Starting from Shanghai: A 4-Day Self-Drive Trip to Jiangyin, Changzhou, and Zhangjiagang in 2016 (Changjing Old Street, Huaxi Village, Xingguo Temple Pagoda, Tianning Temple, Jiaoxi Ancient Village, Tianzhuang Old Street)

April 29 to May 2, 2016. The May Day holiday was a rare chance for a family trip. Considering highway traffic, hotel price hikes, and other factors, we chose to head to Jiangyin, Changzhou, and Zhangjiagang in 2016. Jiangyin’s Changjing Town, Changzhou’s Jiaoxi Village, and Zhangjiagang’s Fenghuang Town are all later-batch Chinese historic and cultural towns and villages. These three ancient towns and villages aren’t commercialized, have few visitors, and are peaceful. They’re relatively offbeat in the Yangtze River Delta, and few Shanghai tourists go there specifically. We also made a side trip to Huaxi Village. To avoid the first-day holiday rush out of the city, we arrived in Taicang a night early, but still hit traffic. The nearly 70 km drive from Pudong to Taicang took almost 3 hours. On May 2, we returned to Shanghai. Although traffic had noticeably increased, there were no serious jams. The whole trip was 486 km. The photo below was taken at Tianzhuang in Fenghuang Town, Zhangjiagang.

April 29, 2016 (Taicang weather: clear, 11 to 26°C)

18:42, after my wife got off work, we left our home in Pudong, Shanghai.

20:35, arrived at Huxiang Expressway toll gate, cumulative mileage 40 km.

21:18, arrived at Zhuqiao toll gate on Shenhai Expressway, cumulative mileage 62 km, expressway toll 10 yuan.

That night we stayed at Hanting Hotel Taicang Wuyang Plaza, twin room 158 yuan (including breakfast for two). The twin room here is actually a family room with one 1.5m bed and one 1.2m bed, spacious, not facing the street, and very quiet at night. The Wuyang Plaza where the hotel is located has both above-ground and underground parking with plenty of spaces. Inside the plaza is a Bensu Wujia Suancaiyu (pickled fish) restaurant, a popular eatery in Taicang.

By that night, cumulative mileage: 65 km.

April 30, 2016 (Jiangyin weather: sunny to partly cloudy, 15 to 29°C)

Hanting Hotel Taicang Wuyang Plaza.

Taicang street scene. Taicang’s urban area is well-built, very tidy.

To avoid highway traffic jams, we drove a stretch on National Highway 204. There were no jams on the national highway, but there were many traffic lights near the urban area.

11:43, arrived at Shuangfeng toll gate on Sukuntai Expressway, cumulative mileage 76 km.

Encountered a traffic jam on the Changhe Expressway near Changshu, caused by an accident.

11:43, arrived at Gushan toll gate on Tongxi Expressway, cumulative mileage 152 km.

Changjing Town in Jiangyin, a fifth-batch Chinese Historic and Cultural Town. Wandering the old town is free, but visiting the Shangguan Yunzhu Memorial Hall requires a 20 yuan ticket.

Visiting Changjing Ancient Town mainly means strolling the old street.

This is the hometown of the famous performing artist Shangguan Yunzhu. She became famous for portraying diverse characters in classic films like The Spring River Flows East, Crows and Sparrows, The Beautiful Lady, Hope in the World, and Thousands of Lights.

There were hardly any tourists in the ancient town. When I visited the Dafu Silkworm Breeding Farm, the gate was wide open.

Jiangyin Silkworm Breeding Farm, a Jiangsu Province Cultural Relic Protection Unit.

Huaxi Village: a combo ticket covering several attractions is 150 yuan. We didn’t buy tickets, just drove around the village and took some photos.

Huaxi Longxi International Hotel.

13:57, arrived at Huaxi toll gate on Changhe Expressway, cumulative mileage 180 km.

14:09, arrived at Xiake toll gate on Changhe Expressway, cumulative mileage 188 km.

Because of highway traffic, we took local roads to Jiangyin city center. The local roads around Jiangyin have many lanes and are in good condition.

In the photo below, the elevated road in the distance is the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway near the Jiangyin Bridge, with obvious congestion heading north across the Yangtze River.

