Things to do in Yangzhou
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Yangzhou
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best time. Blossom season from mid March, qionghua in April, mild weather, and the highest prices and crowds of the year.
Late May to early June is the value shoulder, greener and quieter, with morning tea and Huaiyang food festivals in late May in recent years.
Hot, humid and rainy. Sightsee early, use the Canal Museum at midday, and take the lake and canal lit at night. Lotus is the compensation.
Second best window. Clearer air, Mid Autumn on the canal and hairy crab season, apart from crowded National Day week in early October.
Cold, quiet and cheapest. Gardens become rock and bamboo studies, and some small restaurants close around Chinese New Year.
What's on
- Slender West Lake blossom season mid March to April
Plum, cherry and qionghua across the lake, the famous fireworks in the third month season from Li Bai's poem.
- Qingming Festival early April
A domestic travel peak inside blossom season. Book hotels and museum reservations well ahead.
- Zaocha Culture Festival and Huaiyang Cuisine Festival late May in recent editions
Morning tea and Huaiyang food festivals, making late May the smartest food trip window.
- Mid-Autumn Festival September or early October, lunar calendar
Moonlit canal and lake celebrations in the start of the clear autumn window.
- Hairy crab season October to November
Crab roe lion's head, crab roe dumplings and drunken crab transform the Huaiyang menu.
- Daming Temple New Year's Eve bell striking 31 December
108 bells at midnight at Daming Temple, the winter event worth timing a trip around.
Best things to do in Yangzhou
Slender West Lake
A landscaped ribbon lake of willow banks, the Five Pavilion Bridge and a white pagoda, transcendent early and crowded by mid morning.
Geyuan Garden
A salt merchant garden of bamboo and a Four Seasons Rockery that walks you through a whole year in stone.
He Garden
A late Qing house garden where residence, corridor, stage and water show how a rich Yangzhou family actually lived.
China Grand Canal Museum
A ship shaped museum that tells the whole Grand Canal story, free to enter but impossible without an advance reservation.
Dongguan Street
A Ming and Qing slate street of merchant courtyards, old shops and snack stalls that becomes Yangzhou's living room at night.
Daming Temple
A historic Buddhist temple above the lake with a memorial to Jianzhen, a Song dynasty hall and a pagoda to climb for the view.
Pishi Street
A quiet old town lane of small cafes and independent shops, the lived in counterpoint to busy Dongguan Street.
Museum of Han Guangling King
A Western Han royal tomb you walk inside, built from hundreds of nanmu timbers in an emperor grade burial chamber.
Where to stay in Yangzhou
Slender West Lake and Changchun Road
first trip, couples, garden and resort base
Walk into the lake at opening time, stay in the State Guesthouse grounds or the hot spring resort, and ride a short way to Dongguan for evenings.
Dongguan Street and Guangling Old Town
food trips, evening people, default base
Morning tea, both great gardens and the night street are all on foot, with the best supported mid range and budget hotels in the old town.
Wenchang Road West and Mingyue Lake
business plus leisure, drivers, big hotel comfort
Space, parking and brand consistency by Mingyue Lake, a short ride from the gardens, in a quieter modern district.
Think twice about
- Yangzhou East Railway Station and airport surroundings
Transport and new development land, dead at night and a long ride from the old town, so you spend the trip in cars.
- Far Jiangdu and the industrial east
Nothing wrong with it, but there is no visitor life there after dark and every sight is a drive away.
Best restaurants in Yangzhou
Quyuan Tea House
Morning tea as ceremony inside the State Guesthouse, with crab roe dumplings in season and tofu shreds cut with precision.
Yangzhou Banquet
The showcase Huaiyang dinner opposite the lake east gate, famous for its fried rice and worth the early queue.
Fuchun Teahouse
The original morning tea house since 1885, known for its buns and its own Kuilongzhu blended tea.
Yechun Teahouse
Morning tea in a riverside garden of pavilions and willows, with pine nut siu mai the dish reviewers single out.
Gonghechun
The cheap, local third of the historic three springs, famous in the local saying for dumplings and noodles.
Jiang Jia Qiao
Beloved cheap dumplings, wontons and noodle soups on Dongguan Street, with a queue, shared tables and no ceremony.
Da Chao Huai Huaiyang Cuisine (Heyuan Flagship Store)
A modern Huaiyang room by He Garden serving lion's head, Wensi tofu and fried rice without a banquet booking.
