Zhujiajiao Ancient Water Town
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port
Shanghai, China
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activityLevel
Strenuous Activity
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excursionType
All
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wheelchairAccessible
No
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startingAtPrice
$140
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minimumAge
Information Not Currently Available
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duration
Approximately 7 Hours
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mealsIncluded
Meals included
A 90-minute drive brings you to Zhujiajiao, an ancient water town well known throughout the country for its history of more than 1,700 years. Covering an area of 18 square miles, the little fan-shaped town glimmers like a bright pearl in the landscape of lakes and mountains.
Upon arrival, follow your guide through the meandering alleyways to admire the stone and wooden structures known for their simplicity and elegance. Old bridges cross babbling streams, small rivers are shaded by willow trees, and houses with attached courtyards transport visitors from the hustle and bustle of the city into a world of antiquity, leisure and tranquility. The bridges dotted throughout the town are distinctive and old, built during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The Old Town is connected by no less than 36 delicate spans in different shapes and styles, from wood to stone and marble. Among them, the Fangsheng Bridge is the most famous. Built in 1571, the Fangsheng (Setting Fish Free) Bridge is the longest, largest and tallest stone bridge, with five openings both in Zhujiajiao and in the Shanghai region. On the bridge stand four stone lions and a stone tablet named the Dragon Gate Stone, which is engraved with eight coiling dragons encircling a shining pearl.
Continue to Daqingyouju -- a post office from the Qing Dynasty and the only remnant of its kind in Eastern China. Next up is the rice museum, which displays the whole process from sowing to harvesting of this crucial grain. Also on display are various types of rice.
After lunch at local restaurant, you will head back to Shanghai and return to the ship.