2018 Zhaojialou Ancient Town One-Day Tour Guide

Zhaojialou Ancient Town is a relatively famous ancient town in the east of Shanghai. It has a very rich history. Many ancient buildings and traditional food are amazing and bring tourists spiritual insights. I will share them with you below. One-day tour guide to Zhaojialou Ancient Town in 2018.

Take the subway from Shanghai to Shendu Highway, transfer to Minhang Bus No. 10, and soon arrive at Zhaojialou, the ancient town in Jiangnan closest to the international metropolis.

Walking to the big archway with hexagonal eaves, Fan Zeng’s handwritten calligraphy of “Zhaojia Tower” with yellow characters on a red background becomes even more dazzling under the warm autumn sun.

Basic tourist information of Zhaojialou Ancient Town:

Ticket price of Zhaojialou Ancient Town: Free

Famous attractions in Zhaojialou Ancient Town: Liyuan Garden, Ye Guan< /p>

Highlights of Zhaojialou Ancient Town: The Building that teaches people to farm and reclaim wasteland

It turns out that the Zhaojialou area was the earliest land for farming and reclaiming wasteland in Shanghai. It is said that Tan Lun, the right minister of the Ministry of Industry in the Ming Dynasty, built a bell tower to encourage the villagers to get up early for farming. The people are diligent, the fields are abundant, and farming is valued with courtesy. This custom continues to this day.

Going right after entering the archway, you will see an alley paved with stone slabs that has been washed away. The arched stone gates and the hemp-yellow stone slabs are inlaid with regular and tight joints. You can't help but sigh at the progress of modern stonemason's stone cutting technology. Exquisite. However, without the traces of manual axe-cutting, I always feel that something is missing, which makes my heart feel cold. Fortunately, there is a row of red lanterns on the eaves, with the words "Zhaolou Renjia" written on them, which adds a little warmth to the alley, and my mood becomes much warmer.

Going out of the alley is Baoen Bridge. Standing at the head of the bridge, you can have a panoramic view of the water town scenery, but you can see willow silk hanging down the river, white walls and black tiles on both sides of the river, and people living on the water for miles! You can especially see a few white walls, separated by several houses, and a streamlined blue tile with Chinese characters along the wall. As elegant as cursive script, this is the famous "horse-riding wall".

The "Horse Riding Wall" is also known as the "Wind and Fire Wall", a typical Huizhou architectural style. In ancient times, Huizhou merchants did business abroad all the year round. May you be safe!"

The woman took care of the housework at home and took care of the old, weak and young children. Her longing was beyond words: "The lotus seeds have bloomed but they haven't been seen yet. It is said that Lang is in Fenghuang Mountain." So she built a high wall. It is safe from thieves and fire. I couldn't help but marvel at the wisdom of Huizhou merchants, who were so artful at guarding against thieves!

While I was contemplating, a black-paneled boat rolled up the river. As the saying goes, "You can eat mountains if you rely on the mountains, and you can eat water if you rely on the water." The local people rely on a river and the scenery of the water towns along the river to carry tourists every day to earn extra money. This is a new model of "ritual farming". The couplets engraved on "Huifang" illustrate the prosperity of the cruise ship business in the water town: "The willow silk lifts the clothes of the beautiful woman, and the boat girl sings on the shining surface." The sound of oars and the blurred shadows, and the beautiful boat girl standing beside her, are very suspected of being a prostitute!< /p>

Under the small bridge, there is another long alley. At the entrance of the alley is a stone tablet: "Advocate etiquette, so that you can have enlightenment" and a slogan on the wall: "There are no good words in scolding, and no good punches in fighting." ", one elegance and one vulgarity complement each other, which can be regarded as an example of "ritual farming".

At this moment, the autumn sun is shining high, and the alley is already noisy and lively. Various kinds of rice dumplings and rice cakes are placed on the tables, and the fragrant glutinous fragrance attracts tourists to eat in the street.

Zhaolou has three treasures: Daqu mutton and braised shredded hooves, among which "Sister-in-law Gu's shredded hooves" is the most famous. I came there following the fragrance because of its name, and saw a beautiful woman about forty years old.

The color of the hooves on the desk is bright red, crispy and fragrant. There are many tourists around, and the business is booming. It is regarded as the "hoofless beauty" of Zhaolou. The rice dumplings are fragrant, the hooves are crispy and fragrant, the scenery is delicious, and it’s a foodie’s paradise!

Tourist comments:

The first time I went there five years ago, I thought it was an ancient town with little distinctive features. The scenery is average, with both ends occupied by various small shops or stalls. The "standard" snacks in domestic ancient towns, such as stinky tofu, Youdunzi, Caotou pancake, etc., are also available here. They are not expensive and taste good. Of course, Xiasha Shaomai and Salted Hoof are probably the specialties here. I went there again during the National Day holiday. The transportation is more convenient than before. There is a direct bus after getting off the Shendu Highway Station on Metro Line 8. There are so many people on holidays that it is difficult to walk. During lunch time, you have to wait for a table in most restaurants, including roadside wonton stalls. Naturally, the prices of things have gone up a bit, but not to an exaggerated degree.

I don’t know why Xinchang Ancient Town is not heavily promoted. Could it be that “the aroma of wine is not afraid of the depth of the alley”.

Unlike the "Zhaolou Ancient Town" near my home, it was in dilapidated condition ten years ago, with basically no remaining historic sites. It was just an ordinary village, with no trace of an ancient town at all. Later, in order to cooperate with the World Expo, it was developed and suddenly became a famous ancient town. It is really crowded and lively during holidays. I think the building is too new and grand. The charm of the Jiangnan water town is still there, but it has completely lost its original local flavor. Maybe it will be worthy of its name in a hundred years, O(∩_∩)O ha!

In general, you can visit "Zhaolou Ancient Town". The key is convenient transportation. Take Metro Line 8 to the end of "Shendu Highway Station", and then change to No. 175 or Minhang No. 10 All went to "Zhaolou Ancient Town".