Located in Jiashan County, Zhejiang Province, Xitang is a quintessential water town and one of the top ten water towns in the Jiangnan region. It is renowned for its “many bridges, many lanes, many covered corridors, and abundant waterways.” Compared to Wuzhen, it retains a stronger sense of everyday life with relatively restrained commercialization, making it one of the ancient towns that many people consider to be the “most authentic water town.” The town is crisscrossed by rivers laid out like a chessboard, and dense with ancient bridges, most of which are stone bridges from the Ming and Qing dynasties.
I hadn’t been to Xitang for many years. In my memory, it was an ancient town very friendly to young people, filled with numerous bars. Xitang charges admission during the day, but entry is free on weekdays after 5:00 PM and before 8:00 AM. So, I chose a hotel inside the ancient town and arrived to check in after 5:00 PM; everything went smoothly, and no one collected an entrance fee.
First, I took a stroll at night to enjoy the nightscape and had dinner along the way. Although Xitang’s night view isn’t as extravagant as some newly built ancient towns, it is still quite beautiful. However, since I visited in winter, the weather was rather cold, and there were fewer tourists.
There are many bars featuring live singers, mostly performing folk music. A huge number of touts solicit business at the doorways, which can be quite overwhelming. There are also some more upscale establishments with mascots standing at the entrance~~ But the majority are very casual folk music bars. At night, Xitang is predominantly populated by young people.
The next morning, daytime Xitang presented a completely different scene—it became a very traditional ancient town full of vibrant local life.
Overall, regarding Xitang, I would recommend planning your trip to enter for free in the evening and then casually explore during the following day. If you have to pay for an admission ticket, it doesn’t feel entirely worth it.
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