Zhejiang (浙江) · 25 places · 10 cities
25 places in Zhejiang, grouped by city. Under each one are two figures from the survey: how much daily life still goes on there, out of 100, and how far it has been turned over to visitors, out of 6.
Most common here: Old town (13), Historic street (5), Old quarter of a city (4). See all provinces, or the background on old towns.
4 places
Hangzhou (杭州)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Hangzhou Xiaohe Straight Street (杭州小河直街·桥西历史街区)A canal quarter of Hangzhou, restored warehouse-lane houses where locals still live above shops, beside an arch bridge recorded as the oldest surviving one on the Grand Canal, with three free industrial museums.Lived-in 84/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · very easy to reach | Historic street | Lived-in, quiet |
| Hangzhou Tangqi (杭州塘栖古镇)A 1,000-year-old canal town on the Grand Canal, 30 minutes from Hangzhou, with the Guangji Bridge (the only 7-arch stone bridge on the Grand Canal in Zhejiang, Ming dynasty), old water piers, and locals still living, making rice cakes, and drinking tea; less crowded than Xitang, very authentic.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · little known abroad · easy to reach | Old town | Thin on both |
| Hangzhou Xixing (杭州西兴古镇)A 1,100-year-old canal town on the Grand Canal in Hangzhou, once the starting point of the Xixing Canal (built by King Qian Liu of Wuyue, 910 AD), with old stone docks, canal-side houses, and locals still living and drinking tea; completely overshadowed by the nearby Alibaba headquarters, very authentic.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 1/6 · rarely visited from abroad · easy to reach | Old quarter of a city | Thin on both |
| Hangzhou Qinghefang (杭州清河坊·南宋御街)A restored old street in Hangzhou, a 1,000-meter restored Ming-Qing street on the site of the Southern Song dynasty imperial street, with the Huqingyutang Chinese medicine museum (1874), traditional food stalls, and tea houses; highly commercialized but adjacent lanes still have locals; best for first-time visitors to Hangzhou.Lived-in 66/100 · Commercialised 4/6 · known abroad · very easy to reach | Historic street | Visitor-facing |
4 places
Ningbo (宁波)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Ningbo Cicheng (宁波慈城古县城)An ancient county town listed as China’s best preserved, a 1,200-year-old grid of Confucian temple, county yamen, and examination halls, where locals still buy vegetables at the morning market and drink tea in century-old shops, completely off the foreign tourist radar.Lived-in 80/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, quiet |
| Ningbo Qiantong (宁波前童古村)A 700-year-old clan village where every house has a living water channel, the Tong clan still lives in 1,300 Ming-Qing houses, washing vegetables in the village’s ancient water system, with exquisite wood carvings on every door; almost no foreign tourists know this place.Lived-in 80/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Shipu Fishing Port (宁波石浦渔港)A 600-year-old fishing port on the East China Sea, credited with the oldest fishing port culture in Zhejiang, Ming-Qing stone houses built on hillsides, old fishing docks, and locals still fishing, drying seafood, and drinking tea; the opening ceremony of the China Fishing Festival is held here every September; completely different from inland water towns.Lived-in 80/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Ningbo Nantang (宁波南塘老街)A restored 1,200-meter Ming-Qing street in Ningbo, once the ‘South Tang’ commercial district, now a mix of traditional food stalls, old brands, and some residences; locals still eat Ningbo tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) and seafood here; the usual place to eat Ningbo food in the city centre.Lived-in 68/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · easy to reach | Historic street | Thin on both |
3 places
Jiaxing (嘉兴)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Xitang Ancient Town (西塘古镇)Famous for its 1,000-meter covered ‘langpeng’ corridors and 122 hidden alleys, the main streets are touristy, but before 8 AM locals still buy vegetables and eat breakfast by the river before tour groups arrive.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 5/6 · known abroad · easy to reach | Old town | Visitor-facing |
| Jiaxing Yuehe (嘉兴月河历史街区)A restored Ming-Qing canal district in Jiaxing city center, with old stone bridges, rice wine shops, zongzi (sticky rice dumpling) museums, and flower/bird markets; locals still drink rice wine and play chess here, far less commercialized than Wuzhen.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · little known abroad · easy to reach | Old quarter of a city | Thin on both |
| Jiaxing Yanguan (嘉兴盐官古城)A 2,200-year-old walled town on the Qiantang River, famous for the world’s largest tidal bore (the ‘Silver Dragon’ tide, up to 9 meters high), with the old city wall, Haishen Temple (Sea God Temple, Qing dynasty), and locals still living; a standard place to watch the Qiantang tidal bore, very authentic.Lived-in 68/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · easy to reach | Old town | Thin on both |
2 places
Huzhou (湖州)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Deqing Xinshi Ancient Town (德清新市古镇)A 1,700-year-old canal town where locals still drink rice wine with lamb noodles at 5:30 AM, free entry, no chain stores, and lamb noodles people come from elsewhere for.Lived-in 86/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Nanxun Ancient Town (南浔古镇)The only Jiangnan water town where wealthy 19th-century silk merchants built Romanesque villas beside Ming dynasty courtyards, and the northern Baijianlou quarter still has locals washing at the river.Lived-in 76/100 · Commercialised 4/6 · known abroad · easy to reach | Old town | Lived-in, busy |