Checked in at Jinjiang Inn Jiangyin Chengjiang Middle Road, Standard Room A, 160 yuan. This hotel is diagonally opposite the Jiangyin municipal government, about 2 km from the expressway exit, convenient parking, and Standard Room A does not face the street.

Street view at the hotel entrance.

Xingguo Temple Pagoda, a seventh batch national key cultural relic protection unit announced by the State Council on March 5, 2013, classified as ancient architecture, dating from the Song and Ming dynasties. To protect Xingguo Temple Pagoda, Jiangyin built the classical garden-style Xingguo Park, which is free to enter.

In the evening, we ate grilled fish on Yijian Road. This restaurant has many chain outlets in Shandong and Shanxi.

There are many restaurants on Yijian Road.

Grilled fish comes in various flavors; we ordered the pickled vegetable flavor.

Night view of the Jiangyin municipal government.

By that night, cumulative mileage: 215 km.

May 1, 2016 (Changzhou weather: overcast, 20 to 29°C)

Considering possible highway jams, we drove on local roads to Changzhou.

Elevated roads in Changzhou.

BRT station on a Changzhou street.

Tianning Temple, a national key Buddhist temple in Han Chinese areas, admission 20 yuan (not including ascending the pagoda). To climb the pagoda, the ticket is 80 yuan.

Tianning Pagoda was first built in 2002, 153.79 meters high, the world’s tallest Buddhist pagoda.

BRT bus station in front of Tianning Temple.

Changzhou Yinsi Noodles, comparable in taste to Suzhou’s Zhuhongxing. This branch is on Ma Lane near Tianning Temple.

There’s also a Legou Yinggui steamed bun shop on Ma Lane, and the crab roe xiaolongbao is especially delicious.

The Xiyinmen city wall by the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. This is Changzhou’s only surviving Ming Dynasty city wall, 221.8 meters long. There are many historical sites around, including Wenheng Bridge, Zou Hao Shrine, and Biji Lane.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal flows through Changzhou.

Biji Lane under Wenheng Bridge. This was the site of the ancient Piling Post Station, formerly known as ‘Flower Market Street’. Changzhou has been famous since ancient times for making fine combs (biji) and wooden combs, with the reputation of ‘palace combs and famous biji’ and ‘Changzhou combs are the best under heaven’.

Zou Hao Shrine. Zou Hao was a figure of the Northern Song Dynasty. After being pardoned and returning home, he opened a garden at his residence on Zhouxian Lane called ‘Daoxiang’, hence his self-styled name Daoxiang Jushi (Hermit of Daoxiang). He was from Jinling, Changzhou (present-day Changzhou, Jiangsu).

Jiaoxi Village in Zhenglu Town, Wujin District, Changzhou, a sixth-batch Chinese Historic and Cultural Village.

Drove back to Jiangyin.

The bus routes in downtown Jiangyin have smart management, making it convenient for waiting passengers.

Yijian Road is known as ‘Bar Street’.

In the evening, we tried another flavor of grilled fish.

Checked in at Jinjiang Inn Jiangyin Chengjiang Middle Road, Standard Room A, 100 yuan. On Sundays and Mondays, Jinjiang Inn outlets offer a limited number of rooms at an experience price of 100 yuan, available by booking in advance.

By that night, cumulative mileage: 307 km.

May 2, 2016 (Zhangjiagang weather: overcast with light to moderate rain, 16 to 27°C)

Former site of the Nationalist Party’s Jiangyin Fortress Command Headquarters, a seventh batch national key cultural relic protection unit announced by the State Council on March 5, 2013, classified as an important modern historical site and representative building, dating to 1947. Free entry.

It was pouring rain on the street.

The photo below is a bird’s-eye view I took from the 8th floor of the parking garage near the former Jiangyin Fortress Command Headquarters.

10:48, arrived at Jiangyin North toll gate on Beijing-Shanghai Expressway, cumulative mileage 314 km.

11:13, rested at Xinqiao service area on Changhe Expressway, cumulative mileage 345 km; refueled with 92-octane gasoline for 180 yuan at 5.68 yuan per liter.

11:39, arrived at Fenghuang toll gate on Changhe Expressway, cumulative mileage 362 km.

Fenghuang Town in Zhangjiagang, a fifth-batch Chinese Historic and Cultural Town. Fenghuang Town has multiple attractions; we visited Tianzhuang Old Street.