When it comes to the ancient towns in Zhejiang, most people think of Wuzhen and Xitang in Jiaxing and Nanxun in Huzhou, while the ancient towns in Hangzhou are generally not well-known. Tangqi Ancient Town is located in the northern part of Hangzhou, and compared to the six ancient towns in the south of the Yangtze River, it has not yet been fully commercialized.

Tangqi is a standard water town, a Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal runs through the entire ancient town, most of the streets are built along the river, built in the eaves, all over the town, is the "corridor eaves street". On the riverside side of Lang Eaves Street, there is a row of wooden benches called "Beauty Lean", which has a very distinctive appearance and is used for pedestrians to stop and rest.

Guangji Bridge is the image representative of Tangqi Ancient Town. Guangji Bridge is the only remaining seven-hole stone arch bridge on the ancient canal. According to legend, the Guangji Bridge was built in the Baoli period of the Tang Dynasty, and the bridge was destroyed in the Ming Dynasty, and then rebuilt in 1498. The horizontal bridge of Guangji Bridge is 78.7 meters long, with 80 steps in the north and south, and the top of the bridge can see the whole picture of the ancient town. Every 15th Lantern Festival of the first lunar month, in addition to eating Lantern Festival, welcoming lanterns, and guessing lantern riddles, there are also folk customs of carrying lanterns and walking on the bridge to pray for blessings in the ancient town, and tourists can feel the strong local culture.

In addition to the Guangji Bridge, there are also ruins such as Guo Pujing, Qianlong Imperial Monument, Qixi Lecture House Monument, Taishidi Lane, and Shuinan Temple in the ancient town. The Canal Ancient Warehouse Museum is the only museum in China with the theme of "barn". The museum is adjacent to the Guangji Bridge and is open to the public free of charge. There are two exhibition halls in the exhibition hall, which retain the complete imperial monument of the 16th year of Qianlong, showing some ancient agricultural tools and barns for different purposes.

Tourists who want to hang out or dine can go to Shuibei Street, which is also the liveliest place in the entire Tangqi Ancient Town. The streets are lined with shops that exhibit dining, souvenirs and handicrafts. As a street built on the Grand Canal, Shuibei Street used to be full of merchants, and now you can still see many old merchants here, such as Tangqi rice mill, incubator, etc., and the scenic spot has a certain value to visit.

There are many special snacks in Tangqi, and there is a local proverb that praises: "Fagen cake Huichang zongzi, rice and meat are fragrant and glutinous." The fine sand sheep's tail is fragrant and baked, and the duck is authentic. "Huichang dumplings, glutinous meatballs and fine sand sheep's tail are collectively known as the three famous snacks in Tangqi. Tangqi is rich in loquats, and every year in May, the ancient town will also hold a "gourmet loquat festival", and tourists can also buy such specialties as souvenirs.

Tangqi Ancient Town is not big, and it can be completed in about two hours. In Hangzhou, Tangqi Ancient Town is often compared to Longmen Ancient Town. Longmen Ancient Town preserves a relatively complete ancient building complex of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and temple fairs are held in the town from time to time, but some attractions need to be charged. Longmen Ancient Town has a low degree of development, and the environment has not been well planned and maintained, if you want to experience the ancient town style in Hangzhou, it is recommended to choose Tangqi Ancient Town.

Admission: Free

Recommended length of play: 1 day