Day Trip to Zhujiajiao Shanghai, Ancient Water Town
Zhujiajiao is an ancient water town well-known throughout the country, with a history of more than 1700 years. The little town is the best-preserved among the four ancient towns in Shanghai. Unique old bridges across bubbling streams, small rivers shaded by willow trees, and houses with courtyards attached all transport people who have been living amidst the bustle and hustle of the modern big city to a brand-new world full of antiquity, leisure and tranquillity.
How to get therefrom Shanghai by Bus:
In Shanghai go to Dashijie metro station. Exit at Jinling Rd and cross Xizang Rd at the traffic lights. Walk straight through the park, and in about 3-5 minutes you will be at Pu'an Rd. The pink buses to Zhujiajiao are across the street on the far right hand side. They cost 12¥ and take slightly over an hour. The bus will drop you off in the "new" part of town. Walk down the main road for about 15-20 minutes, past the bus station and turn right at the traffic lights
Name of Zhujiajiao to make sure you are in the right bus.
Things to do :
Zhujiajiao has historical sites and private gardens, which were designed and built between the Qing and Ming dynasties. Fangsheng Bridge, Kezhi Garden and Yuanjin Buddhist Shrine are the most famous among them.
Bei Dajie (North Street):
North Street is the best preserved ancient street with some of the buildings date to the Qing Dynasty era (1644-1912).
There are plenty of restaurants, bars and coffee shops line both sides of the narrow street.
Fangsheng Bridge
Fangsheng Bridge is one of the main attractions among the ancient 36 stone bridges, some only one yard wide. It was built in 1812 and is said to be the largest stone arch bridge in Shanghai, resting on five arches, about 70 meters long, and 5.8 meters tall. One way to see the bridges is to go by boat; these small boats seat 5 adults or 6 children. The fare is about 80 RMB.
Zhujiajiao Cruise
Small gondolas can be seen everywhere in the town, and are a nice way to get a view of the town from the water. Each gondola can hold 6 people. There are two kinds of trip – short distance and long distance. The short distance trip takes passengers up and down the main canal, and the price is about 80 yuan/per boat for about 10 minutes. The Long distance cruise travel all over the town and back, and the price is 150 yuan/per boat. Tickets can be bought in the small wooden ticket booths. Docks you may take a boat trip: Fangsheng Bridge (放生桥), Kezhi Yuan (课植园) and the Town God Temple (城隍庙).
Our day trip to Zhujiajiao:
We took the bus from Pu'an Rd. There are few bus stops there and we were not sure which one is the right one, so we showed the name of the town in Chinese: 朱家角. we bought the tickets from a lady on the bus and paid 12¥. The drive took about an hour. The people on the bus were tourists from all around the world.
In Zhujiajiao, we took pictures of the bus station, so we could ask people how to come back.
We started walking. There are signs which tell you how to go, and when we got lost we asked people. We got to the town, walked around, took a Boat (the short trip) took a lot of photos and enjoyed the place.
We bought small glass statues of our Zodiac signs, and a small glass statue for the new year - Rooster.
We walked back to the bus station, and from there back to Shanghai.