At a glance |
General
Information |
History |
Cuisine |
Travel |
Climate |
Attractions | Tours originating
Wuxi
Attractions:
Taihu Lake
Scenery Zone
|
Dongling Academy of Classical Learning |
Taihu Lake Film and TV Studio Town |
Xihui Scenery Zone
| Yi Garden |
Yixing Pottery and Porcelain Exhibition Hall |
Wuxi Folk
Custom Village |
Plum Park
Scenery Zone | Ling Gu
Cave | Shan Juan
Cave | Zhanggong
Cave
Wuxi at
a glance:
A coastal city of Jiangsu
province; one of the 15 economic central cities in China; one of the 10
important tourist cities in China; called as "homeland of fish and rice"
Location: located between north latitude 3107' - 3200', east longitude
11931' - 12036'; situated in the middle of the Yangtze Delta, Taihu Plain
southeast of Jiangsu province; the Yangtze River to the north and Taihu Lake
south; 183km away from Nanjing, 128km from Shanghai. Neighboring
Areas: Zhejiang, Anhui, Shandong provinces and Shanghai Municipality.
Physical Features: mainly plain terrain, dotted with low mountain and
hills. Population: 4.32 million. Urban Population:
1.73 million. Nationalities: Han, Hui and Manchu. Area:
4,650 sq. km. Climatic Features: subtropical monsoon maritime
climate; mild and humid with 4 distinct seasons; long frost-free period of 230
days, enough sunshine of 2,000 hours annually. Average Temperature:
annual average of 15.5C. Rainfall: average annual of 1,000mm.
Mountains: Mt. Xishan, Mt. Huisha, Mt. Junzhang, Mt. Maji.
Rivers: the Yangtze River; Taihu Lake; Jinghang Canal.
General Information:
Wuxi is situated in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The Great Canal from
Beijing to Hangzhou runs across the entire area. Wuxi encompasses 3 cities and 5
districts with an area of 6.450 sq. km and a population of 4.2
million. With fertile land, crisscrossed ports and rivers, abundant products
from flourishing industry and agriculture, Wuxi is considered one of the 15
national economical centers. Wuxi is known for its natural scenic beauty and
rich cultural landscapes. Beautiful rivers, lakes, springs, caves, bamboo and
tea gardens are features that form the unique style of Jiangnan (south region of
Yangtze River including Southern Jiangsu, Anhui and northern Zhejiang). The
rippling blue Taihu Lake, the ancient canal and exquisite gardens, the graceful
bearing of this pottery capital, historic remains of Taibo in Xi Hill, folk
custom village, the native place of Xu Xiake, the most famous Chinese traveler
in the
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) in Jiangyin, the ancient battery on Yellow Hill will surely
make you not to miss home. There are a lot of local specialties to buy in Wuxi.
The fat, smiling clay figurine of Dafo (Buddha) is a symbol of wealth and
happiness and certainly an auspicious gift to buy for friends. Pearls are
another good purchase. Necklaces made of Taihu Lake pearls are very popular and
locally produced pearl powder is said to be good for the skin and heart. Yixing
teapots are also beautifully made and well worth looking for. They are to be
found in shops and markets all over town; don't forget to bargain hard!
History:
More than 3,000 years ago, the eldest son of Emperor Zhou Taiwang, Qinbo, came
here to build a city and founded the Gouwu Kingdom with his brother, Zhong Yong.
Emperor Han Gaozu, the first ruler of the
Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), established a county here
and called it Wuxi (which translated means no more lead or tin) because the tin
and lead had been completely mined out.
Cuisine:
Far removed from the big, butch, spicy dishes of Sichuan or Dongbei, Wuxi
cuisine is petit and sweet. Iced fish, shrimp and crab are local specialties.
Wuxi dim sums are a must-try, especially the "three-fresh" wonton (Sanxian
huntun), dumplings (Xiaolong bao), square cakes (Fang gao), sugary taro (Tang
yutou), glutinous rice dumplings (Tangyuan) and turnip slice paste patties
(Luobosi bing). A good selection of restaurants lies near the Railway Station.
Zhongguo Restaurant at No.90, Hangcang Lu offers decent local flavors as well as
a good atmosphere. Jiannan Restaurant at 61, Tongyuan Lu, Wangxingji Dumpling
Restaurant at No. 391, Zhongshan Lu and Wuxi Roast Duck Restaurant at No. 222, Zhongshan Lu are among the best of the rest. There are also decent restaurants
in some of the hotels including the Huating Grand and the Sheraton.
Travel:
Wuxi
is set conveniently on the Beijing-Shanghai railway line with the Great Canal
flowing through the city. The transportation system is well developed. By air:
Wuxi has a small airport with flights to Beijing (1.5hours, ¥720), Foshan
(2.5 hours, ¥740) and Kunming (2hours, ¥1,160). Tourists to other destinations
should go via nearby Changzhou, Nanjing or Shanghai airports. By rail:
There are about 60 fast trains that stop by Wuxi daily, heading for nearby
cities such as Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and distant cities like
Beijing, Harbin, Changchun, Shenyang, Jinan, Zhengzhou, Tianjin, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Xining, Chengdu and Urumqi. Almost every major city in China is directly
connected with Wuxi. The train station is north of the canal ring. You can take
bus no. 11 to get there. If you have to line up for a ticket, try window No.2,
where the service tends to be a little quicker than elsewhere. By water:
The Xishan ferry dock is to the southwest part of the city. There are daily
tourist boats to Changzhou (3 hours) and Suzhou (3.5 hours). It is also pleasant
to go to Huzhou across Taihu Lake (¥114 for a twin room). The boat departs
around 17:30 and arrives at 07:30 the next day. By road: There are three
long distance bus stations in Wuxi. The main one (Wuxi keyun zongzhan) is only
minutes' walk northwest of the train station at No.18 Guangqin Lu. There are bus
services to Shanghai (2 daily; 07:50, 12:10) and Wenzhou (1 daily; 13:30). Wuxi
Bus Station (Wuxi qiche zhan) is at #114, Tonghui Dong Lu. It operates daily
buses to Shanghai (¥43, 20 minute intervals), Suzhou (¥18 20 minute
intervals), Nanjing (¥52, 10 minute intervals), Qingdao (¥250; 2 night buses
daily at 19:30, 20:30) and Wuhan (¥280, 3 daily). The West Station (Wuxi qiche
xizhan) is on the west bank of the Great Canal on Liangong Lu near a roundabout.
(Take Bus #20 or 820 from the railway station). Most express busses heading
for Zhejiang and Anhui depart from here. Also there is a daily bus to Shanghai
(¥44), 4 to Nanjing (¥44), 1 to Nantong (¥43), 5 to Suzhou (¥15), 1 to Hefei (¥90; 09:10) and 3 to Wuhan (¥280).
City transport: A tourist
shuttle bus leaves from the Railway Station every 25 minutes. The service is
from 07:00 to 16:00. Taxis are abundant in the city. The flag fall price is
¥10 or ¥8 depending on the vehicle.
Climate:
Falling into the subtropical monsoon climate belt, Wuxi's weather is
characterized by four distinct seasons. It has a humid rainy season between
spring and summer, usually around June. Winter is mild with a lowest temperature
of -9C. Summer is hot and humid with highs around 39C.
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