Qibao Ancient Town

Not really ancient as everything seems to be a reconstruction of the old water town. Nevertheless, Qibao, the nearest river town to Shanghai, still made for a nice morning wandering. Upon exiting the subway, I was surprised with the enormous modern mall on the opposite side of the street. But like many ancient streets or towns in Chinese-speaking countries, Qibao is tucked somewhere amidst all the concrete. Indeed, after 10 minutes of following my google map, I espied the entrance and joined the crowds cramming the narrow streets.The river looked rural enough making me forget that about 500m away was the huge mall.I mostly made my way around eating and eating and eating. Qibao was small in sights but definitely big on food.

Getting ThereFrom the Nanjing East Rd station, I took Line 2 to Jing’an Temple. Transferred to Line 7 for Zhaojiabang Rd then another transfer to Line 9 for Qibao station. From Exit 1 took a left turn, crosed the street, turned right until the end, then left. The entrance is on the right side.The entire subway ride took about an hour.FeesNo entrance fees! The town is entirely free to enter. You will need to pay to get into some small museums, though.TipCome hungry! Time your visit with the puppet show at 1pm.