Zhujiajiao Ancient Town, Shanghai | One-Day Itinerary

| One-day itinerary. A complete loop around Zhujiajiao is like a larger version of Pingjiang Road, but even more bustling. There are even a few temples interspersed along the way, but faced with the hefty 10-yuan entrance fee, we hesitated. Many places you might not visit a second time, so each encounter is a unique opportunity. We should have gone in, but there always seemed to be an invisible hand holding us back, whispering, "Forget it." So, we just peeked through the gates and moved on. It wasn't that we couldn't afford the 10 yuan, but the thought of interrupting our smooth stroll with a pause, a disturbance, a negotiation, was tiresome. Less is more. Cat café culture has also permeated here. Even in the drizzle, those cute little kittens, like office workers, have to solicit business at the doorway. Their cat food isn't free. In this respect, we seem to share a common fate. They're not as good as my silly, sweet, silver shaded chinchilla at home, named "Mobao," who only needs a kiss from me in exchange for delicious cat food and a small heater in cold weather. Different cats, different lives. The distant river beneath the ancient bridge evokes a sense of vastness. A few rocking boats and the lights of countless homes are pieced together in a Jiangnan painting, subtly moving, silently, yet stirring the heart like Ni Zan's few dry brushstrokes. Back at our resting place, sipping tea, the television plays an old Republican-era drama: cheongsams, long gowns, rickshaws. Gazing out the window at the towering wall next door, absorbed in their story, a loose brick, two doves fighting on a branch in the distance—all vividly alive. Time, like swirling, fading blue smoke, slips through our fingers.