Xijindu is the most historically layered street in Zhenjiang — a restored ancient ferry district along the Yangtze waterfront where the buildings reflect successive periods of the city's importance. The street runs parallel to the river and includes the former British Consulate (now a museum), several late Qing Dynasty shophouses, and a small cluster of restaurants and tea rooms.
The consulate building, a solid Victorian-era structure, is a physical reminder of Zhenjiang's treaty-port years after the First Opium War, when the city was one of the treaty ports opened to British commerce. The museum inside is modest but the building itself is architecturally distinctive. The street is pleasant for an evening walk; the vinegar restaurants near the waterfront are as good a place as any to try the local black vinegar with steamed dumplings.