Xitang Water Town Tour from Shanghai 8 Hours, Shanghai (SHALC-12)

You will be in Xitang, the most romantic water town in China, two hours after leaving your hotel in Shanghai. Your insightful tour guide will entertain you during the car journey with his or her knowledge and anecdotes about Xitang and the ancient celebrities who used to live there.

You will start today's trip by cruising past Tangjianong Lane and Laifeng Bridge. Admiring the water town view from a river will allow you to build your first impressions of Xitang quickly and easily.

The 1,000-meter-long Yanyu Corridor is located near a river. There are over a hundred small shops in the roofed corridor, selling snacks and handcrafts, popular with tourists and local people alike.

The Yongning Bridge, stretching across the Xutang River, gives visitors the best vantage point for photos in Xitang. Hundreds of ancient houses are located on the south bank of the river. You can photograph all of them from Yongning Bridge.

Over 250 ancient wood carvings, including chairs, tables, window bars, and sculptures, are collected in this museum. They were formerly owned by rich merchants in Xitang. Most ancient houses in the South Yangtze River area were decorated by ornaments in the same style as these wooden works of art.

Chinese food always excites. The river food and local desserts in Xitang will quickly refresh you. Feel free to tell your guide what you would like to eat, as you may notice something that looks delicious during your sightseeing.

Unlike other ancient houses in Xitang, Ni House was the residence of ordinary people, not owned by rich merchants. The exquisite furniture in the house, however, tells you that even the common people in Xitang cared very much about quality of life.

The 68-meter-long Shipi Lane consists of 168 flagstones. More than 100 red lanterns hang on the walls of the narrow lane. That’s the most distinctive feature of a water town.

Tiles were an indispensable element of the roofs of ancient houses in China. Exhibits in the Tile Museum are tiles made in different ancient dynasties and styles, with different patterns such as animals, flowers or scenes from ancient stories. The oldest tile in the museum has a history of more than 1,000 years.

Do you think the roots of huge trees can serve as raw material for carving? The 500 masterworks in the Root Carving Museum of Xitang answers in the affirmative. Most roots used for carving already look like intriguing things, such as animals or buildings. Artists just paint and shape them to make them even more attractive.

Almost every water town is renowned for silk clothes, of which buttons form an indispensable part. In the Button Museum, visitors can not only admire buttons from all over the world, but also make buttons by themselves.

After the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel.