Water town
Zhujiajiao Ancient Town
Chinese name
朱家角
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Zhujiajiao is an ancient water town in Shanghai's western Qingpu District, situated along the waterways feeding into Dianshan Lake. Settled during the Song and Yuan dynasties and established as a prosperous market town in the Ming Dynasty, it flourished for centuries as a major regional trading hub for rice, cloth, and salt.
Canals weave through the town, crossed by dozens of historic stone bridges and lined with whitewashed houses, black-tiled roofs, and narrow flagstone alleyways such as North Street. The town's central landmark is Fangsheng Bridge, a five-arch stone bridge spanning the Caogang River, originally constructed in 1571 and rebuilt in the early nineteenth century. Traditional wooden sculling boats carry passengers along the waterways past riverside teahouses and residential courtyards with private docks.
Notable sights inside the town include Kezhi Garden, an expansive early twentieth-century private garden that combines classical Chinese landscaping with subtle Western architectural details, featuring rockeries, lotus ponds, and a multi-story viewing pavilion. Visitors can also explore the Great Qing Post Office, dating to 1903 and housing exhibits on imperial postal routes, as well as the riverside Yuanjin Buddhist Temple and centuries-old shops selling regional snacks like braised pork wrapped in reed leaves and freshly pounded rice cakes.
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