Since visiting Zhaojialou Ancient Town in Pujiang Town, Minhang District, Shanghai on January 2, 2011, I have visited it again two or three times intermittently in the past ten years. Except for the first time in 2011, I only walked on both sides of Yaojiabang several times, and left after having lunch or dinner at the Linshui Restaurant on Pingxi Street. On the afternoon of September 25, 2021, I remembered two old houses in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China in the south of Zhaojialou Ancient Town ten years ago. Due to time constraints, I only went to the Plum Garden in the west and another place not far away from the east. The old house had not yet gone, so I wanted to go and have a look, so I rode there.

Zhaojialou originated in the Dade Period in the early Yuan Dynasty, was formed during the Jiajing and Wanli periods of the Ming Dynasty, and flourished during the Qing Dynasty. It has a history of more than 700 years. "The smoke breaks in ten miles, and the bell rings to call for crops." Lang Tanlun, the right-hand attendant of the Ministry of Industry in the Ming Dynasty, asked his eldest son Tan Tian to build a bell tower to pay tribute to farming. The bell rings continuously every morning, and whenever the weather changes, the bell rings notices, calling farmers to cultivate land, not miss the farming season, and work diligently. The bell tower is named "Zhaojia Tower", and the village and subsequent market towns are named after it.

Of course, the highlights of Zhaojialou's rich historical and cultural connotations are not only reflected in the central value of ancient Pudong agricultural reclamation as "teaching people to farm and reclaim wasteland buildings", but also Zhaojialou is also the transmitting city god Qin Yubo of Shanghai and the Ming Dynasty water conservancy master Ye Zongxing who merged with the Huangpu River and Wusong River. In 2005, Zhaojialou was listed as one of the historical and cultural features reserves in Shanghai City. Since 2008, Minhang District has adhered to the principle of "repairing the old as before" and initiated the restoration and renovation of Zhaojialou in an effort to recreate the former glory of the Jiangnan Water Town Market. Although the streets and bridges in Zhaojialou are newly built in antiquity, they are different from the newly built antiquity streets in white land in a pure sense due to historical relics. They still have a trace of historical context.

Entering Zhaojialou Ancient Town Area from Shendu Highway, the east-west old streets face each other across the river along the north and south sides of Yaojiabang of the Shihe River. On the north bank of the river are Pingxi Street and Xingdong Street, and on the south bank of the river is Chunyou Street. Baoen Bridge in the center of the town spans Yaojiabang from north to south, and Baonan Street to the south of the bridge.

The Fuxing Port Waterway on the west side of the town center meets Yaojiabang.

Standing on the Baoen Bridge and Ligeng Bridge in Yaojiabang, we can see Yaojiabang heading from west to northeast. The T-shaped Pingxi Street, Xingdong Street, Baonan Street and Chunyou Street on both sides of the city river spread out towards each other. The Yaojiabin and Fuxing Port waterways extend in a cross shape. The green poplars on the bank mirror the newly built stone bridges and staggered street houses."Tall houses and narrow alleys face the streets, and small bridges and flowing water are the people's homes."

Although the buildings along the street are newly constructed and rebuilt, there are still some old houses in the deep alleys that maintain their original flavor and have not been rebuilt. The plain walls, gray tiles, and deep alleys, the charm of the Jiangnan water town market is still reflected and continued.

The Xi family is a prominent family in Zhaojialou, and many architectural relics of the Xi family are left in Zhaojialou.
The Ligeng Hall on Pingxi Street is the residence of Xi Zhiju, the ninth grandson of the Xi family in Zhaojialou. It was built in the 58th year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1793). It is a five-jin house facing south. I remember when I went there in January 2011, the house had not been repaired. There were still many residents in the house, and the structure and layout had changed a lot. However, the considerable scale of Ligeng Hall back then can still be vaguely discerned from the remaining layout. The inner wall of the third entrance door in the Ligentang courtyard still clearly bears Chairman Mao's quotations written in red ink and ink in the 1960s and 1970s:"Policies and strategies are the life of the party, and leading comrades at all levels must pay full attention to them. Don't be careless." I wonder what the renovated Ligeng Hall looks like now?

The Zixun Hall on the south of Chunyou Street was built during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. It is said that it was originally a Sanjin Courtyard. The first two houses were donated as Guangzhi School at the beginning of the last century and became a famous teaching place in Pudong. Famous Pudong people such as Chuansha Huang Yanpei, Shiwan Zhang Wentian, Zhaojialou Cao Rulin, Zhou Pu Su Juxian all studied here.

The first two houses of Zixuntang were later destroyed in a fire, and only one courtyard wall and a gate building that combines Chinese and Western style are left in the third house.

Li Garden is a newly built garden built on the Xi family's "Renshan Hall" site. There is a Ye Zongxing Memorial Hall in the park. Ye Zongxing's greatest achievement in the Ming Dynasty was to dredge Fanjiabang, merge the Wusong River, and connect Shanghai Pu, allowing the Jiangpu River to merge, creating unique conditions for Shanghai to become a major eastern port hundreds of years later. At the south entrance of the Li Garden, there is also a Memorial Hall of Shanghai City God Lord Qin Yubo.

An ancient stone bridge road south bridge was accidentally discovered on Daonan Street on the east side of Baonan Street. This bridge is recorded in the "Guangxu Nanhui County Annals" that "the south road bridge crosses the east Liujia River and is in Nanshi." From the structural perspective, this bridge should be a three-piece three-span stone beam bridge. Since the river under the bridge has been filled, it has become a dry bridge. Daonan Bridge is the only ancient bridge left in Zhaojialou, and several other stone arch bridges are newly built antique buildings.

Arriving at the south of Zhaojialou Ancient Town, Meiyuan was originally named "Meiyueju", commonly known as "Ninety-Nine Rooms". It was the home of Zhu Fengzhou, a well-known poet in the Yongzheng Year of the Qing Dynasty. In January 2011, I walked into this east-facing Sanjin Courtyard. There are still more than a dozen farmhouses living there. The gray tiles and powder walls have long been mottled and have been in disrepair for a long time, and the structure has also changed. However, the style of ancient houses in Pudong is still vaguely visible. There was also a quotation from Chairman Mao in the second entrance door there, but the lime walls were mottled and the writing was dim, making it difficult to distinguish the content of the text. Ten years have passed, and I wonder if this ancient building has been repaired.

Traveling south to the south of Zhennan, I found the Ning Jiantang House of the Xi Family in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China that I specially wanted to see this time.

The Ningjiantang house was built in 1900 by Xi Yanzi, a famous cultural celebrity in Shanghai.

The old building is farmland in the north, south and west, and faces a small river in the east. From a distance, it is just an old house with a traditional residential farmhouse in Pudong.

Arriving in front of the main entrance on the south side of the house, the exquisite door can vaguely see the past momentum and glory of this mansion building with white walls and black tiles.

Pushing open the courtyard door and walking into the courtyard, the courtyard was a little dilapidated and dilapidated. It was already an ordinary farmhouse, making people unable to leave behind.

Zhaolou has the "Three Treasures of Zhaolou": Zhaolou Daqu, Zhaolou mutton, and Zhaolou hooves removal. Dongxing Street and Pingxi Street are full of gourmet shops, gathering Pudong specialties such as Zhaolou mutton, Zhaolou Chai Hoo, Sanlin meat skin, and Nanhui local bacon pork.

Zhaojialou is now the innovation village of Pujiang Town, Minhang District. Spend a short half a day visiting Zhaojialou to see the simplified version of the ancient town in the water town and eat some Zhaojialou delicacies with some farm dishes. It is also a rural tourism option for Shanghai citizens.