Zhujiajiao is Shanghai’s nearest authentic water town – only 30km west on the A5 expressway. This well-preserved little town (admission ¥60) is often used as a setting for films and has a number of stone bridges crossing streams, and canals lined with old courtyard houses. Package tours typically visit more distant Zhouzhuang in the morning, then stop here in the afternoon, so plan accordingly. The town’s slender passageways can go from peaceful to congested in a matter of minutes. The Shanghai Ancient Culture Exhibition Hall contains some interesting artefacts from the area’s Neolithic past, while you might hear monks chanting and praying inside the small Buddhist temple. Xizhou Woodcarving (5923 0831) creates unusually intricate reliefs, some of them strikingly painted. The town’s most popular attraction is the monumental Fangsheng Qiao Bridge, where tourists gather to toss goldfish into the water (according to some Buddhist sects, releasing fish is thought to confer merit). Admission to the town is ¥10; each museum or temple requires an additional fee.