Day trip from Hangzhou
Nanxun
南浔古镇
A Grand Canal silk town where Qing Dynasty gardens meet French stained glass, baroque stonework, and red-brick mansions.
Nanxun stands apart from the other canal towns of the Yangtze Delta because of the staggering nineteenth-century silk wealth that built it. Alongside whitewashed riverside lanes and stone bridges, local tycoons left behind grand private estates that fuse classical Jiangnan courtyards with imported French stained glass, red brick, and baroque carvings. It feels less like a staged museum village and more like a lived-in canal neighborhood with unusually cosmopolitan architecture.
Give Nanxun one full day or an overnight stay. Base yourself in a canal-side guesthouse along the quieter northern stretch of Baijianlou to watch the lanterns come on and see the morning mist before day-trippers arrive. It pairs naturally with Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou on an eastern China rail route, and makes an easy base for day trips to nearby water towns like Wuzhen or Xitang, or west to Lake Taihu in Huzhou. Architecture fans, photographers, and slower travelers will love the hybrid mansions and unhurried waterways, while visitors after high-energy nightlife or dramatic mountain scenery may feel underwhelmed.
Updated 24 October 2026
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Baijianlou (Hundred-Room Buildings), Former Residence of Zhang Shiming, Xiaolian Villa (Little Lotus Garden) +2
Highlights
Baijianlou (Hundred-Room Buildings), Former Residence of Zhang Shiming, Xiaolian Villa (Little Lotus Garden) +2
01Baijianlou (Hundred-Room Buildings)
A 400-meter row of Ming Dynasty arcaded houses curving along the northern canal, originally built to house the staff of a Ming Imperial Minister. Unlike the busier south end, locals still wash clothes on the stone steps here, and it is the most atmospheric spot at dusk.
必看02Former Residence of Zhang Shiming
A sprawling turn-of-the-century merchant compound that starts as a traditional Chinese courtyard house and opens into a European-style ballroom and red-brick villa. Look closely for the imported French stained-glass windows alongside intricate brick and wood carvings.
必看03Xiaolian Villa (Little Lotus Garden)
The private retreat of Nanxun's wealthiest silk magnate, Liu Yong, centered on a wide lotus pond framed by winding corridors, rockeries, and an ancestral temple. Next door sits the Jiayetang Library, a historic private collection surrounded by quiet garden paths.
04Liu's Ladder (Red House)
Behind a tall traditional Chinese wall sits a striking red-brick European mansion built by the Liu family. The contrast between the grey-tile Jiangnan exterior and the Western arches and colonnades inside captures Nanxun's silk-trade history in a single building.
05Grand Canal Rowing Boat Ride
Wooden sculling boats ply the main waterway between the South Gate near Xiaolian Villa and the northern bridges by Baijianlou. Riding a boat in the late afternoon lets you see the stone bridges and waterside gables from water level.
Travel tips
Book the right train station, Understand the ticket system, Pack light for stone bridges +1
Travel tips
Book the right train station, Understand the ticket system, Pack light for stone bridges +1
Book the right train station
Make sure your high-speed rail ticket is to Huzhou Nanxun Station, not Huzhou Station. Huzhou Station is in the main city center about an hour away, whereas Huzhou Nanxun Station is a 15-minute taxi ride from the old town.
Understand the ticket system
Walking the canal lanes, bridges, and Baijianlou is open and free all day. You only need to purchase individual or combo tickets if you want to step inside the gated merchant estates and gardens like Xiaolian Villa and Zhang Shiming's residence.
Pack light for stone bridges
The historic district is paved with uneven flagstones and crossed by steep, stepped arch bridges. If you are staying inside the canal zone, bring a backpack or small bag, or ask your guesthouse host which gate is closest to avoid hauling wheeled luggage over steps.
Start early at the north end
Most tour groups enter at the South Gate mid-morning and cluster around Xiaolian Villa. Walk Baijianlou in the north around sunrise when the lanes are quiet, then visit the gated mansions as soon as they open.
How to get to Nanxun
The easiest arrival is via Huzhou Nanxun Railway Station on the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou high-speed line. Direct trains take roughly 45 minutes from Shanghai Hongqiao, 35 minutes from Hangzhou West, and 25 minutes from Suzhou South. From Huzhou Nanxun Station, the ancient town's South Gate is about 15 to 20 minutes away by taxi or local shuttle bus. The nearest major airports are Hangzhou Xiaoshan and Shanghai Hongqiao, both connected by rail or highway.
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