Qibao Ancient Town is a historic town close to downtown Shanghai, and Qibao Old Street is a famous tourist attraction in the ancient town. The architecture along the entire street exudes an ancient charm, rich in the architectural style of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Various snacks can be seen everywhere on the street, along with folk attractions such as Qibao Pawnshop, Distillery, and Cricket Pavilion, making it ideal for a leisurely stroll to experience the charm of a Jiangnan ancient town. Qibao Ancient Town has been a bustling market since the Northern Song Dynasty, and many of the old streets and alleys are remnants of the Song Dynasty. Most of the buildings along the old street are two-story structures imitating the Ming and Qing styles, with red walls, black tiles, white wooden doors and windows, and the elongated street surface paved with blue bricks and stone slabs, full of charm. Qibao Old Street is divided into two sections by a river, with North Street mainly featuring various shops selling handicrafts, accessories, antique calligraphy and paintings, as well as attractions like Cotton Weaving Workshop and Zhang Chongren Memorial Hall. South Street is primarily known for its specialty foods, including stinky tofu, meat skewers, zongzi, Euryale seed cake, and braised pork hocks. Qibao Old Street also has many interesting small attractions, such as the Old Professions, Pawnshop, Cotton Weaving Museum, where there are wax figures and realistic scenes, and you can also visit the Shadow Puppet Art Museum to watch a shadow puppet show. In addition, there are attractions such as Zhang Chongren Memorial Hall, Cricket Pavilion, Zhou’s Micro-carving Museum, Qibao Distillery, Bell Tower, and Qibao Temple. The opening hours are all year round, open all day, with specific business status subject to the actual opening conditions on the day. Service facilities include mobile phone charging: available at shops, stroller rental: available, wheelchair rental: available. Key tips: 1. Taste traditional specialty snacks such as soup dumplings, begonia cakes, stinky tofu, marinated chicken feet, pork hocks, and salt-baked quail eggs. 2. The roads in the old street are relatively narrow, so try to avoid traveling during holidays, especially during the Golden Week when it is crowded.
