Xinshi Ancient Town
新市古镇
A thousand-year-old water town on the Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal, the filming location of The Lin Family Shop and The Silkworm Flower Girl. This unspoiled, authentic water town serves Xinshi lamb and tea cakes as everyday local treats.
Xinshi Ancient Town lies in northeastern Deqing County, on the west bank of the Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal (Jiangnan Canal). It is about 45 km from Mogan Mountain and about 50 km from Hangzhou. The town has more than 1,700 years of history. It was an important market town on the canal in the Tang and Song dynasties, and in the Ming and Qing it was celebrated for its 'a thousand households lit up' and 'boats like a forest of masts.' Together with Wuzhen and Nanxun, it belongs to the Hang-Jia-Hu water-town region, but it has far fewer tourists and less commercialization. It preserves many Ming and Qing residences and 36 old bridges. In 1959, the films The Lin Family Shop and The Silkworm Flower Girl were shot here.
Highlights: Xihekou is the heart of the old town, with white walls and dark-tiled roofs built along the river, covered walkways connecting to the riverside steps, and Taiping Bridge and Zhuangyuan Bridge spanning the water. Juehai Temple is an ancient temple founded in the Tang dynasty, where the Silkworm Flower Temple Fair is held around Qingming, a living survival of Jiangnan sericulture culture. Also worth seeing are the former residence of Zhong Zhaolin, Liuwang Temple, the old-brand shops along Ming–Qing Street (tea cakes, lamb noodles, pickled duck), and Lu Xian Tower. The early-morning fish market and riverside teahouses best show the everyday life of the town.
Allow 2 to 3 hours. The town is walkable, and you can also take a hand-pushed boat (about RMB 50 per boat) along the Xihekou waterways to see the old bridges. The town is free to enter, while Juehai Temple and some residences charge about RMB 10 to 30.
Getting there: take a bus from Deqing Station or Huzhou Station to Xinshi. It is about 1 hour's drive from Hangzhou and about 50 minutes from Mogan Mountain town. It can be combined with Xiazhu Lake Wetland in a day trip.
Notes: dining is mostly at local small eateries. Xinshi lamb (in winter), tea cakes and xisha yangwei, a bean-paste pastry shaped like a lamb's tail, are must-tries. The town is quiet at night, and accommodation options are limited. During holidays, the Juehai Temple fair is crowded.
Opening hours
Open all day (shops approx. 08:00–18:00)
Nearby sights
- Xiazhu Lake Wetland
- Xiaoxi Street & Yishang Street
- Feiying Pagoda
- Discovery Adventures Moganshan
- Yucun Village (Moganshan Town)
- Naked Castle
- Naked Stables
- Moganshan Scenic Area