In early June, Cathy and I visited XinChang, a water-town in the Pudong District of Shanghai. It has a history of more than 1,000 years. During the Yuan dynasty, 800 years ago, the town was famous for extracting salt from sea-water. Based on this industry, it was at one time the largest town on Pudong.

Today, XinChang is a small water-town full of charm, integrated with a rich culture. It is off the usual tourist trail and is less frequently visited than many other water-towns in this part of China. Even Shanghai people themselves are not well acquainted with its existence

The town is criss-crossed with lanes and alleys, always leading finally to a canal with saddle-shaped bridges with stone carvings. Many families live in tiny houses spaced around small courtyards

Many of the houses date from the Ming and Qing dynasties and retain the typical, brick and wood construction with white powder ‘Daiwa’ walls; window lattice lintels, and carved wooden doors.

Here are some of the shots I took that day. Of special interest are those of a very friendly 86-year old gentleman, who let us into his home, and entertained us with stories from his life, both then and now, and exhibited his still very capable gymnastic skills on the rings.