Jiading Town　嘉定古镇

Jiading town is in the northwest direction and about 32 km away from Shanghai, and it is reputed as the satellite town of science and culture. It is an old city with a history of 800 years, very rich in culture. The streets and lanes, local residences, old bridges, stone-slab passages, etc. are still emitting the past brilliance.

Jiading is a place that has been producing outstanding people and gathering talented people.

According to some archival records, 192 Jinshi came forth in Jiading, including 3 Zhuangyuan Wang Jingming, Qin Dacheng, and Xu Fu of the Qing Dynasty. And in modern times, eminent educators Shen Enfu, Yang Weiyu, Liao Shicheng, Gu Shuseng, Pu Tongxiu, etc. and world-famous diplomats Gu Weijun, Qian Qichen, Wu Xueqian, etc. were also from this town. As a result, Jiading enjoys the reputation of Hometown of Diplomats.

Ever since the ancient times, Jiading has been a well-known land rich in agricultural products. Besides rice, wheat and cotton, Jiading produces white beans, garlic, water melons, grapes, strawberries, edible mushrooms, and other economic crops, and high-quality fishes and shrimps, turtles, pigeons, ostriches, clam pearls, etc.

When tourists come to Jiading Town, what catches their first sight is a square, seven-story pagoda, named Fahua or Jinsha Pagoda, which was built in the Kaixi Period (1205-07) of the South Song Dynasty. The Pagoda, 40.8 m in height, is in brick-and-wood structure. It used to be the highest building and the symbol of Jiading. And it is now a unit of cultural relics under municipal protection in Shanghai. If the tourist should be interested, he could climb to the top floor of the pagoda, taking a panoramic view of the old town.

At one section of Jiading Town, there are also the well-known Confucian Temple, Huilongtan Park, Qiuxia Garden (the three are also introduced in this book), as well as the newly built Ziteng Park and Bole Plaza. All these places are worth the visit.

In the old town, tourists are likely to enjoy a strong flavor of traditional folk customs: white walls and black tiles, houses between the street and the river, small bridges with water flowing under, and meandering water passages. All these embody the specialty of the water region south of the Changjiang River. At present, the old town has established a business section for shopping. Of all the souvenirs, the well-known bamboo carving is specially worth buying, which is a typical representative of Jiading handicrafts. The bamboo carving began in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. Products include pen containers, brush pots, images carved on the hard bamboo roots, etc. One more kind of souvenir is daily articles woven of yellow straws, a kind of natural raw material that is abundant in Jiading. Both souvenirs are very popular among domestic and foreign tourists.

Address: Jiading Town, Jiading District