Xinshi Ancient Town, Deqing County

The new city is located in the east of Deqing county, in the Yangtze River Delta where beautiful water towns gather. How ignorant. But Wuzhen and Xitang, 30 kilometers to the east, have long been heard.

It only takes more than 2 hours to drive from Shanghai Hongkou District to Shenjiahang Expressway, with a total mileage of about 156 km. The specific way is to go to Central and then transfer to Humin Elevated Road, then to Xinzhuang, then to Shanghai-Kunming Expressway, then to G 15 southbound, and then to Shenjiahu Expressway. After the market practice, go to Hangzhou and leave at Tongxiang West/Heshan/Zhouquan/Xinshi Exit. Turn right into Chongxin Line before the toll station and Detong Highway interchange, go straight into Detong Line, drive along Detong Line, turn left into Huandong Road, turn right into Jiankang Road and turn left into Ningxia Road. In addition to Huandong Road and Jiankang Road, the road conditions are good except for potholes and poor markets.

The town is adjacent to the Grand Canal. In ancient times, it was the main road between north and south. Looking at the introduction of the town history museum, we can see that there are many celebrities from all walks of life in civil and military medicine, which is an outstanding place. The town is not small. There are many bustling shops in it. The ancient buildings in Xihekou Street are relatively concentrated and well preserved, which is worth visiting. But outside the Xijiang River estuary, a few more alleys will be modern buildings with no traces of history.

Because the town is not well known, there are not many tourists, mainly self-driving tourists in twos and threes. There are few groups, so the guide's horn can only be heard once here. The development of Wuzhen and Zhouzhuang has been quite in-depth, but the new town gives people the impression that it is just a living town, without the hustle and bustle of scenic spots and commercial atmosphere. Shops along the street are not exclusively for tourists. Tourists are the ornament here, and all things are mainly residents.

From the Town History Museum to the end of Juehai Temple, once you cross the bridge and walk down the alley, you will see another scene. Sometimes I stop at the porch and listen to the sound of electric scissors coming from barbershops along the street (I found that there are quite a few barbershops in the ancient town, and the business is very good, and the sound of electric scissors is endless). Sometimes I walk in the street and look at those old houses with white walls, black tiles and dark brown wood components. The aroma of tea cakes wafts into my nose from time to time. There are not many pedestrians in the town, but there are many domestic dogs. From time to time, I will meet a town that seems to remind tourists that the town here is still a town of residents.

Everywhere I go, I don't eat some local specialties, as if I have never been there. Fortunately, there is no shortage of such places to eat everywhere. The time-honored brand in town is Zhang Yipin. As soon as I entered the door, I saw a big pot of steaming signature mutton on the dining table. Of course, there are other things besides mutton. I ordered six courses, and it was only 150. There are many left for two people. The local tea cake is another feature, with meat stuffing and bean paste stuffing, and glutinous rice wrapped in jiaozi leaves at the bottom. It's best to steam it out and eat it while it's hot.

As a matter of fact, visiting this town is free. A ticket of 50 yuan is only enough for you to visit a few small temples and exhibition halls, and it doesn't matter if you don't look at it. During the May Day holiday, you can avoid the crowds, which is a good place to discover the charm of this ancient and quiet water town.