Recommended summer retreat town: Chongren Ancient Town of Shengzhou

When we enter the uncommercialized Chongren Ancient Town in the evening, with its grey tiles and white walls, heavy eaves and stacked ridges, this is the image of the ancient Jiangnan town hidden in the city that I have in my heart. ►Check-in Route Parking lot → Christian Church → Bailu Tai Gate → Houmen Pond → Wulian Tai Gate → Yushan Public Hall ►Authentic Ancient Town ▪ The residents of Chongren Ancient Town are mainly descendants of the Qiu family, who were ennobled by Emperor Shenzong of Song. The town preserves ancient houses from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and even as early as the Song dynasty. Especially those well-preserved residential houses, ancestral halls, and other buildings, as well as tea pavilions, road pavilions, etc., all reflect the ancestral ethos of 'separate households, united clan, gathering as one family'. ▪ The ancient town has temples, ancestral halls, and ancient opera stages, all uniformly constructed with blue bricks and grey tiles, white walls with hard mountain tops, high walls and deep courtyards, with partitions, doors, and windows featuring fine carvings, exquisite craftsmanship, indescribably wonderful. ▪ Houmen Pond is the central square of the entire ancient town, and it is even more beautiful when there are lotus flowers in summer. ▪ Chongren Ancient Town is one of the birthplaces of Go and Shaoxing opera, producing many famous personalities, such as the 'Five Tigers of Go', and one of the founders of Shaoxing opera, Ma Chaoshui, etc. ►Gourmet Experience Chongren Ancient Town has Chen's Braised Duck, which has a history of 150 years to date, and the splendid history of Xiqing tofu skin, which has been around for more than 300 years, are both worth a try. ►Recommended visit: 2 hours - half a day ►Transportation: Self-driving, navigate to Chongren Ancient Town