Xitang Water Town

Restored Ming-era canal town 90 minutes from Shanghai. Mission Impossible III filming location; less crowded than Zhouzhuang.

Xitang is a canal town in Jiashan County, Zhejiang Province, about 90 minutes by road from central Shanghai. Settlement on this grid of waterways dates to the Spring and Autumn period, and the town prospered as a commercial centre through the Ming and Qing dynasties. Nine ancient streets and 122 stone bridges survive, along with a layout of canal-side residences, guild halls, and shophouses that has been largely restored without wholesale reconstruction.

The most distinctive physical feature is the 1,300-metre network of covered walkways (lang peng or long lang) running along the canal banks. These verandah-style passages, built from wood and tile, let merchants and residents move between houses and shops without exposure to rain or summer sun. It is an architectural detail specific to Xitang — other water towns in the region lack it — and makes the streets visually coherent even on grey days. Mission: Impossible III used the town extensively in its 2006 Shanghai sequence; promotional photographs of Tom Cruise running across a canal bridge became widely circulated at the time and did measurable things for visitor numbers.

A through-ticket covers the main gated scenic sites; the canal streets themselves are publicly accessible. Boat trips through the narrower channels take about 20 minutes. The town is noticeably quieter than Zhouzhuang or Wuzhen, which draw larger organised tour groups. Early morning, before the gates open and the day-trippers arrive, is good for photography — the lane lighting is atmospheric. Most visitors do Xitang as a half-day or full-day from Shanghai. Staying overnight allows an evening view of the lit-up canal fronts that daytime visitors miss.