新场古镇

Located in Pudong New Area, Xinchang Ancient Town has a naming history of more than 800 years. In ancient times, it was a prosperous salt yard and salt market, and now a large number of architectures of the Ming and Qing Dynasties are still well preserved. Though Xinchang is over 40 kilometers away from the downtown area, it is quieter and more unspoiled compared with other ancient towns in Shanghai, without excessive commercialization, making it a typical Jiangnan ancient town full of authentic daily life atmosphere. Xinchang Ancient Town is not large. A long narrow old street, several water alleys and small lanes basically make up the whole ancient town. Along the narrow rivers inside the town stand rows of old-style dwellings with white walls and black tiles. Wandering on the flagstone path of the old street, crossing stone arch bridges carved with exquisite patterns, walking past the weathered mottled stone memorial archways, you can feel the charm of precipitated years everywhere. Similar to other ancient towns, Xinchang Ancient Town also has various local snacks, such as stinky tofu, flat cake, Xiasha shaomai and so on. However, there are no full-street shops or huge crowds of people here. Besides snack shops and handicraft stores, you can also find quiet cafes, traditional barbershops, grocery stores, as well as local elders sitting by the wall, reading newspapers and enjoying the sunshine. There are also many historic sites in the ancient town, such as the four-entry courtyard "Zhang's Residence" built in the late Qing Dynasty, the No.1 Teahouse first constructed during the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty, as well as the Jesus Church, Dongyue Taoist Temple, China Copper Gong and Drum Art Museum, Xinchang History and Culture Exhibition Hall and other attractions. Some of these sites require tickets for entry. In fact, the rising popularity of Xinchang Ancient Town in recent years is largely due to director Ang Lee's film *Lust, Caution*. The scenes where Tang Wei and Wang Leehom stay in the teahouse, and where Tang Wei walks on the bridge were all shot here, you can also try to look for the exact spots that appeared in the movie.