Things to do in Wuxi
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Wuxi
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Plum and wintersweet bloom at Plum Garden, with Nanchan Temple fair crowds at Chinese New Year and damp cold.
Cherry blossom peak at Yuantouzhu and the Wuxi Marathon in late March, the most beautiful and most crowded season.
Green lake and lotus from June with the Taihu Music Festival, then plum rain arrives from mid June.
Worst months, with heat, humidity, storms, school holiday crowds and the highest Lake Tai algae risk.
Heat breaks, the Tour of Taihu Lake cycling race runs in mid September and Mid Autumn brings canal lanterns and crab.
Best weather after National Day week, with Taihu freshwater season, Huishan ginkgo and chrysanthemum displays.
Quiet and cold, with gulls returning to Yuantouzhu, low hotel rates and bare gardens.
What's on
- Mei Flower and Wintersweet Exhibition late January to February
Plum and wintersweet bloom at Plum Garden, Wuxi first blossom event of the year.
- Taihu Yuantouzhu International Cherry Blossom Festival March to early April
Peak Somei Yoshino bloom usually mid to late March, with illuminated night blossoms in peak weeks.
- Wuxi Marathon Usually late March
A mass blossom season marathon with lake shore road closures and full hotels across the city.
- Taihu Music Festival spring to early summer, typically May
Wuxi big outdoor music festival, the main live music draw of the warmer season.
- Tour of Taihu Lake Usually mid September
A professional multi stage cycling race across the Yangtze Delta with a Binhu, Wuxi stage.
- Mid-Autumn Festival lunar, usually September
Canal lantern season on Nanchang Street and peak Taihu crab season in local restaurants.
Best things to do in Wuxi
Tai Hu Yuantouzhu Scenic Spot
The finest view of Lake Tai, a garden peninsula with a ferry to Fairy Island and cherry blossom on a vast scale.
Lingshan Grand Buddha
An 88 metre bronze Buddha with the Brahma Palace art hall and the Nine Dragons Bathing fountain show.
Huishan Ancient Town
More than a hundred Ming and Qing ancestral halls on free bluestone lanes, with teahouses and clay figure shops.
Jichang Garden
One of the four famous gardens of Jiangnan, borrowing Huishan as scenery around its pond and Eight Tone Stream.
Qingming Bridge Ancient Grand Canal Scenic Area
Wuxi at its best after dark, lantern lit canal houses, Qingming Bridge and night boats along Nanchang Street.
Nanchan Temple
A free ancient temple and pagoda inside the city liveliest market quarter of flowers, antiques, tea and snacks.
Nianhua Bay
A Tang and Song style Zen resort town by Lingshan, built for the night with light shows and a drone finale.
Xihui Park
The locals park joining Huishan and Xishan, with a boating lake, cable car and the Second Spring Under Heaven.
Where to stay in Wuxi
Old centre: Sanyang Plaza, Nanchang Street and Qingming Bridge
first trip, food and old town
Metro Lines 1 and 2 cross at Sanyang Plaza, with Nanchan Temple, Nanchang Street and Huishan all easy to reach.
Lake shore: Binhu, Lihu Lake and Yuantouzhu
lake days, blossom season and resort calm
Greener and quieter than downtown along Lihu Lake, closest to Liyuan Garden and the road to Yuantouzhu.
Taihu New City
expo, business and Jiangnan University
New large hotels by the Civic Center and Expo Center with wetland parks, but far from old town sights.
Mashan: Lingshan and Nianhua Bay
one night Zen add on
Staying inside Nianhua Bay turns Lingshan by day and the drone lit town by night into one unhurried visit.
Think twice about
- Taihu New City as a sightseeing base
Not unsafe, just remote from Huishan, the canal and the stations, with quiet government district streets at night.
- Wuxi East Station perimeter
Useful for high speed trains but with nothing walkable around it and a cross town trip to every major sight.
- Mashan as a whole trip base
Beautiful and calm for Lingshan and Nianhua Bay, but about an hour from the centre with thin late evening transport.
Best restaurants in Wuxi
Restaurant in Wuxi Juna Hubin Hotel
The splurge Wuxi dinner, refined local classics and Taihu lake fish on the 27th floor over Lihu Lake.
Restaurant in Suning Galaxy International Hotel Wuxi
Authentic Wuxi cuisine with a 65th floor city panorama, the downtown splurge dinner without a lake taxi.
Sanfengqiao Restaurant
The origin house for Wuxi sauced pork ribs, with stuffed lotus root, magnolia cakes and stuffed gluten.
Tianfuyuan Hotel
A central local favourite for the full Wuxi repertoire, from ribs and white fish to magnolia cake.
Restaurant in Wuxi Taihu Hotel
Classic Wuxi dishes in the Taihu Hotel, the lakeside dinner to pair with a Yuantouzhu day.
Wang Xing Ji
Wuxi xiaolongbao institution, larger and sweeter than Shanghai style, with wontons for breakfast or lunch.
