[Video by Jiading district government]

The 2025 Tour of Shanghai cycling race began on Sept 5, drawing 120 cyclists from 10 countries and regions, including Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands, to compete across multiple districts in the city.

Before the Jiading stage, the district hosted a special event on Sept 3. Several international cyclists and team members arrived early in Anting town, Jiading district, to explore the area's rich traditional culture and intangible cultural heritage.

In Anting Old Street, cyclists wandered along cobblestone paths, taking in the picturesque water town scenery with white walls, black tiles, and quaint bridges over flowing waters. The area boasts numerous historical landmarks, such as the Puti Temple and Yansi Bridge, providing participants with a unique cultural experience.

The cyclists also engaged with Anting yaobanbu, a traditional resist-dyed fabric recognized as a city-level intangible cultural heritage. Guided by heritage inheritor Hu Sufen, they tried their hands at traditional processes such as making dye paste, carving patterns, scraping paste, and dyeing, gaining firsthand experience of this ancient craft’s distinct charm.

A highlight of their visit was to the Yong'an Pagoda, a nine-story, hexagonal structure standing 56.88 meters tall, modeled after Song Dynasty (960-1279) architecture. As the only ancient pagoda in Shanghai open for climbing, the ascent symbolized aspirations for success in the race, offering cyclists sweeping views of the city's skyline and the quaint street below, perfectly capturing the fusion of modernity and tradition.

Source: WeChat account of the publicity department of the CPC Jiading district committee at "sh-jiading"