This is the most generic view of most of the ancient water towns in China with the canal or river and eye-catching old bridges and age-old buildings.
This photo was a great one where I clicked the ancient town and the airplane in the sky! It is a unique photo that is trying to say how the ancient people think something flying over their house carrying some of them!
This is also a noticeable cultural activity that I have seen in many places where the Chinese write own their good wishes to be filled but it is very difficult to understand how an atheist can wish for something or some supernatural power or maybe it is their age-old tradition and they love to write on these beautiful wooden pieces or maybe they are from the Buddhist followers I don't know either. And really thousands of such things make the surroundings beautiful and attract tourists.
If you know about the only tourist spot in China is the Great Wall of China or the Forbidden Kingdom of Tiananmen Square, then that is really a great mistake. And I was in such a mistake a few years ago before I watch some beautiful temples and some ancient water towns. And these water towns are here and there whole over China and it is one of the major tourist attractions Nowadays. And as a foreigner, any tourist spot is like a new exploration opportunity for me. And on my last Shanghai trip, I paid a visit to one of the most beautiful Water towns that still exist in China amid the great construction of skyscrapers and Industrialization!
Qibao is the only ancient water town in the Shanghai region which is more than 15 km away from the downtown and is directly accessible by the subway. As I come to know from the internet and from some colleagues that these water towns were the hub of people in the old days as boats were the best medium of transportation at that time. So, the towns situated beside such rivers or canals were more developed with numerous businesses and easy communication facilities. And now these areas are still remaining unchanged as the govt. wants to save this heritage and history.
I have also noticed one thing the resident of this area are also helping their govt. to protect these monumental buildings and the traditional activities in this area. It was like a small village beside a canal amidst the technological revolutions in lifestyle in one of the most advanced cities of China.
Almost at the entry, I can notice the abrupt changes in buildings as everywhere you can see the tall and multistoried buildings in Shanghai, but here I can't see such modern buildings anymore.
Also, the painting of these buildings is not as gorgeous as the modern paintings. Also, there were some smaller shops instead of the modern super shops in that area.
The use of wood is another noticeable thing in the area instead of using so much glass and metals for the outfit of the building or for the decoration or enhancing the beauty of the buildings.
This is the reality that time woods were the basic materials for all purposes to build the house and for almost every type of decoration and the necessary things for household activities.
After walking for a while I and my friend come to the canal of the water town.
Another piece of information, I want to share is that such water towns are also known as canal towns as the transportation and communications were totally dependent on the water way. And thus many canals were required for these purposes.
Finally, the iconic view of this smaller ancient water village of Shanghai, doesn't look like a little VENICE?
Being a Bangladeshi I know how the reviewing community is dependent on boats, especially during the rainy season. Even on the road of Dhaka city you can see some boats after heavy rain and many of the people use it throughout there. I just add the two points here with my country's water ways and smaller dingy boats!
After the iconic view to the main bridge, we planned to walk on that bridge also and on the way we see a lot of food stalls there.
These food stalls were temporary for the new tourists coming in the new year eve. But there are also a busiest food street which I will share later in the post.
Such food stalls are not common in cities but in Rural areas, I have seen many temporary shops on vans here. But these are special for the Spring festival.
It is similar to the Village fair in Bangladesh which is really a fantastic event to visit and explore some traditional things and eat some really native ones which are only available in those fairs.
I also saw some sports for the children to grab some gifts which are really an amazing seen for me in Shanghai city!
After the food area we enter through another way of the area. Though the area is not so big but there were some traditional shops selling some ancient types of things. As I have no idea and my friend and me both of us are not so good at Chinese language, we just explored.
We also see the smaller temple there which was closed now but it is a piece of beauty everywhere you can explore. And there are much bigger ones that I have explored on this trip which I will share in my later blogs.
We find that we were sideways and then enter the main bridge road and it was so crowdy and noisy. But people were enjoying themselves during this festival period.
I have seen some more beautiful buildings with festive looks on this road. Alos the surrounding people were enjoying their visit too much and the place has turned into a real festive place here.
And the view has changed from this way from the main bridge of the town both of the sides look more gorgeous and beautiful.
It was very difficult to stay longer on the bridge as so many people were passing it.
This panorama shot is taken from the bridge to show you the surrounding and the complete view. I think I should buy a 360 camera for such places in future photography though I am not a photographer!
I have taken a selfie to show you how the crowd was there in this smaller ancient water town!
We enter the food street which is the busiest one you can see. So many food shops and so many types of food there.
We have also taken some snacks and came out of the crowdy area as there was no relaxing opportunity in such a crowdy are to take the snacks properly!
We have seen some traditional herbs shops there and also some flower tees selling in that shop.
Also, some beautiful turtles were for sale but we didn't whether they were for eating or for keeping in the home aquarium!
And now we are leaving the area and we found ourselves quite far from the center of the town and taken some empty shots there.
Still, the effect of the ancient town is there on the side of the canal. It is a good idea to protect tradition and history which is an inspiring chapter for any nation.
And finally, we end up on my Qibao water town visit with an empty stomach but full of memory and full of happiness. After too much walking, the only thing left to eat and we went to nearby KFC for the rest and made the visit a 100% satisfactory one!
If you are visiting Shanghai or plan to visit and you have an interest in ancient China, then it can be a good place to spend some hours as it is very convenient to visit from anywhere in Shanghai city. I hope you will enjoy walking amid the Qibao ancient water town!
Thanks a lot for your time and attention in reading my long post. If you have queries regarding the spot please feel free to let me know in the comment section. I will catch you at the next.
Have a nice day!
