Xitang is in Jiashan County, Zhejiang Province and Xitang is 110km away from Hangzhou on the west. Xitang is an ancient town still well preserved. During the Tang Dynasty (713-741), there appeared some villages. For the successive dynasties,it was expanded into a large village area. It features flat terrain, crisscrossed rivers, many bridges, lanes and ceilinged corridors. Another attracion of Xitang is the ancient architecture which was well-preserved from the Ming and Qing Dynasty. There are totally about 120 lanes of all sizes.
Xitang is famous for its bridges, running water, lanes, and ceilinged corridors. There are 104 bridges of varied structure, all built from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, some resembling rainbows over the river, and others like long flutes. Many of the shops and houses in Xitang are constructed on the riversides. There are 122 lanes all together, long and short, wide and narrow. The lanes are paved with stone planks, polished by the feet of pedestrians as well as hundreds of years of weathering.
Xitang is also impressive due to the easygoing lifestyle that local residents have followed for thousands of years. Different from the towns of Zhouzhuang and Wuzhen, Xitang is not a busy place. Local people in the town live ordinary, calm lives. The elderly play with their grandchildren on bridges and in lanes, and women wash vegetables and clothes in the rivers running beside their houses.
Travel Tips:
To go to Xitang, first take a train or bus from Shanghai or Hangzhou to Jiashan. In Jiashan, there is a bus leaving every five minutes for Xitang, a distance of about ten kilometers.
Xitang is famous for its bridges, running water, lanes, and ceilinged corridors. There are 104 bridges of varied structure, all built from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, some resembling rainbows over the river, and others like long flutes. Many of the shops and houses in Xitang are constructed on the riversides. There are 122 lanes all together, long and short, wide and narrow. The lanes are paved with stone planks, polished by the feet of pedestrians as well as hundreds of years of weathering.
Xitang is also impressive due to the easygoing lifestyle that local residents have followed for thousands of years. Different from the towns of Zhouzhuang and Wuzhen, Xitang is not a busy place. Local people in the town live ordinary, calm lives. The elderly play with their grandchildren on bridges and in lanes, and women wash vegetables and clothes in the rivers running beside their houses.
