In the eyes of most people, Chongming is a quiet and beautiful island full of vitality.

If you search carefully, you will be surprised to find that there is also an exciting cultural and artistic charm hidden in the natural countryside.

Today, we will bring you a three-day tour of Chongming for feeling its charm while eating, drinking, and playing during the short holiday of the China International Import Expo (CIIE). Come with us to discover more about the history, culture, art, and nature of Chongming.

Day 1

Morning: Chongming Academy - Shou'an Temple

Lunch: Jinxiu Hotel or Yizhicai

Afternoon: Jiangnan Sanmin Cultural Village

Dinner: Uncle Gu's Farm Food

Accommodation: Yiqinyuan Resort

Morning

The first stop is Chongming Academy. Before entering the academy, you will be shocked by the extremely beautiful ginkgo in front of the gate. As the autumn day is getting cooler. the hundred-year-old trees, in the background of the bricks and tiles, are golden and brilliant. In the academy, there are buildings characterized by superb architectural art, including palaces, halls, memorial temples, and pavilions. The academy is a well-preserved architecture in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Chongming Island History and Ancient Ships Exhibition, Chongming Folk Custom Exhibition, and a temporary exhibition are held here to systematically introduce the long history and cultural heritage of Chongming. It's good to walk around here to feel the historical and cultural atmosphere.

Address: No. 696, Aoshan Road, Chengqiao Town, Chongming District, Shanghai

Tel.: 021-69696501

There is a bicycle rental service near the academy. It is recommended to visit the second stop Shou'an Temple 4 km away by riding a bicycle from here. Along the way, Aoshan Road is an internet-famous narrow road, with big trees blocking the sky on the north and south sides like a green bridge. Slowly and leisurely smelling the flowers and viewing the home buildings on both sides of the road, you will soon arrive at Shou'an Temple.

Shou'an Temple, with a history of more than 700 years, is one of the four ancient temples on Chongming Island. There are inscriptions on steles and calligraphy of literati and poets in the temple. At the time of Buddha's birthday, the temple is filled with incense and red candles. While listening to the Buddha's voice, understanding Zen, and talking to Buddhas, time slips away imperceptibly.

Address: No. 9, Jiangfan Road, Chongming District, Shanghai

Tel.: 021 - 69698981

Lunch

You must be hungry after the visit in the morning. Let's have a meal in the urban area of Chongming. Jinxiu Hotel, surrounded by flowers and trees, is a time-honored hotel. The chefs here have won numerous awards for their superb skills, so the cuisines here are unique on the island. We recommend that you try the fried hairy crab with soybean and flour, crisp fish prepared from a secret recipe, and Chongming goat meat braised in soy sauce.

Address: No. 68, South Xinchong Road, Chengqiao Town, Chongming District, Shanghai

Tel.: 021-69699888

Business hours: 11:00-13:00, 16:30-20:00

Or you can have your lunch at Yizhicai, which will never make you disappointed. Adhering to the concept of "enjoying an original and natural life", Yizhicai uses local fresh Yangtze River seafood and original ingredients in Chongming to constantly innovate its dishes in various forms, such as poached chicken, fried shrimp, and fresh farm vegetables. Each dish is mouth-watering and delicious.

Address: Nos. 115-117, Dongmen Road, Chengqiao Town, Chongming District, Shanghai

Tel.: 021-69697979

Business hours: 10:00-20:30

Afternoon

After dinner, you can take a break before driving for about half an hour to reach Jiangnan Sanmin Cultural Village, which is an important base for the excavation, display, and inheritance of intangible cultural heritages. At this time, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Festival, one of the series of featured activities of the 2019 Shanghai Chongming Ecological and Cultural Tourism Festival, is held with such performances as shoulder pole opera, music playing with Pipa, and other traditional stringed and woodwind instruments. The scenic spot has four major exhibition halls, namely, Chinese Loong Palace, Chongming Folk Cloth Museum, Longevity Museum, Sanmin Art Museum, and 56 series of exhibition halls that feature the styles in Jiangnan (regions south of the Yangtze River). Among them, the exhibition site of Chinese Loong in the Great World Guinness Record is also the largest folk customs and ethnic groups exhibition hall in East China. Visitors who love ancient Chinese clothing can take a series of photos in Hanfu, a traditional garment in the Han Dynasty, which looks amazingly good.

Address: No. 2201, Linfeng Road, Chongming District, Shanghai

Tel.: 021-59649400

After visiting Jiangnan Sanmin Cultural Village, let’s drive for about ten minutes to try some food at the internet famous restaurant in Chongming - Uncle Gu's Farm Food Restaurant, which is very cost-effective for all the dishes typical of Chongming. Order a plate of cold shredded golden melon and a dish of stir-fried river snails. All kinds of river fish are also very tasty as the ingredients are very fresh. If you like meat, you can order a bowl of braised diced pork and sliced beancurd with brown sauce, which tastes not greasy but delicious. Both the braised pork and the sliced beancurd are juicy and go very well with rice.

Address: No. 301, Hongqiao Village, Jianshe Town, Chongming District, Shanghai

Tel.: 15800905099, 15900567894

Accommodation

After dinner, we will go to Yiqinyuan Resort for accommodation. This hotel is simply an oxygen bar thanks to the green metasequoia forest and the fresh air. Walk around, you will find that the hotel has a complete set of supporting facilities, including a tea room, restaurant, meeting room, etc. There are also many entertainment activities, including angling, table tennis, golf, etc. Watch the stars in the sky, and listen to the birds and frogs singing. What a big gift from nature! Wake up naturally the next day, and comfortably ramble in the hotel after breakfast.

