After catching some tennis, explore the best Maqiao Town has to offer

As top tennis players are gathering to chase the trophy at the upcoming Rolex Shanghai Masters, Maqiao Town, where the annual tournament is held, once again welcomes tennis fans from Shanghai and beyond to celebrate one of the city’s most anticipated sports events.

Those coming to Qizhong Tennis Center are recommended to plan on spending some additional time in Maqiao as the area was first settled thousands of years ago.

For culture lovers, the following one-day tour recommended by a popular hanfu vlogger offers a glimpse into the culture of the suburban town.

The one-day route starts at the ancient wisteria garden on Lincang Road, then covers Maqiao Culture Exhibition Hall, Hanxiang Agritainment Grange, the former site of the Jin family clan ancestral hall and Hanxiang Water Garden.

“The history and anecdotes of Maqiao are embedded into the beautiful scenery along the route, and you come to understand why the town has been promoted as the starting point from which Shanghai makes its tremendous progress,” said Xu Yue’er, a hanfu vlogger who once admired the cultural venues while wearing her sleeved-over dress, belly band and pleated skirt to match the backdrops of the venues.

The ancient wisteria garden, a popular place for locals to meet and relax, actually earned its name thanks to a 500-year-old wisteria, which was planted by Dong Yiyang (1511-1572), a poet in Maqiao and a distant nephew of the beloved Shanghai painter Dong Qichang (1555-1636).

Inside the wisteria garden there is a pavilion called Wanghai 望海, which translates as “sea admiring.” Maqiao Town was once where gangshen 岡身, or the ancient ridge, crossed. Though it is impossible to behold the sea from the pavilion now, its name suggests a tribute to the city’s prehistoric coastal lines.

A general grasp of Maqiao’s history can be gleaned at Maqiao Cultural Exhibition Hall of the Maqiao Ancient Culture Relics Park.

Maqiao emerged as a settlement about 4,000 years ago right along the ancient ridge of Shanghai, following Guangfulin Culture, about 4,200 years ago and Songze Culture, which emerged about 5,500 years ago as the first society in Shanghai.

Ancient Maqiao relices were discovered for the first time in Yutang Village, Maqiao, in December 1959.

More than 1,000 relics have been excavated from an area covering 5,317 square meters. They range from pottery, stone and bone utensils to a few bronzeware tools.

The excavation site is now known as Maqiao Ancient Culture Relics Park. Inside, the Maqiao Culture Exhibition Hall records the history of the ancient ridge and Maqiao.

Visitors can even book an appointment to make replicas of a duck-shaped pottery pot, a relic unearthed from the site and now a symbol of Maqiao.

For lunch, Hanxiang Agritainment Grange offers signature local Maqiao dishes like stinky tofu, stewed mutton, boiled sliced chicken and river shrimps.

Plan on spending about half a day at Hanxiang Water Garden. The garden was built in 2002 and more than 30 of its 56 antique bridges are said to have been relocated from neighboring Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces. There’s also a stilted building relocated from Guizhou Province.

Visitors can also experience hand lion dancing, a national intangible cultural heritage of Maqiao, and kayaking, inside the water garden.

A 10-minute bike ride from the water garden takes you to the Jin family clan ancestral hall. Founded by Jin Qingzhang (1873-1946), a diplomat of the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it is one of the three extant ancestral halls in Shanghai.

Wisteria Garden

Tickets: Free

Hours: 7am-6pm

Address: 148 Lincang Road

臨滄路148號

Maqiao Culture Exhibition Hall

Tickets: Free

Hours: 9:30am-5pm

Address: 858 Beisong Highway

北松公路858號

Hanxiang Water Garden

Tickets: 36 yuan

Hours: 8am-5:30pm

Address: 3805 Jiangchuan Road

江川路3805號

Hanxiang Agritainment Grange

Hours: 8:30am-3pm, 4:30pm-8:30pm

Address: 3805 Jiangchuan Road (near Hanxiang Water Garden)

江川路3805號(韓湘水博園旁)

Jin Family Clan Ancestral Hall

Tickets: Free

Hours: 8am-4pm

Address: 2168 Jiangchuan Road

江川路2168號