Zhujiajiao: the water town, honestly

Zhujiajiao is the closest of Shanghai’s classical water towns and reachable on metro line 17 for about ¥6. That accessibility is both the best and worst thing about it.

At its best — early, quiet, misty over the canals — it is genuinely lovely. At midday on a Saturday it is a corridor of elbow-to-elbow visitors and souvenir shops. The difference is about four hours of timing.

Getting there and in

Metro line 17 to Zhujiajiao station, about an hour from Hongqiao. Then a short walk or a pedicab to the old town.

The old town has an entry ticket covering the main sites. Walking the canals and streets themselves costs nothing unless you go into specific buildings.

The timing rule

Arrive before 9am on a weekday. By then you get the town before the tour buses arrive from downtown Shanghai.

By 11am the main Bridge Street is full. By 2pm it is unpleasant. By 5pm most people have left and it is pleasant again — an argument for arriving late and staying for dusk.

How to escape the crowd

Step off the main Stone Bridge street onto any side lane. Ninety percent of visitors never leave the central 400 metres, and two streets back you can have a canal entirely to yourself.

The northern end near the temple is quieter than the southern entrance.

What to eat

Zongzi — sticky rice parcels wrapped in reed leaves — are the local speciality and sold everywhere, cooked fresh. Also lotus root, and the local aiyu jelly.

Have lunch on a side canal rather than on the main street and prices roughly halve.