Shipu Ancient Town

Shipu Ancient Town

Shipu Ancient Town is a cultural tourism attraction.

Shipu is a fishing port ancient town with over 600 years of history, located on the southern wing of the Yangtze River Delta economic center, along the central coast of Zhejiang Province, at the southern end of Shipu Port in Xiangshan County, Ningbo. Nestled against the mountain and facing the harbor, it covers a total land area of 119.5 square kilometers, including 176 coastal islets and reefs. The Shipu Fishing Port Ancient Town is unique and beautiful.

For generations, the people of Shipu have made their living from the sea, giving rise to a rich and diverse array of magical fishing culture and maritime traditions. Despite the passage of time, strolling through Shipu’s old streets still allows visitors to appreciate the architectural essence of the Ming and Qing dynasties and the enduring aura of fishing commerce. The main street of Shipu Fishing Port Ancient Town features enclosed and continuous spaces, with staircases that rise and twist, firewalls spanning alleys and streets, layer upon layer. It combines the quaint charm of Jiangnan water towns with the winding, ever-changing layout of a mountainous fishing harbor.

The Middle Street of Shipu Fishing Port Ancient Town is the most well-preserved, ancient, unique, and bustling commercial street, filled with a strong fishing merchant atmosphere. Built during the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty, although it has undergone several renovations, it retains its original appearance. Every stone slab, every brick and tile, and each barely discernible merchant sign tells the story of over 600 years of history. The street, paved with stone slabs and steps, is nestled into the mountainside. As you ascend the winding path, it is divided by five moon-gate-style firewalls in an orderly fashion, highlighting its distinctive character. Though less than 250 meters long, the street is lined with over 100 shops of all sizes, offering everything from mountain delicacies and seafood to silks and satins, money shops and pawnshops, opium dens and brothels, rare goods from north and south, as well as traditional Chinese and Western medicines. No wonder the local saying goes: “Stone steps of Middle Street are inlaid into the mountainside, five firewall gates hang in the sky, shops and stores densely packed, welcoming hundreds of boats from front and back.”

Shipu Ancient Town has four well-preserved streets — Bowl Row Street, Fujian Street, Middle Street, and Back Street — totaling 1,670 meters in length, forming the quaint old streets of Shipu.

Built along the mountain and facing the sea, Shipu Ancient Town is known as “the city on the harbor, the mountain within the city.” One end connects to the fishing harbor, while the other extends deep into the valley of Shipu Fishing Port Ancient Town. The city walls follow the undulating terrain of the mountain, with city gates built to match the landscape. Dominating the harbor from high ground is a major feature of Shipu Ancient Town, a “coastal defense stronghold.” The old houses are built in tiers, and the streets and alleys wind upward. If the fishing port ancient town is likened to a large tree, then the twelve newly developed exhibition halls along the old streets are the leaves growing on this tree.

Through the rustling leaves, distant history echoes in the ears of visitors.

The ancient town's streets crisscross, with rooftops arranged in pleasing disorder. Five weathered moon-gate-style firewalls stand in orderly sequence, serving as witnesses to history and storytellers of the years. This is where Cai Chusheng, Wang Renmei, Nie Er, and a group of over 30 others stayed while filming China’s first sound film and first internationally awarded movie, Song of the Fishermen. Here stands a 600-year-old ancient city wall; here are the cliff inscriptions left by Ming Dynasty soldiers resisting Japanese pirates; and here thrives the lively, bright, and fascinating fishing folk culture...

The profound fishing culture, the moving heritage of coastal defense culture, and the once-flourishing roots of fishing merchant culture are precious legacies left by ancestors to Shipu. These three cultures have been endowed with new tourism value here. Unbound by history or limited to Shipu alone, this is the beauty of the fishing port ancient town. Fourteen uniquely themed attractions are distributed along the main streets of the ancient town, each infused with new meaning.

Hongzhang Silk Shop: The lower floor mainly displays the prosperity of the former silk business, using a grand model of cargo unloading at the seaport dock to comprehensively reflect the thriving maritime silk trade in Shipu. The upper floor ingeniously showcases over 600 types and more than 1,000 “Chinese buttons” made of silk. From butterfly tokens of affection to floral full moons and symbols of wealth and honor, each vividly crafted Chinese frog button seems to reveal the tender, spring-like emotions of a young woman’s heart.

Yuansheng Money Shop: The lower floor replicates the setup of an ancient money shop, including accounting rooms, service counters, and vaults, authentically reflecting the operations of a traditional money shop.

The display theme, “Fun Tales Through the Lens of Money,” uses humorous caricatures and text to present the culture of money in a lighthearted and thought-provoking way, offering visitors a relaxing, memorable, and emotionally resonant experience.

Zai Xing Tobacco Shop: Functionally designed as a former opium den, the lower floor displays smoking paraphernalia and a commoner’s opium parlor; the upper floor shows scenes of poppy harvesting in the old days and an elegant opium lounge, reflecting the adverse effects of opium use from one perspective. The overall theme of the exhibit is “Beautiful Flowers, Deadly Traps,” serving as a warning to stay away from drugs and cherish life.

Shilang Mansion: Originally the residence of Yu Shiji, a five-dynasty high-ranking official and Vice Minister of Justice in the Ming Dynasty. In addition to showcasing Yu Shiji’s main achievements in office, it also offers a tangible understanding of the ancient official rank system through a complete display of Ming and Qing dynasty rank badges (embroidered motifs on the chest).

Asian Flying Man Museum: Built in commemoration of the extraordinary life of race car driver and stunt performer Kenny Ho (Ke Shouliang).

Dajie Pharmacy: Restored to its original appearance based on an old house, many items on display are original, vividly presenting the scene of an ancient traditional Chinese medicine shop, immersing visitors as if in the era of herb preparation and medical consultations. The dramatization of deer slaughtering for medicine is striking, and the old social norms of gender segregation are fully reflected in the “hanging-basket plaster,” allowing visitors to experience a different kind of “mansion-style” pharmaceutical culture.

Ocean Farming Museum: Showcasing the labor culture of fishermen, it uses real-life scenes to depict the techniques of fishing and crabbing, which is quite entertaining. It also displays fish bones from centuries ago alongside modern fishing, aquaculture, and seashells, making it one of the most distinctive attractions among the various exhibits. Additionally, there are temples worshipped by fishermen, pawnshops, and an art gallery displaying modern Shipu handicrafts, all uniquely charming and captivating. Other highlights include the trials of the harbor city, ocean farming, the barbican, and the Guan Yu Temple.