Liantang Ancient Town

Liantang Ancient Town

Liantang Ancient Town is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

Liantang Ancient Town is located in Qingpu District, Shanghai. It was a renowned commercial hub in ancient Jiangnan and also the hometown of the proletarian revolutionary Comrade Chen Yun. The old street in the ancient town area lies on both sides of the town’s central river, with two flagstone paths facing each other across the water. “Tall houses, narrow lanes, and buildings facing each other across the street, with small bridges and flowing water by people's homes” form the unique landscape of Liantang. The residential houses along the streets feature double eaves and high ridges, while structures such as over-street buildings, river docks, covered corridors, secluded alleys, and deep courtyards give the ancient town a quaint, serene, and tranquil charm.

More than ten ancient bridges from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties spanning the town river are tucked among weeping willows, each with its own distinct style. Small wooden boats occasionally glide gently beneath them, while pedestrians walk above. Bridge shadows, boat shadows, house shadows, and human shadows all ripple on the gentle waves. The buildings on both banks present a striking contrast in architectural features: the Upper River Street mainly consists of continuous two-story houses, with street-facing entrances that were formerly shops, and back walls by the water, where upper floors were built for storage, sightseeing, and cooling off; the Lower River Street mostly comprises residential courtyards, with round gables, white walls, and black tiles, their front doors opening to the river. Yan’an School, located near Chen Yun’s former residence, still retains the layout of the academy where Chen Yun studied in his early years, including the school gate, corridors, screen walls, and small garden. The daily life of an authentic water town unfolds entirely along the riverside old street, and in the evening, you can even hear the Suzhou pingtan (storytelling and ballad singing), which Chen Yun loved most, drifting from inside the houses.

This place boasts a rich cultural history and abundant historical relics. On fine spring and autumn days, one may take wine and drift in a boat amid the clear waters and green mountains, peaceful woods, and slender bamboos, feeling completely detached from the mundane world. There are eight scenic spots: “Nine Peaks in Emerald Array,” “Sails on the Three Lakes,” “Temple Bell at Dawn,” “Western Scenery Beckoning Beauty,” “Ancient Temple in Daylight,” “Morning Brightness in the Round Pass,” “Sunset Glow at Mingyin,” and “Fishing Songs on Crane Pond.”

Address: Liantang Town, Qingpu District, Shanghai (near Zhujiajiao)

Type: Ancient Town / Ancient Village

Recommended Visit Duration: 2–3 hours

Opening Hours:

Open all day

Ticket Information:

Free entry to the ancient town (Chen Yun’s Former Residence ticket: 5 RMB/person)

Chen Yun (1905.06.13–1995.04.10) was a great proletarian revolutionary and statesman, an outstanding Marxist, one of the founders and pioneers of China’s socialist economic development, an outstanding leader of the Party and the country who had stood many tests, and an important member of both the first-generation central collective leadership of the Party with Comrade Mao Zedong at its core and the second-generation central collective leadership with Comrade Deng Xiaoping at its core.

Comrade Chen Yun began to take on leadership roles within the Party Central Committee in the early 1930s. He experienced our Party leading the people in revolution,... [More details about Chen Yun++]