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Qibao Ancient Town

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  • Qibao Ancient Town, Shanghai
    Qibao Ancient Town, Shanghai
  • A Water Lane
    A Water Lane
  • Chinese White Spirit
    Chinese White Spirit
  • A Local Flavor Street
    A Local Flavor Street
  • A Silk Shop
    A Silk Shop
  • A Tea House
    A Tea House
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Located in Minhang District, southwest of Shanghai, 1,000-year-old Qibao Ancient Town attracts visitors with its picturesque landscape and unique culture.

The history of Qibao dates back to the Jin Dynasty (265 - 420). Lu Ji and Lu Yun were famous literati of the Jin dynasty born in Huating, Wu County (current Songjiang District, Shanghai). Their descendents built a family temple to commemorate them after they died, and named it Lubao. During the Five Dynasties and Ten States Period (902 - 979), the temple was renamed Qibao Temple and was moved to the northern bank of Puhui Pond (today’s location). It was just a small temple for regular Buddhism activities until a local rich people extended it in the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279). Believers from nearby areas came to worship the Buddha and some just met friends in the temple, thus a small town was formed around the temple gradually and was therefore named Qibao Town.

In this classical water town of southern Yangtze River area, there are limpid rivers flowing along streets with stone arch bridges crossing over and old-style houses with white wall, red columns and high-flying roof piled with grey tiles. The town centers on the Qibao Old Street, which can be divided into the Southern Street featuring local snacks and the Northern Street with stores selling all kinds of antiques, art crafts, paintings, and calligraphy works. Recommended attractions in Qibao Town are the Qibao Temple, Qibao Liquor Shop, Weaving Factory, Cricket Exhibition Hall, Qibao Pawnshop, Zhou’s Miniature Engraving Shop, and Doumu Pavilion.

Qibao Town is also known for its unique culture of liquor and cricket. People living in the southern Yangtze River area are usually fond of Yellow Wine which is made of rice and taste gentle. However, the liquor produced in Qibao is made of cheap materials such as jowar, bran and cavings and tastes strong, which is usually preferred by the people living in north of China. That is because the land in Qibao area is not suitable to grow rice and the earliest residents in Qibao were migrants from north of China. Visitors can see how Qibao liquor is made in the Qibao Liquor Shop and have a taste of the local best wine Qibao Daqu. Cricket is another famous star of the town. Cricket fighting is part of Chinese folk culture. The crickets in Qibao Town were excellent fighters, so more and more people became involved with cricket raising, selling, and fighting. But why were there so many strong crickets in Qibao? It is said when the Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) visited Songjiang, the local officials collected many strong crickets to entertain the emperor. The man sending the crickets fell off his horse when passing by Qibao, so most crickets ran away and “settled down” in Qibao. Visitors can watch the crickets and interesting crickets fighting shows at the Cricket Exhibition Hall.

 Local Products: Pork Preserved with Rice Wine, Qibao Rice Cake, Qibao Mutton, Qibao Wine and spiced eggs. 
 Entrance Fee: Free
 Transportation:
A. Take Bus No. 91, 92, 92 B, 87, 513, 803, 748, 735, 753, 763, Xin-Ji Line, Xin-Bei Line, Xin-Hua Line, Nan-Jia Line, Nan-She Line, Si-Mei Line, Song-Long Line, Song-Mei Line,  Hu-Chen Line, Hu-Song Line, Hu-She-Kun Line, Shang-She Shuttle Line, Tourism Bus No.1A or Tourism Bus No. 1B and get off at Qibao stop;
B. Take Subway Line 1 to Shanghai Indoor Stadium Station and transfer to Bus No. 92, to Caobao Road Station and transfer to Bus No. 92 or 513, to Lianhua Road Station and transfer to Bus No. 753 or to Xinzhuang Station and transfer to Bus No. 763, Xin-Ji Line or Xin-Hua Line, and get off at Qibao stop;
C. Take Subway Line 9 and get off at Qibao station.

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