2 places
Jinhua (金华)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Jinhua Ancient City (金华古子城)Properly lived in: people buy groceries and drink tea here daily. The Taiping Rebellion prince’s residence is described as the most complete building of that period anywhere. Jinhua ham is made in the surrounding county.Lived-in 76/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · easy to reach | Old quarter of a city | Lived-in, quiet |
| Jinhua Fotang (金华佛堂古镇)A 1,000-year-old commercial town on the Wu River, near Yiwu (known as the world’s small commodity capital), once called the “little Shanghai” of central Zhejiang, with a timber-framed arcade street (qilou) recorded as the oldest in Zhejiang, old docks, and locals still living, doing business, and drinking tea; surprisingly authentic despite being near Yiwu.Lived-in 72/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
2 places
Lishui (丽水)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Songyang Old Street (松阳老街)Called ‘a county-level specimen of classical China’ by National Geographic, this 1,000-year-old street has 100-year-old herb shops, barbershops, and tea houses still run by locals, with a bustling morning market and zero tourist shops.Lived-in 82/100 · Commercialised 1/6 · rarely visited from abroad · hard to reach | Historic street | Lived-in, quiet |
| Lishui Guyan Huaxiang (丽水古堰画乡)A 1,500-year-old irrigation town on the Ou River, with the Tongji Weir (built 505 AD, Liang dynasty, one of China’s three ancient irrigation systems, still in use), ancient camphor trees, painting villages, and locals still farming and painting.Lived-in 66/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · little known abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Thin on both |
2 places
Quzhou (衢州)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Quzhou Nianbadu (衢州廿八都古镇)A remote mountain town on the ancient Xianxia Post Road where Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi meet, 140 surnames, 13 dialects, and Ming-Qing merchant houses with Fujian-style curved roofs, where locals still speak a dialect nobody outside the valley understands.Lived-in 80/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · rarely visited from abroad · hard to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Quzhou Shuitingmen (衢州水亭门·北门街)The historic west gate of Quzhou on the Qiantang River, with the Ming dynasty city wall, old docks, the Tianwang Tower (Tang dynasty), and locals still living and eating Quzhou hot pot (the spiciest food in Zhejiang), with a vibrant night market.Lived-in 68/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · rarely visited from abroad · easy to reach | Old quarter of a city | Thin on both |
2 places
Shaoxing (绍兴)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Shaoxing Old City (绍兴老城历史街区群)Where 800 families still live above stone-paved lanes beside canals. This is the real Jiangnan, not a stage set.Lived-in 88/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · known abroad · easy to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, busy |
| Anchang Ancient Town (安昌古镇)Every winter the river promenade hangs with thousands of wax-cured sausages and soy-sauce ducks made by local families. This is A working water town, famous for soy sauce and Shaoxing ‘master secretaries’.Lived-in 84/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · easy to reach | Old town | Lived-in, busy |
2 places
Taizhou (台州)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Linhai Taizhou Prefecture City (临海台州府城·紫阳街)A 1,700-year-old prefecture city where 28,000 locals still live inside the walls, eat seaweed cakes at 7 AM before any tourist arrives.Lived-in 86/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · easy to reach | Walled city | Lived-in, busy |
| Taizhou Shitang (台州石塘镇)A 600-year-old fishing town on the East China Sea, called the “Oriental Paris of the Sea”, with stone houses built on hillsides in a style described as the most distinctive in China, old fishing ports, and locals still fishing, drying seafood, and praying to Mazu; reported as the first place in mainland China to see the New Year’s sunrise.Lived-in 74/100 · Commercialised 2/6 · rarely visited from abroad · hard to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
2 places
Wenzhou (温州)
| Place | Kind | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Wenzhou Furong Village (温州楠溪江芙蓉村)A 1,000-year-old village built according to the ‘Seven Stars and Eight Diagrams’ (qixing bagua) layout in the Nanxi River region, with the ancient village wall, the Chen family ancestral hall, old ink stones, and locals still farming and making tofu, far less touristy than Xidi/Hongcun.Lived-in 76/100 · Commercialised 1/6 · rarely visited from abroad · some effort to reach | Old town | Lived-in, quiet |
| Wenzhou Wuma Street (温州五马街)A 1,600-year-old commercial street in Wenzhou, named after the ‘Five Horses’ of the Eastern Jin dynasty, with Wenzhou-style arcade buildings (qilou), old brands like Lao Xiangzhai (food), and locals still shopping and eating; the heart of Wenzhou’s commercial culture, very authentic despite being a pedestrian street.Lived-in 64/100 · Commercialised 3/6 · little known abroad · easy to reach | Historic street | Visitor-facing |
Which of These Is Still a Town
The two scores narrow the list, and the last step is local: which lanes are worth the walk, which day of the week the place is itself, and where to stay inside the walls. Tell our local team the provinces you will be in and they will say which of these hold up.