Jinze Ancient Water Town

Written by Ruru Zhou Updated Sep. 1, 2021

Jinze Water Town, built in Song Dynasty (960-1279), has a long history with more than 1,000 years. It is famous for its canals, bridges and old architectures and it teems with rice, which is a typical water town in Jiangnan.

Located in the southeast of Qingpu District, Shanghai, there are lots of small lakes in Jinze and a river flowing through the town, full of fishes.

Why We Recommend Jinze

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Jinze Water Town is a typical small town in Jiangnan of China. If you like water town and want to know the southern culture of China, Jinze is a good choice for you. You can appreciate the beautiful natural scenery and taste delicious fishes and rice. And you will get a surprise if you are interested in ancient building and bridges.

Most visitors don’t know Jinze. So, it is untouched by tourism. But there are well-established facilities in the town.

What’s more, it is the only town near Shanghai to boat on your own. If you want to boat by yourself, the boatman will teach you if you create a tour with China Travel. And of course you can just sit in a boat to enjoy the beautiful scenery on banks.

Explore the Highlights

The following 11 highlights of Qibao are highly recommended.

1. Yihao Temple

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It was built in Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). And it had a huge scale in Yuan and Ming dynasty. So Jinze was regarded as one of the Buddhist shrines, more famous than Linyin Temple of Hangzhou at that time. It is the cultural relic unit now. If you want to enjoy the Buddhist culture and visit the ancient temple, Yihao Temple is a good choice.

2. Ancient Bridges

Jinze is famous for bridges. There were 42 famous bridges but only 9 can be seen now. The oldest bridge dates from the Song Dynasty (960-1279). It has many ancient bridges built in Song, Ming and Qing Dynasty of ancient China.

3. Puji Bridge

Puji Bridge, built in Song Dynasty is a typical stone arch bridge of Song Dynasty, similar to Zhaozhou Bridge in Hebei Province. It was called “Shanghai’s First Bridge”. It became the cultural relic unit in 1987.

4. Fangsheng Bridge

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Fangsheng Bridge was built in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), located in the south of the town. It was named Fangsheng, because the river under it is called Fangsheng River. And it is also called Zongguan Bridge because the Zongguan Temple stands beside it. The bridge was made of granite and kept in good repair and it still works now. It became the cultural relic unit in 1994.

5. Tianhuangge Bridge

Tianhuangge Bridge was built in Ming Dynasty, located in Xiatang Street. It is a stone arch bridge. It is convenient to ship and flood discharge. And it became cultural relic unit in 1994.

6. Tahui Bridge

Tahui Bridge was built in Ming Dynasty, located in Shangtang Street, the center of the town. As time goes by, the bridge has been repaired for several times. The stone arch bridge becomes a cement bridge regrettably.

7. Linlao Bridge

Linlao Bridge was built in Yuan Dynasty, located in the north of the town. It was kept in good repair in Ming and Qing Dynasty so it is undamaged. There is a Guandi Temple beside Linlao Bridge so the bridge is also called Guandi Bridge. The bridge has a long history more than 600 years with many touching stories. It became cultural relic unit in 1994.

8. Ruyi Bridge

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Ruyi Brideg was built in Yuan Dyansty. It is also a stone arch bridge. It is also called Zushi Bridge because the Zushi Temple located beside the bridge. Many patterns are carved on it, such as Long and Ruyi. It became the cultural relic unit in 1994.

9. Wan’an Bridge

Wan’an Bridge was built in Song Dynasty, located in the north of the town. It is a stone arch bridge. There was a pavilion on the bridge in history, and it was the best one among the 42 bridges in Jinze Water Town. It became the cultural relic unit in 1959.

10. Yingxiang Bridge

Yingxiang Bridge was built in Yuan Dynasty, located in the south of the town. It is made of brick and wood. The ingenious design of the bridge was much more scientific than that of the west at that time. It became the cultural relic unit in 1979.

11. Puqing Bridge

Puqing Bridge is built in 1999. It is new but it is also very famous. Because it is the imitation of the ancient bridge of Song Dynasty in ancient construction method, showing the ancient’s wisdom on building bridge.

How to Get to Jinze

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  • Bus:

    You can arrive at Jinze Water Town directly from two bus stations, Bus Station of Qingpu District and Zhujiajiao Bus Station. Both of them just need about half an hour.

  • Self-driving:

    You can drive Shangfhai-Chengdu Expressway. There is an exit in Jinze. It is 66 kilometers far from the downtown of Shanghai.

Best Time to Visit Jinze

There are mainly human landscapes so you can visit Jinze all year round. But spring and autumn are better considering the weather. It is not cold in spring and very cool in autumn. However, it is very cold and dry in winter and moist in summer.

  • Admission Fee: Free

Accommodation

Some hotels are well equipped with modern facilities in Jinze Water Town. If you want more comfortable place, you can drive to Qingpu District with a distance of 22 kilometers. And you can also go back to Shanghai urban district with a distance of 66 kilometers. You can find a comfortable hotel to have a good rest certainly. But we recommend you stay nights in Shanghai city.

Food in Jinze

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Hairy Crab

As a typical water town full of fishes and rice, the most attractive foods of Jinze Water Town are aquatic products. Jinze has a water area of more 1,600 acres, with 62 kinds of aquatic products. Many specialties of Jinze are both nourishing and hygeian. Among the specialties, turtle, squid, hairy crabs, whitebait and ricefield eel are particularly precious. They are very delicious and nourishing.

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