I live in Suzhou and I’ve been tying my best to continue to travel in China. So far it has been a wonderful experience. On February-2018, I visited Wuxi city located in Jiangsu province of China. In fact, this was my 11th Chinese city. I’ve already shared some of the general observations about Wuxi in my previous post (Wuxi travel review – Part 1). In this post, I’ll further extend my previous post and share more details about the top things to do in Wuxi.
As always, I’m attaching quite many of the photos that I clicked during my trip to let you feel Wuxi city in a much better way.
Explore Wuxi temples
If you like visiting historical temples, then a visit to the Nanchan Temple (无锡南禅寺, Wúxī Nán Chán Sì) is a must. The temple was built in 549 A.D and by now it’s already more than 1500 years old. There is no entry fee.
There is also a shopping market located just outside the temple. As such, even in the day time the market is full of food stalls. The temple and food market are directly connected by the subway (get down at the Nanchan Temple Station).
Btw, I saw a Chinese family teaching a 2-3-year-old little girl about bowing to the deity. The whole process looked very cute. I took a video and I’d upload it on YouTube once I have access to YouTube.
Another interesting temple in Wuxi is Chong’an Temple (崇安寺, Chóng ān sì). This temple is located in the Sanyang Square (Wuxi’s city center). This area looks more alive during the night time. You can take the subway and get down at the Sanyang Square (三阳广场, Sān yáng guǎngchǎng) metro station.
Both the Nanchan Temple and Chong’an Temple are located only one station apart. That means, if you intend to visit both the temples, you can even consider walking from one temple to another.
You can also consider visiting Dajue Temple (大觉寺). This is a 700-year-old temple and it’s located close to Hengshan Reservoir and Jilong Mountain. However, the temple is quite far away from the Wuxi downtown.
Visit Wuxi museums
If you like visiting museums, then I think you should stop by China Clay Figurine Museum (無錫中國泥人博物館, Wúxī zhōngguó nírén bówùguǎn). As the name suggests, this is the place to appreciate artifacts made of clay. During my visit, the museum was just not at all crowded. The museum has an entry fee of RMB 20.
The Clay museum is located very close to the Huishan Ancient Town. The town itself requires you to spend a few hours.
An another interesting museum in Wuxi is the Wuxi Museum (无锡博物院, Wúxī Bówùyuàn). It’s a huge museum, and the artifacts are placed in a multistory building. Some of the collections are nearly 6000 years old. Free entry.
Eat local food in Wuxi night markets
As mentioned earlier, if you wish to eat local Chinese cuisines, then you should visit the food markets near Nanchan and Chong’an Temples.
If you intend to visit a night market during the daylight, then I think Nanchan Temple would be better. However, for the night time I’d recommend the Chong’an Temple more.
Huishan Ancient Town located only a few kilometers away is also full of delicious food.
Park, gardens and wildlife
Wuxi has so many beautiful gardens. I’d recommend you visiting the Plum Garden (梅园, Méi yuán). There are so many varieties of flowers. However, the garden was quite crowded during my visit (mostly Chinese tourist). There is also a food market inside the garden.
Wuxi Zoo (无锡动物园, Wúxī dòngwùyuán) would be another interesting tourist attraction if you are into exploring the wildlife.
Liyuan (蠡园) or Li Garden is another interesting garden located near the Li Lake. Li Garden was built in 1927. The lake itself is very beautiful and it’s nearly 1.7 times larger than Hangzhou’s West Lake.
You can also visit Xihui Park (锡惠公园, Yánghuì Gōng Yuán). I visited the park in the morning and it was full of the senior citizens. They were busy doing health activities (jogging, etc.). As per the legends, emperor Shi Huangdi once visited the park.
The Dragon Light Pagoda is located very close to the Xihui Park.
Qingming Bridge is one of the top things to do in Wuxi City
Wuxi has so many canals with small bridges build over them. The most famous bridge seems to be the 400-year-old single hole stone arch Qingming Bridge (清名桥, Qīng míng qiáo). The bridge is located on the 1,800km long Grand Canal that stretches from Beijing to Hangzhou.
The bridge was built during the Ming dynasty and still remains intact. To the Wuxi people, the Qingming Bridge seems to have a lot of cultural significance. For example, the Qingming Festival derives its name from the bridge.
I walked nearly 1.5 km to get to the Qingming bridge. The scenery along the way looked just stunning.
Wander on Yuantouzhu peninsula
I must say that Yuantouzhu (鼋头渚, Yuán tóu zhǔ) is one of the top things to do in Wuxi City. The whole area looked quite similar to Queenstown, New Zealand and Hangzhou’s West Lake.
Initially, I was wandering alone in the Yuantouzhu park. Then took a tourist bus and reached the ferry terminal to go the Turtle head island. Fee RMB 100. Discounts available to students and seniors, etc.
Hop on to the Turtle head island
You need to take a ferry to the Turtle Head Island from the Yuantouzhu peninsula. The one-way ferry trip is nearly a 10 minutes’ journey. The ferry departs every 30 minutes or so, and you can ride the one you like. The ferry transfers and entry to the Turtle Head Island was included in the RMB 100 that I paid for Yuantouzhu peninsula.
The island is a very famous tourist spot and requires you to spend around 1-2 hour. Highly recommended.
Lake Tai (太湖) is another awesome attraction in Wuxi to be explored upon. This is a huge freshwater lake that washes the shores of so many Chinese cities including Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, etc.
Related post – Changzhou City (Jiangsu, China) Travel Attraction Review & Top Things To Do.
There are so many scenic spots along the Lake Tai, including the aforementioned Yuantouzhu peninsula and Li lake.
Grand Buddha at Lingshan
The Grand Buddha at Lingshan (灵山大佛, Língshān Dà Fó) is yet another famous tourist spot in Wuxi. In fact, the Lingshan statue is one of the largest Buddha statues (~80m tall) in China. No wonder, it attracts thousands of visitors every day.
However, the statue is located very far from Wuxi downtown and if you take a public bus, it’s going to take more than one hour for a one-way journey. So make sure that you start early, as the entry is not allowed after 5pm. I took bus 89 from Wuxi city center and reached to the entrance gate of the Grand Buddha at 5pm. I was not allowed to enter the premises. Finally, I took a bus to get back to downtown and ended up wasting another 1 hour.
Donglin Academy (东林书院, Dōnglín Shūyuàn) is also a very an interesting place in Wuxi.
If you want to learn about the academic and scholarly developments in China, then you should stop by Donglin Academy. The Academy’s history is nearly 900 years old. There is also a library inside the academy. You can spend around 1 hour exploring the Academy. Free entry.
That’s all in this post.
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Happy travelling in China.
Cheers!
Last updated: Saturday, March 31, 2018