I was looking forward to visit Shanghai for a long time, overall to be able to take some pics of its skyscrapers. I spent a week there and, besides visiting the main spots in the city center, I wanted to explore some other parts of the surroundings. I got into China with a 144 h transit visa so I couldn’t go really far as there is some restrictions with this kind of visa. After a quick search and chatting with some friends I decided to visit a couple of the so called Water Towns: Qibao & Zhujiajiao.
Qibao is a small town which has been surrounded by the modern city. The good point is that reaching the town is pretty easy, you just need to take the subway line 9 and get off in Qibao Station.
There is several shops where you can get some snacks or just take a tea in front of the river. I went in the afternoon so I had the chance to take a few pictures as soon as the night fell.
Zhujiajiao, from my point of view, worth more a visit as it’s bigger and it more isolated from modern buildings. The drawback is that reaching there is a bit more complicated than Qibao, you can check here. I took the subway until Dongjing Station where I took a taxi as I wasn’t sure of the bus I was supposed to take. The way back is easier as the town has its own bus station (just be aware that there are different buses going to downtown Shanghai and some of them could take a few hours).
As I said, this town is bigger so it allows you to get out from the main path and looking for hidden spots away from more touristic areas.
I had read this city normally has many tourists around but I was lucky and it was a rainy day so it was almost empty. I would have proffered a good sunny day for the pics, but I recognize that the rain gives the town a more interesting atmosphere.
It has some museums and private ancient houses with gardens that worth a visit if you have enough time.
All pics here
Great photos and recommendations!
Gemma
The Style Collector
Thank you! 😉