Sage of Calligraphy (free street area, joint ticket 40 yuan for small attractions like Cai Yuanpei’s former residence)
📸 The fan bridge photo spot is legendary! Shoot at 7 am when no one is around: white walls and black tiles reflect in the canal, black-awning boats row past Wang Xizhi’s ink pond, the phone captures a scene straight out of the “Lantingji Xu” scroll.

🪨 West Alley (free)
🌿 A local’s hidden lively alley! Mossy stone steps with oil-paper umbrellas, turn the corner to “Hebutou Restaurant” and order steamed pork with fermented tofu sheets, sour and pungent but you can’t stop eating.

🗓️ DAY 3: Anchang Ancient Town · The flavor of the New Year in soy sauce aroma
🍖 Free food tour main line: Visit Renchang Sauce Garden to see giant vats drying in the sun (a filming location for “A Bite of China”), buy 5 yuan sausage skewers by the soy sauce barrels, the fat mixed with wine aroma bursts with juice!
💡 Hidden experience: At 6 pm when the corridor lanterns light up, 40 yuan for a private black-awning boat ride through 13 stone bridges, the boatwoman hums “Chaitou Feng” in Shaoxing dialect, lantern reflections shatter into gold leaf.

🏨 Accommodation tips to avoid pitfalls
❌ Yellow Wine Town is quiet at night, dragging luggage on stone slabs is frustrating!
✅ Stay near Lu Xun’s Hometown subway station! The newly opened All Seasons Hotel is a 5-minute walk to Shen Garden, the happiness of collapsing into a smart toilet after a night tour is something only a few understand.

🍶 Decoding Shaoxing’s flavors
☕ Morning C, Evening T:
🍷 Yellow wine latte with Touzao coffee (served in a wine jar-shaped cup) paired with mianbo, crispy biscuit rolled with sweet sauce + egg, savory and soft;
🦀 Dinner at a private Fengwei place, drunken crab roe sticks to lips and tongue, paired with 20-year Taidiao wine, mildly sweet and not harsh on the throat.

🍴 Snack radar:
🍪 “Master Tang’s Pastry” in the Sage of Calligraphy’s hometown offers stamped cakes, bean paste filling so hot you have to bite carefully; “Creamy Little Pan” on Cangqiao Straight Street is like an egg tart mixed with caramel pudding, 4 yuan each, a sweet tooth’s delight.

🔍 Shaoxing travel tips
✈️ Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport → Anchang Ancient Town only 30 minutes, closer than Shaoxing North Station;
🌂 Waterproof shoes are a must in the rainy season! Stone slabs are slippery.