Zhouzhuang and Jinxi Water Towns
- Elizabeth Hamstra
- 21 sep 2025
- 2 minuten om te lezen
Practical information
This is a perfect day trip from Shanghai. The drive is not particularly long, but I would recommend doing it by car. Even better is hiring a driver so you can enjoy the day.
There is no need to stay overnight. Leave Shanghai in the morning, spend the day exploring, and drive back in the late afternoon or early evening.
Zhouzhuang is the larger and more interesting of the two towns. We started there and spent most of our day exploring its canals, streets, and bridges. It is also a good place for lunch, and you will likely need several hours to see it properly.
Jinxi is much smaller and probably not a destination I would visit on its own. But if you are already in the area visiting Zhouzhuang, it is well worth adding to the itinerary. It has a quieter atmosphere and a lot of charm, making it a pleasant stop on the way back to Shanghai.
Zhouzhuang
In Zhouzhuang, my main recommendation would simply be to take your time and walk around. It is also definitely worth taking a boat ride. This is very easy to arrange: you buy a ticket at one of the ticket counters and get on. You can either pay a little extra for a private boat or buy a seat on a shared boat with other visitors.
Like most popular tourist destinations in China, there are plenty of souvenir shops, but there are also lots of other small stores to explore. We had some excellent fresh food during our visit and got the impression that most of the restaurants were perfectly decent.
To be honest, there is no complicated itinerary here. Just wander through the streets, take a boat ride, have lunch, stop somewhere for a coffee, and enjoy the atmosphere. We thought it was absolutely worth visiting.
Jinxi is smaller and more relaxed than Zhouzhuang. You can walk through most of it in a relatively short amount of time, but it is a pleasant place to wander around and soak up the atmosphere.
We ended our day trip at a teahouse by the water in Jinxi, where we sat for a while enjoying the peaceful surroundings and the view over the lake. It was a quiet and fitting way to end the day before heading back to Shanghai.
