Things to do in Jiaxing
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Jiaxing
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best window overall, mid September to mid October peaks, with the best tide and the Theatre Festival in October.
Spring shoulder, blossom and green canals, highs climbing from about 13 to 25 degrees, with rising rain.
Meiyu plum rain, the wettest month at about 170 mm, atmospheric for a day and wearying for a week.
Worst heat, highs about 32 to 33 degrees with high humidity, mosquitoes, storms and typhoon disruption risk.
Late autumn stays pleasant into early November, with Wuzhen lamb season under way and crowds thinning.
Damp cold winter, highs about 8 to 11 degrees, quiet towns, kind prices and empty lanes.
What's on
- Jiaxing Duanwu Folk Culture Festival 5th day of the 5th lunar month, around 9 June in 2027
Dragon boat races and zongzi in the zongzi capital, with over 1.5 million visitors across a recent festival holiday.
- Qiantang Tide Watching Festival 18th day of the 8th lunar month, around Mid-Autumn
The year's greatest bore at Yanguan in Haining, and its greatest crowds, so arrive two hours early.
- Mid-Autumn Festival 15th day of the 8th lunar month
Water towns at night under a full moon, at the peak of the tide season.
- Wuzhen Theatre Festival Mid to late October each year
The 13th edition, with 26 productions from 11 countries in 74 performances across 12 theatres in Xizha.
Best things to do in Jiaxing
Wuzhen Xizha Scenic Area
A restored canal town of bridges, inns and dye workshops that is transcendent at night and again before 8am.
Wuzhen Dongzha Scenic Area
The lived in half of Wuzhen, with Mao Dun's former home, folk workshops and morning local life.
Xitang Ancient Town
A looser, inhabited water town of covered canal walkways, stone lanes and a lively bar street at night.
Jiaxing South Lake Scenic Area
A gentle willow fringed lake in the city, best as a slow morning walk plus the short ferry to its island.
South Lake Revolutionary Memorial Hall
The memorial hall and Red Boat telling how the First Congress finished on a South Lake boat in 1921.
Yuehe Historic District
A free canal old town in the city, with small museums, a morning market and Zhongji Road at night.
Mu Xin Art Museum
A quiet museum for Wuzhen born painter and writer Mu Xin, the most serious sight inside Xizha.
Wuzhen Grand Theatre
Home of the Wuzhen Theatre Festival each October, when the whole water town becomes a stage.
Where to stay in Jiaxing
Inside Xizha, Wuzhen
the best single water town night
In gate inns include gate access and put the lantern lit night and empty dawn lanes outside your door.
Wuzhen town, outside the gates
full service resort comfort
Resort hotels trade the dawn lanes for pools, spas and a short shuttle to Xizha and Dongzha.
Jiaxing city, South Lake and Yuehe
value, food and onward trains
South Lake gives calm and the flagship hotel, Yuehe gives Zhongji Road evenings, and both beat station districts.
Inside Xitang, Jiashan
one lively water town night
Sleep inside for the covered lanes early and late, in a lane off the main street and away from Bar Street.
Think twice about
- Jiaxing South Station area
A new town fringe of wide roads and offices with almost nothing to eat or do at night. Use it for trains, not for sleeping.
- Xitang Bar Street and main street
Inns on the main street and by the bars hear music and crowds late and soundproofing is limited. Visit it, do not sleep above it.
- Yanguan as a sole base
A day trip built around a tide time that goes quiet afterwards. Fine for a tide eve night, dead as a multi night base.
- Tongxiang city centre as a water town base
A working county city with no water town evening to walk into. Stay in Wuzhen town or inside the scenic areas instead.
Best restaurants in Jiaxing
Chun Shan Restaurant
Trip.Best's top table in Jiaxing, a refined Jiangzhe dinner at the city's highest local spend.
Grand House Nanhu Jiaxing
The other fine dining name by South Lake, and the closest Jiaxing comes to a destination dinner.
Zou's Courtyard
A Jiangnan garden style courtyard restaurant in Yuehe, the sit down dinner to book in the district.
Hecheng Lu Gao Jian Local Flavors Restaurant
Traditional Jiaxing hometown dishes done properly in Yuehe, at honest mid range prices.
Yusheng Restaurant
A century old riverside house inside Xizha, known for zongzi pork and braised Wuzhen lamb.
