Nearly half of the people who get off at Qibao Station along metro Line 9 during holidays are tourists who come to visit Qibao Ancient Town. The folk culture, the traditional food and the old buildings mean there is just too much to see in a single day.

The Global Times would like to recommend some essential sights and food around the metro station and in the ancient town.

Qibao Ancient Town Photo: CFP

(Middle) Shadow puppets in Qibao Shadow Play Theater Photo: Chen Xiaoru/GT

Textile mill

The Qibao Ancient Town is about a five-minute walk from the metro station. The Textile Mill Museum is a must-see venue at the northern part of the ancient town. The mill is hidden among an array of craft stores, and is beside a Blue Calico clothes shop.

When you step into the mill, you will find yourself in a serene and delicate traditional Chinese garden. There is a pond, and the wooden bridge in front of the main building is of the architectural style unique to ancient water towns along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

There were barely any other visitors on the Monday afternoon when the Global Times visited. There is an exhibition in the main building of the tools that the locals used to produce textiles, including a gaffer, which is used to separate cotton from cotton seeds, and a bow, which is used to fluff cotton.

A member of staff at the mill said the tools were bought from local families. Many families who used to live in the ancient town made a living by producing and selling textiles. Women used to be the major breadwinners in local families and enjoyed a high status.

There was a tradition in the Qibao area that a bride would not leave the bridal sedan chair until the mother-in-law came to support her by holding her arm. This showed that the new bride would enjoy a high status in the family because she would be the new breadwinner.

Qibao Shadow Play Theater

The shadow play theater, which sits along the Puhuitang River, is another place that should not be missed.

The theater stages shadow plays every Wednesday and Sunday afternoon from 1 pm to 3 pm, and collects a 5 yuan ($0.8) entrance fee from each visitor. The play is usually performed in suburban Shanghai dialect, which makes it difficult to understand even for many locals from the city center.

You can see the exhibition of shadow puppets from different ages, and a brief introduction to the development of Qibao shadow plays, in English and Chinese, in the exhibition halls of the theater.

Qibao shadow plays date back about 120 years. There were more than 50 troupes during the art form's heyday in the 1930s.

Some of the troupes were invited to perform in the Great World, an amusement arcade in the city center. Wealthy families would invite a shadow play troupe to their homes for performances and to social events such as wedding banquets. 

The art form is among the first batch that was listed as part of Shanghai's intangible cultural heritage in 2007.

Traditional food

After enjoying a shadow play show, you can enjoy a taste of some local food and beverages. There is a wine house in the southern part of town called Qibao Winery. Qibao wine is derived from baijiu from the northern part of China, and has a stronger taste than many other local wines.

The owner of the wine house, Xu Yixin, is in his late 60s and has been making the wine for about 50 years, using a unique brewing method.

Fresh glutinous dumplings are a specialty of the town. The dumplings have different stuffings, including sesame, red bean paste, pork, and vegetables.

There are several glutinous dumpling stores in the south end of town. However, at weekends stalls normally have lines of people waiting to purchase the freshly-produced dumplings. 

Dino Beach

As summer is approaching, the Dino Beach water park will soon open to the public. Dino Beach is the closest water amusement facility to the city center.

The outdoor park covers an area of about 86,667 square meters, and can hold 8,000 visitors. There are more than 30 pieces of recreational equipment, including four new slides designed especially for children.

The park charges an entrance fee of between 100 yuan and 200 yuan, depending on the time of entry. Children under 0.8 meters tall can go in for free.

The park usually opens from June to September each year. Visitors can take Qibao No.1 Bus Line or Bus Line 763 to Dino Beach from Qibao metro station.

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Editor's note

This year is the 21st anniversary of the opening of the Shanghai metro. The subway has facilitated more than 13 billion journeys during its 21 years, and half of Shanghai citizens cite the metro as their favored mode of transport. To commemorate the anniversary, each week the Global Times will take an in-depth look at one metro station and its surroundings. In the case of downtown stations, we will focus on points of interest within walking distance; while for suburban areas, we will cast our net a little wider.