Imagine yourself in

Imagine yourself in the old world of the 江湖, the lakes and rivers, as you stroll along the narrow lanes of Zhujiajiao in western Shanghai, or more authentically, ride a gondola up and down its peaceful water streets. With snack and souvenir shops wherever the eye can see, this is village seems thoroughly transformed into a tourist trap, but look more closely and you can see locals still hang their laundry outside their ancient houses and plant vegetables along the river. I went on a holiday so it was predictably crowded, but except for the bottleneck of the main bridge, it wasn't too bad. I recommend going on a weekday if possible though. The surrounding new town of Zhujiajiao has some more reasonbly priced food but otherwise has little of interest to visitors; just come for the old town. Zhujiajiao is very easily accessible by taking line 17 of the Shanghai Metro to the penultimate station. The scenic area is a short walk from the metro station, or you can take a boat. #leaveyourmark #urbanexplorer #lightthecity #shanghai #tourist #boat #river #oldtown #historicallandmarks