ANCIENT WATER TOWN
XiTang is the ancient water town just two hours away from Shnaghai. This charming little canal town is a perfect place to spend a day wandering the narrow streets, crossing 1000-year old bridges and trying some of the local foods. And if you are Mission Impossible fan, this is the place where third installment of Ethan Hawk's adventures was filmed.
XiTang is located in Jiashan County, Zhejiang Province in Jiaxing City. The tours to visit are offered from both Shanghai and Hangzhou, and can cost up to a $100 per person for a day visit. To enter this water town, visitor have to pay 100CNY (cash or Chinese credit card only) and it allows you to roam the street and visit some historic homes and temples.
The town is dating back to at least Spring and Autumn period of China's history, but the current architecture is from a Ming and Qing Dynasties. The town has 104 of bridges and 122 ancient lanes connecting streets, waterways and houses. The long covered waterside walkways are where you will find little cute souvenirs and food shops.
XiTang is a perfect place to go back in time and spend a day away from all the concrete sky-rises and busy streets of Shanghai. It's should be on everyones list while visiting this part of China.