Jiading

About Jiading

Long before Shanghai's skyline rose, Jiading was a walled county town of canals, scholars and temples, and its old core still keeps that slower rhythm. Set up as a county in 1218 and named after the reign title of a Song emperor, it grew rich on cotton and learning, and the Confucian Temple founded a year later remains the pride of the town.

Today Jiading is a large district in Shanghai's northwest that mixes several identities. The old town around Zhouqiao and the Fahua Pagoda has canals, stone bridges and two of the city's classical gardens. Nanxiang, to the south, is the home town of the xiaolongbao soup dumpling and of Guyi Garden. Anting is the heart of China's car industry and of the Shanghai International Circuit, while the new town around Yuanxiang Lake adds modern architecture such as the Poly Grand Theatre.

Metro Line 11 links Jiading with central Shanghai, so the district works as a day trip or as a quieter base. Combine the old town with Nanxiang in one day, and save Anting for a race weekend or a visit to the auto museum.