Explore the Charm of Qibao in Minhang

Explore the Charm of Qibao in Minhang There are countless old streets in Shanghai, but Qibao is overflowing with people! Hello everyone, take advantage of the break to explore one of Shanghai's hottest spots, Qibao Old Street. It's popular for a reason. Among the many ancient towns in Shanghai—Fengjing, Xinchang, Nanxiang, Zhujiajiao, and so on—Qibao is directly accessible by Metro Line 9, close to the city center, making it a great place for weekend shopping. Qibao Old Street is a heritage from the Northern Song Dynasty that has been upgraded and maintained over time, turning into a street full of cultural sentiment and delicious food. Its cultural background dates back to the Three Kingdoms period, to the grandsons of Lu Xun. These two grandsons did quite well for themselves and eventually had a temple built in their honor. Later, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, a ruler passed by and bestowed a golden Lotus Sutra. Some flatterers claimed this was also a treasure, and since these grandsons had the surname Lu (which sounds like the number six in Chinese), adding another treasure changed the name to Qibao. There's also a legend that there really were seven treasures: the Flying Buddha, the Floating Bell, the Golden Lotus Sutra, a jade axe, jade chopsticks, a golden rooster, and a divine tree. Anyway, that's the gist of it; I'm not great with history. The main streets of the old town are the North-South Street and Fuqiang Street, intersecting each other. There are many nice exhibition halls. Due to time constraints, I only visited two today. The Cotton Mill mainly talks about the story of Huang Daopo and the derivation of cotton. It's a good place for kids to learn, with two floors that aren't too big and not much excitement, but it's only five yuan, so why not stroll around? The Shadow Puppetry Hall mainly discusses the history of Qibao's regional shadow puppetry, which is different from that of Tangshan. It seems that they use real leather and have a style characterized by bright colors and light outlines. There are free shadow puppet shows on Sunday afternoons, and the ticket is also five yuan. The rest of the exhibition halls are all on the west side and along Fuqiang Road. I'll save Zhang Chongren, the Old Public Hall, and the Qibao Art Gallery for my next visit. How could you come here and not taste the local specialties? I also followed a few food bloggers for recommendations (the last five pictures are all of them). The scallion pancakes are a must-try and not a disappointment at 6 yuan. The meat-filled glutinous rice balls are worth a try if you haven't had them before at 5 yuan each. Qibao's pan-fried buns didn't seem too different from others. I didn't try the spicy cry-cake as I can't handle spicy food and didn't have room in my stomach. The 'Four Like Spring' is just loin meat, no different from what you'd find at a breakfast stall, for 5 yuan. The warm father's rice wine is super tasty, and the owner even offers free tastings for 15 yuan. The large and flavorful 'Da Xi Bei' steamed cake is sweet and sour—watch out for the crushed date pits—a medium portion is enough for 15 yuan. The 'Ren Shou' stuffed egg is a duck egg and meat boiled together, with a deliciously fresh soup base, just like the old wontons from Tianjin Wei, for 16 yuan. I'll save room in my stomach to try other delicacies next time. There's also a 'Marriage Lane' here, which I see is already filled to the brim, showing that people have a lot on their minds. I'm not sure if seeking financial fortune here will work, but I tried! The night view of the Floating Bell Tower and the Pu Hui Tang Bridge at the entrance is spectacular. For those who like this place, spend a good half day here to fully enjoy a feast for both your taste buds and your eyes, adding some flavor to your day off.