Xi Sheng Yuan
The connoisseur xiaolongbao fixture near Liyuan, thin skinned and juicy at true snack prices.
Xin Wan Xin Noodle Restaurant
Silver thread noodles thin as silk in clear broth, from a noodle shop founded in 1930 on the canal.
Best bars in Wuxi
Erquan Teahouse
Biluochun tea brewed with Second Spring water itself, the small ritual that defines Huishan.
Outdoor things to do in Wuxi
Lihu Park
A free flat lakeside circuit made for cycling at sunrise or sunset, with the shore path onward to Yuantouzhu.
Wuxi Taihu International Golf Club
Wuxi own resort course on the Mashan peninsula, pairing a golf morning with Lingshan or Nianhua Bay.
Taihu International Golf Club
The documented Taihu round, a Graham Marsh designed public 18 holes with a golf hotel on site.
Huishan Mountain
The city viewpoint hike through Xihui Park, walked up or cable car up and walked down, for city and lake views.
Yixing Bamboo Sea
A rolling sea of bamboo in the Yixing hills, cool and shaded, with a cable car over the green ridges.
Shanjuan Cave
A multi level limestone cave with stalactite halls and an underground river you leave by boat.
Humble Administrator's Garden
Suzhou largest classical garden, the heart of the bullet train day trip from Wuxi with Pingjiang Road.
China Dinosaurs Park
A major dinosaur museum wrapped in a full ride park, the family day trip west from Wuxi by fast train.
Best hotels in Wuxi
InterContinental Wuxi by IHG
The old centre flagship by Taihu Square and the canal, walkable to Nanchang Street with an indoor pool.
Hotel Indigo Wuxi Qingming Bridge by IHG
A design led luxury stay on the canal itself, so the Qingming Bridge night walk starts at the lobby.
Suning Galaxy International Hotel Wuxi
A full service tower hotel at Sanyang Plaza with a 65th floor restaurant, the downtown mid tier workhorse.
Jinjiang Inn Wuxi Sanyang Plaza
The representative downtown budget chain stay near Sanyang Plaza, clean and central at snack street prices.
Wuxi Juna Hubin Hotel
The lake shore grand address on Lihu, with gardens, lake views and the 27th floor Wuxi restaurant.
Wuxi Taihu Hotel
A formal lakeside classic in shore gardens near Yuantouzhu, chosen for Taihu days over nightlife.
Wuxi Marriott Hotel Lihu Lake
Modern international rooms on Lihu Lake at a clear step below the shore flagship prices.
Crowne Plaza Wuxi Taihu by IHG
The family friendly full service value pick in the Yuantouzhu and Liyuan lake zone.
Is Wuxi expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥450 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥900 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥2,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Tai Hu Yuantouzhu Scenic Spot: a few days ahead
- Lingshan Grand Buddha: a few days ahead
- Nianhua Bay: a few days ahead
- Wuxi Taihu International Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Taihu International Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Yixing Bamboo Sea: a few days ahead
- Humble Administrator's Garden: a few days ahead
- China Dinosaurs Park: a few days ahead
- Book Yuantouzhu and Lingshan entry days ahead in blossom season, on holidays and on spring and autumn weekends.
- Book Nianhua Bay night entry and inn stays ahead on weekends, and Suzhou garden entry ahead in season.
- Book golf days ahead through a hotel or agent, and buy return train tickets with the outbound on busy evenings.
Is Wuxi safe?
- Wuxi is low crime and orderly, with no neighbourhood that is dangerous to base in.
- Watch fast quiet e bikes at crossings and expect slippery bluestone in Huishan after rain.
- Swim only at managed signed lake bathing areas and use official ferries and licensed canal cruises.
- In hot months Lake Tai can have algal blooms near shore, one more reason to favour spring and autumn.
Wuxi travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not try Lingshan, Yuantouzhu and the old town in one day, as they sit in three different directions.
- Three Kingdoms City is a film set, not an ancient site, so history seekers should spend the day at Huishan instead.
- Visit Nanchang Street at dusk rather than midday, and Yuantouzhu on a weekday at opening time in blossom season.
- Balance Wuxi sweet signatures with noodles and plain dishes, as a full sweet table overwhelms first timers.
Getting around Wuxi: public transport and more
- Use Metro Line 1 for Wuxi Station, Sanyang Plaza, Nanchan Temple and Taihu New City, and Line 4 for Huishan Ancient Town.
- Yuantouzhu needs a bus or taxi of 30 to 45 minutes, and Lingshan and Nianhua Bay in Mashan need a taxi of 45 to 60 minutes.
- High speed trains run to Suzhou in 25 to 40 minutes, Changzhou in 30 to 45 minutes and Shanghai in about an hour.
- Carry your passport daily for train tickets and real name scenic area entry, and use Amap for maps in China.
Who Wuxi suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Wuxi your trip
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