Address: No. 2089, Beiyan Road, Chongming District, Shanghai

Tel.: 021-59338811, 021-59338800

Day 2

Morning: Qianshao Contemporary Art Center

Lunch: Zaohua Hall

Afternoon: Yingdong Village

Dinner: Yingdong Village

Accommodation: Yingdong Village or Changxing Island Kaiyuan Manju

Morning

If you are an art lover, don’t miss this new internet-famous place in Chongming. It will be an eye-catcher in your Wechat Moment! Drive along the road and enjoy the beautiful scenery.  When you come across a windmill, you are coming to the Qianshao Contemporary Art Center, where you will be intoxicated by more than 40 groups of paintings, sculptures, installations, photography, and earth artworks. Walk along the riverside to enjoy the artistic view, among which, a "big ice cream doll" wins the heart of everyone. It is a graceful feeling to re-understand and feel nature in the exhibitions.

Venue: Qianshao Village, Shuxin Town, Chongming District

Lunch

It takes nearly an hour to walk through the Qianshao Contemporary Art Center along the river bank. Your body is clamoring for Chongming food again. Let’s drive another 20 minutes to go to the famous Zaohuatang Agritainment. In addition to the well-known local cuisines, the antique and fascinating stove paintings preserved by the restaurant are also a big hit. Cooked in a traditional earthen stove, the Chongming sticky rice dumplings served here are particularly delicious with several flavors all looking very appetizing. It's wonderful to enjoy the local Zaohua culture while tasting the delicious food.

Address: No. 1789, Xianghua Highway, Xianghua Town, Chongming District, Shanghai

Tel.: 021-59447878

Afternoon

Take a rest in the afternoon before driving to Yingdong Village in about 20 minutes. It is a tourist ecological village with the idea of natural ecology and environmental protection. There is green grass, singing birds, fragrant flowers, quiet courtyards, and exquisite small buildings in Yingdong Village, which integrates such functions as sightseeing, exhibition, tasting, and experience. In addition to the beautiful scenery, there is also a folk custom experience center composed of several intangible cultural heritage projects, for promoting agricultural reclamation culture, intangible cultural heritages, and folk customs in Chongming, including handmade homespun cloth, woven bamboo baskets, and movable type printing. It will leave you memories of Chongming exclusive to you.

Address: Yingdong Village, Chenjia Town, Chongming District, Shanghai

Tel.: 021-59436276

Dinner

There is no need to rush about for dinner since you can have dinner at the East Lake Fishery Restaurant in Yingdong Resort. It is built facing the lake, with large French windows for a panoramic view of the lake. It is decorated with Chongming folk clothes with a special interest and charm. While enjoying the beautiful scenery, you will be satisfied by having exquisite farm dishes made by the restaurant chef. To recall your childhood, you can order a bowl of fried rice or lard rice as your staple food, which retains the original taste.

Accommodation

Yingdong Village is the first village on Chongming Island to welcome the sunrise. If you want to watch the sunrise the next day, you can stay at Yingdong Resort. Each villa is designed to be a unique space with its own concept combining new Chinese style with modern style, which meets the aesthetic needs of modern people. Have a good night and get up early the next day. Hold a cup of steaming tea in your hands to watch the first touch of the sun light up the earth. It is so hazy and dreamy that it makes you realize what is a long lost touch.

If you want to relax on the third day, after dinner, you can drive to Kaiyuan Manju Hotel on Changxing Island. The guest rooms are spacious and decorated in the latest version 4.0. In the rooms with landscape balconies, you can overlook the island scenery and the Jiangnan Shipyard. When night falls, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the country park and the bridge by the window. Have a sweet dream in a comfortable environment.

Address: Building No. 7, Lane 2389, Panyuan Road, Changxing Town, Chongming District, Shanghai

Reservation hotline: 15365095600 (or book on Ctrip, Meituan, Feizhu, and other platforms)

Day 3

Morning: Changxing Island Country Park

Lunch: Farm Canteen

Return Home in the afternoon

Let’s spend the last day in Changxing Island Country Park. Characterized by "nature, ecology, and wild interest", it is positioned as an ecological conservation country park in the outer suburbs. Since it has a super large area, you must have breakfast in the morning to make sure that you have enough energy to tour around it. There are five areas in the park, including a comprehensive service area, cultural and sports area, farming experience area, orange garden scenic area, and forest conservation area. Recently, it has held the orange picking festival, one of the series of special activities of the 2019 Shanghai Chongming Ecological and Cultural Tourism Festival. In addition to having fun in the park, you can also pick oranges, taste orange chocolate, and drink refined orange wine. Stay tuned for more brilliant activities!

The Coral Pavilion with thousands of species in Changxing Island Country Park is the most distinctive exhibition hall of coral biota in Shanghai. There are many interesting projects here for you to learn professional knowledge about coral and the ocean, and feel the colorful and gorgeous beauty of the coral world. In the Ancient Stone and Wood Museum, you can not only enjoy the uncanny workmanship of nature, but also broaden your horizons after learning a lot about the different stones.

Address: No. 199, Qiugan Road, Changxing Island, Chongming District

Tel.: 021-31836888

Lunch

For lunch, you can choose the farm canteen in the park. The ingredients are seasonal vegetables from the farming experience area, chickens, ducks, and geese from the orange garden, and fish and shrimp from the Yangtze River. If you are a foodie, you will be satisfied here with all the rural flavors that are as good as those in any internet-famous restaurants.

Return Home in the Evening

If you want to pay a visit to Chongming, try this detailed and awesome three-day trip.

Get ready and take your loved ones to embark on a pleasant journey.