Wuxi’s waterscapes take two very different forms: the Taihu Lake area, with its expansive mountain-and-water scenery, and the Grand Canal, with its historic waterfront and lanes. The city also has Buddhist sites and a museum with a wide-ranging collection. If you’re looking for a hotel in Wuxi, your plans for the days ahead can help you choose: landscapes and lake views, temples, canal history or exhibitions.
Taihu Lake and historic waterways
Yuantouzhu is a turtle-head-shaped peninsula on the northwestern shore of Taihu Lake. The scenic area includes mountain landscapes, wide expanses of water, scattered sailing boats, villages and understated, elegant Jiangnan-style gardens. A sightseeing cruise from the Yuantouzhu pier offers views of the lake and the interplay of mountain and water scenery on Fairy Island. Here, the expansive landscape takes center stage.
The stretch of the Grand Canal at Qingming Bridge has a very different character: over 1.6 kilometers, waterfront houses and waterside landing stages shape a distinctive landscape of waterways and lanes. The Qingming Bridge Historic and Cultural Block lies around the bridge and extends along the canal. It was included in the second group of Chinese Historic and Cultural Streets in 2010. The block’s protected heritage includes 19 cultural heritage sites at the national, provincial and municipal levels, eight archways and 17 other cultural monuments. Here, the focus is not on expansive lake views but on the connection between the canal, its buildings and its lanes.
Buddhist culture at Lingshan and Nanchan
Lingshan Shengjing in Mashan, Wuxi, is a national 5A-rated tourist attraction and a Buddhist culture theme park. It brings Buddhist culture together with Mashan’s natural landscape. One of its most prominent features is the Lingshan Buddha: an 88-meter-high bronze standing statue of Shakyamuni. Lingshan Shengjing thus combines a clearly defined religious theme with a vast scenic setting.
Nanchan Temple also offers a historic perspective on Buddhist architecture. It was first built during the Southern Dynasties, from 420 to 589. The Miaoguang Pagoda within the temple dates from the Song Dynasty, from 960 to 1279. The two dates therefore refer to different structures and periods: the temple’s initial construction and the pagoda. Nanchan Temple Scenic Area is a publicly accessible historic and cultural space that brings together tourism, dining, shopping and entertainment.
Museum collections and city history
Wuxi Museum brings exhibitions, research and the appreciation of art together in a comprehensive cultural center. Its collection comprises nearly 40,000 cultural relics, including ancient paintings and calligraphy, Yixing purple clay teapots, Huishan clay figurines, and modern objects documenting revolutionary history, industry and the economy. The collection spans crafts and fine art as well as material records of modern change.
The museum also has 15 permanent exhibitions and four dedicated areas covering culture, history, science and technology, and film education. Visitors interested in exploring different subjects under one roof will find both historical objects and areas focused on science and film. This makes for a different kind of visit than exploring a single historic building or scenic area.
The Plum Garden through the seasons
Wuxi’s Plum Garden offers seasonal highlights throughout the year: plum blossoms in early spring, lotus flowers in midsummer, osmanthus blossoms in autumn and snow in winter. This sequence makes the seasons an essential part of the garden’s appeal. The Huaxi Scenic Area adds more than 100 species of exotic flowers and plants, along with large rock formations.
The Rong family history is also represented in the Plum Garden. The plum blossom area includes cultural heritage sites and historic places associated with the Rong family, including China’s only Plum Culture Museum. Several aspects come together here: seasonal blossoms and plants, rock formations, and local cultural and family history. As you plan your trip, these differences can help you choose what you’d like to focus on in Wuxi, rather than reducing the city to a single attraction.
Discover more destinations: Xuzhou, Huai'an, Suqian, Taizhou, Yancheng, Nantong, Yangzhou, Lianyungang.
For the overview of the wider region: Jiangsu.
