A thousand-year canal town an hour from the Bund, with a boat through the bridge arches
Zhujiajiao
1 day
09:00–16:30
★4.6 · 4,418 reviews
Operator Beijing Xiniu International Travel Service
Pick-up Your hotel in central Shanghai
01
The honest version
What the day is actually like
A private car out of the city and a slow afternoon in a canal town: garden, temple, stone street, then a sculling boat with nobody else in it.
Good for
Families and older travellers
A gentle first day after a long flight
Skip it if
Anyone expecting the Venice of the brochures — Zhujiajiao is a lived-in town with shops, not a film set.
Most people get this wrong
The boat seats six. Groups larger than that go in two boats, one behind the other, which is not the same experience.
02
Where the day starts and ends
All times are departure
Private car and guide collect you from any hotel inside Shanghai’s Outer Ring; start time can be moved
TimeStopLeg
09:00Hotel pick-upLobby of any hotel inside the Outer Ring; about an hour by roadStart
16:30Return to ShanghaiAbout an hour; ask for a drop at Hongqiao or anywhere centralReturn
Departs09:00Back in Shanghai16:30Pick-up Your hotel in central Shanghai
03
The day, to the minute
6 stops
Local time (GMT+8). As a private tour, order and start time can be adjusted.
09:00
Hotel pick-upPick-up
Lobby of any hotel inside the Outer Ring; about an hour by road
10:00
Arrive ZhujiajiaoSight
Enter past Fangsheng Bridge — five arches over the Cao Port river, built in 1571 and the town’s emblem
10:30
Kezhi Garden and Yuanjin TempleSight
Kezhi is a private garden mixing Jiangnan pavilions with a Western clock tower; Yuanjin is the town’s oldest temple, built against the canal
13:00
Lunch (own expense)Meal
Braised pork bundles, river fish and grandmother’s zongzi; Beida Street has the densest choice
14:00
Beida Street and the sculling boatSight
One of the best-preserved old streets in Shanghai, then a boat through the arches — six to a boat, included
16:30
Return to ShanghaiReturn
About an hour; ask for a drop at Hongqiao or anywhere central
Times are indicative — in peak season traffic and queues can push the day later.
04
Getting here by train
High-speed rail
The tour starts and ends in Shanghai. Most travellers arrive at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station — the pick-up loop is a short taxi or metro ride from the exits, and the tour returns you in time for an evening train. If you are coming from another city, check the direct high-speed trains and their first and last departures.
The town itself is free; you pay only for individual gardens. Kezhi is ¥20, the six-site combi is ¥60 — buy only what you want.
Beida Street is shoulder-to-shoulder at weekends and on holidays. Before 10:00 and after 16:00 are the two comfortable windows.
One boat seats six. Boats are allocated to your group size; a seventh person means a second boat at extra cost.
Everything is on foot and the stone flags get slick in rain — flat shoes.
Metro line 17 stops at Zhujiajiao, about 1.5 km from the old town: a bus or a 20-minute walk.
The private car removes all the transfers, and children love the boat. The streets are flat enough for a stroller.
06
Quick answers
Prices, hours and what is included
How much does a day trip from Shanghai to Zhujiajiao cost?
$135 per person on the group tour, or from $256 per vehicle for a private car with driver and guide. The group price includes the driver, guide and admission; the private price is for the whole vehicle, whatever the party size.
How long is the day?
It runs 09:00 to 16:30 — about 7.5 hours from pick-up to drop-off, including the drive. If you are catching a train or flight the same evening, book it for after 18:00.
Where does it start?
Your hotel in central Shanghai. Your driver and guide meet you there; the exact spot is confirmed the day before travel.
What is included in the price?
Private car and driver, Shanghai transfers; Mandarin-speaking guide throughout; Sculling boat, one boat for up to six.
What is not included?
Lunch; Six-site combi ticket ¥60 (optional).
How far ahead should I book?
Two days. We do not accept same-day or next-day bookings because the car, guide and admission have to be arranged in advance. Cancellation is free up to 7 days before the tour; inside that it steps to 20% (6–3 days) and 60% (2–1 days), and nothing is refunded on the day itself.
07
What visitors say
4,418 reviews
4.6
★★★★★
4,418 reviews for Zhujiajiao Ancient Town — the headline sight on this route, not this tour specifically
Ratings belong to the sight itself. We do not publish invented reviews for a route nobody has rated yet.
★★★★★Verified visitor · 2026-07-12
A big old town you can walk into for free — no ticket gate around the historic core, and the metro drops you right there. Canals, little bridges and whitewashed houses: the classic Jiangnan scene. The stretch around Fangsheng Bridge has the widest views and feels grandest. It is heavily commercialised — shops and farmhouse restaurants everywhere, and busy with visitors.
Very easy to reach on the metro. The best of it is North Street, Fangsheng Bridge and Kezhi Garden — a proper water town of bridges, white walls and dark tiles, boats drifting past and plenty of snacks. The place is beautifully lit at night as well.
Pleasant overall: part of it is genuinely old, part of it is modern commercial. Best enjoyed when it is not crowded. The shops do repeat the same things though — a bit more variety would make it better.