Wufangzhai
Zongzi from the source, the 1921 Jiaxing brand, eaten hot and fresh with soy milk for a few yuan.
Xiexi Street Shaomai Shop
Jiaxing's breakfast shaomai, thin skinned and juicy, for about three dollars a person.
Zhen Zhen Lao Lao
The other century old zongzi institution, by the Yuehe flower and bird market, for a two dollar stop.
Outdoor things to do in Jiaxing
Yanguan Tide Viewing Park
The classic seawall for the Qiantang tidal bore, a moving wall of water best near the lunar great tide days.
South Lake Cruise
A short ferry and cruise to the lake island, for Yanyu Tower, the Red Boat and misty morning water.
Wuzhen Xizha Night Boat Tour
A shared wupeng boat through lantern lit Xizha after full dark, the best boat ride in the prefecture.
Wu Village
Wuzhen's rural resort arm, with farm activities and summer canoeing that give children room to run.
Jiulongshan National Forest Park
Jiaxing's only real hill walk, forested low peaks with sea air and views over Hangzhou Bay.
Jiulongshan General Golf Course
A 27 hole lakeside course in Pinghu, playable only if a visitor tee time is confirmed ahead.
Best hotels in Jiaxing
Alila Wuzhen, Zhejiang
A minimalist water village resort of canals and water houses, calm in a way Xizha cannot be at midday.
Nanhu Hotel
Jiaxing's flagship garden hotel inside the South Lake scenic area, with its own gates into the park.
Wuzhen Club House
The top in gate Xizha address, with boat arrivals arranged and the night town outside the door.
Wuzhen Tong'an Inn
The classic mid range in gate inn in the heart of Xizha, with gate access and a praised breakfast.
Hilton Jiaxing
The reliable full service international hotel in Jiaxing city, handy for South Lake and late arrivals.
Yuehe Hotel
A well rated hotel at the Yuehe old town, built for food and old town evenings on Zhongji Road.
Hilton Garden Inn Jiaxing Xiuzhou
The sharp priced, predictable budget chain stay in Jiaxing city, with a pool that over delivers.
Xitang Lightyear Hotel
A modern small hotel inside Xitang for the covered lanes early and late, at guesthouse money.
Is Jiaxing expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥450 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥950 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥2,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Wuzhen Xizha Scenic Area: a few days ahead
- Wuzhen Dongzha Scenic Area: a few days ahead
- Xitang Ancient Town: a few days ahead
- South Lake Revolutionary Memorial Hall: a few days ahead
- Mu Xin Art Museum: a few days ahead
- Wuzhen Grand Theatre: months ahead
- Puyuan Fashion Resort: a few days ahead
- Jiaxing Museum: a few days ahead
- Book inside Xizha and inside Xitang rooms weeks ahead, and months ahead for Theatre Festival dates.
- Theatre Festival tickets on the festival site and Damai go fast for popular productions.
- Reserve the memorial hall and Jiaxing Museum days ahead with passport details, as entry is real name and timed.
- Choose a Yanguan tide day from the lunar calendar first, then build transport around the bore time.
Is Jiaxing safe?
- Stay behind barriers at Yanguan and never descend to the seawall or mud for a photograph.
- Watch children by unrailed canal edges at night and watch wet stone after rain.
- Use Didi or the official taxi rank from stations to avoid overcharging.
- Emergency numbers are 110 for police and 120 for an ambulance.
Jiaxing travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Xizha and Xitang from 10am to 4pm on weekends are crowds and similar menus at scenic prices.
- Picture heavy menus at scenic area doors correlate with the weakest meals, so walk one lane back.
- Hanfu photo packages grow by add ons, so agree the full price before you sit down.
- Unofficial guides outside Wuzhen station add nothing the free shuttle does not.
Getting around Jiaxing: public transport and more
- Jiaxing South is the main high speed station, about 30 minutes from Shanghai Hongqiao and Hangzhou East, linked by Tram Line T1.
- Use Tongxiang Station for Wuzhen, Jiashan South for Xitang, and a pre arranged car for a Yanguan tide day.
- Inside towns everything is walking, boats and shared bikes, and Didi thins out late at night.
- Carry your passport for real name tickets and screenshot every booking's Chinese name.
Who Jiaxing suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Jiaxing your trip
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