Anchang Ancient Town

安昌古镇

A river town in its original state, home to the Shaoxing "Mu Ye" advisors. Its three-li old street runs along the river, with cured sausage and braised duck hanging from the eaves. Among the least commercialized ancient towns in the Jiangnan region, it has seventeen old bridges and black wooden boats.

Anchang Ancient Town is about 25 kilometers northwest of Shaoxing's city center, in Keqiao District. It was first built in the Northern Song dynasty and became famous in the Ming and Qing dynasties for its "Mu Ye" (Shaoxing advisors, the scholar-secretaries who served as officials' aides). It is known as the hometown of the advisors and is one of the best-preserved water towns in Shaoxing. The town stretches along a three-li (about 1.5 kilometers) river. The north bank has an old shopping street covered by a corridor, and the south bank has residential houses. Seventeen stone bridges span the river, including Fuhong Bridge and Si Bridge, which date from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Women doing laundry at the riverside steps and black wooden boats gliding along are still part of daily life. Highlights include the Shaoxing Advisors Museum (the former residence of Lou Xintian, which tells the story of the advisor culture), the Anchang City God Temple, the Suikang Money Shop, and workshops on the old street (including a sauce house, wine brewing, barrel making and taffy-pulling demonstrations) and cured-meat shops. From December to January, the Laba Festival draws crowds. Households hang braised duck, cured sausage and cured fish to dry under the eaves, and the whole street is filled with red and black hanging meats, a favorite scene for photographers. Suggested route: walk west along the old street from the east entrance to the Advisors Museum, buy a sausage or Anchang tofu pudding, then take a black wooden boat (about 60 to 80 yuan per boat) to see the corridor from the water. The town is quiet in the evening, after the lanterns come on. The town is free to enter. A combined ticket for the Advisors Museum and other small sites costs about 50 yuan. Getting there: take Bus 118 or 316 from Shaoxing's old town to Anchang (about an hour). A taxi from Keqiao District takes about 20 minutes. Driving from Hangzhou takes about an hour. Tips: The town is not heavily commercialized, and dining is mostly at local family restaurants. For lunch, try Anchang cured sausage rice and braised duck. Weekends in the Laba season are busy but not overcrowded. Mosquitoes are common in summer.

Opening hours

Open all day (shops approx. 08:00–18:00; extended during the lunar 12th month)

Water towns · Cured meats · Shiye advisers · Photography

Nearby sights

Places to eat nearby

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