XIANGYUAN
A well ranked central Huaiyang all rounder for a wide shared spread when the famous names are full.
Outdoor things to do in Yangzhou
Slender West Lake Cruise
See the Five Pavilion Bridge, White Pagoda and Twenty-Four Bridge from the water, by day or lit up on the night cruise.
Yangzhou Ancient Grand Canal
Cruise the historic working canal at night, past Dongguan Street and lit bridges, then walk back along the towpath.
Canal Sanwan Scenic Area
Walk or cycle the canal's great wetland bend, then step straight into the Grand Canal Museum inside the same park.
Songjiacheng Archaeological Site Park
A broad Tang and Song city site park by the lake, with gates, a floating bridge and room to breathe away from tour groups.
Zhuyuwan Scenic Area
A spacious park of lotus and water east of the centre, the easy family park day instead of a second merchant garden.
Slender West Lake Hot Spring Resort
More than 30 garden hot spring pools two minutes from the lake, the classic Yangzhou way to end a sightseeing day.
Yangzhou Sun Island Golf Club
An 18 hole woodland resort course south of the city, par 72 and over 7,300 yards, with caddies and rentals.
Jinshan Park
Climb Jinshan in Zhenjiang for its temple and Yangtze panorama, the hill half of the classic day trip from Yangzhou.
Best hotels in Yangzhou
Yangzhou State Guesthouse
The classic top address in its own grounds by the lake, calm and spacious, and home to Quyuan Tea House.
Slender West Lake Hot Spring Resort
A garden resort two minutes from the lake with a full spa on site, half sightseeing base and half unwind.
Mercure Hotel (Yangzhou Dongguan Street)
The best supported old town stay, by Dongguan and Pishi Streets, with morning tea and gardens on foot.
Holiday Inn Express Yangzhou City Center
A dependable mid range base within walking distance of the lake south gate, Dongguan Street and He Garden.
Orange Hotel (Yangzhou Slender West Lake Dongguan Street)
A clean budget select service hotel about a kilometre from both Slender West Lake and Ge Garden, ringed by teahouses.
Shangri-La Yangzhou
The big international luxury hotel by Mingyue Lake, quiet and spacious, with Yangzhou dim sum at breakfast.
Crowne Plaza Yangzhou by IHG
The other large international five star in Yangzhou, a peer alternative to Shangri-La, so compare rates before booking.
Is Yangzhou expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥280 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥550 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥1,200 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Slender West Lake: a few days ahead
- China Grand Canal Museum: weeks ahead
- Yangzhou Museum: a few days ahead
- Slender West Lake Cruise: a few days ahead
- Yangzhou Ancient Grand Canal: a few days ahead
- Slender West Lake Hot Spring Resort: a few days ahead
- Yangzhou Sun Island Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Jinshan Park: a few days ahead
- The China Grand Canal Museum is free but needs a real name WeChat reservation days ahead, and it sells out on weekends and holidays.
- Book Quyuan for weekend morning tea, arrive early or reserve for Yangzhou Banquet, and book spring season hotels weeks ahead.
- Reserve golf at Sun Island and any Zhenjiang private day trip in advance through a concierge or platform.
Is Yangzhou safe?
- Yangzhou centre feels safe at night, including Dongguan Street and the canal paths. Watch e bikes at crossings.
- Garden rockeries are slippery after rain, and summer gardens need sun cover and mosquito repellent.
- Emergency numbers in China are 110 for police, 120 for ambulance and 119 for fire. Do not drink the tap water.
Yangzhou travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Souvenirs and food inside Slender West Lake and at the scenic end of Dongguan Street are priced for visitors.
- Tour groups fill Slender West Lake after about 8am, turning a serene opening hour into a loudspeaker circuit.
- Trying to fit both gardens, both museums, Daming Temple and Zhenjiang into two days ruins Yangzhou's pace.
Getting around Yangzhou: public transport and more
- Walk the old town and use DiDi for cross centre rides, which local itineraries put at about CNY 15 from the lake to Dongguan Street.
- Use shared bikes for the lake, Sanwan and Songjiacheng paths, and city buses for cheap direct routes.
- Arrive at Yangzhou East by high speed rail and taxi into the old town. The airport is about 45 minutes by road.
Who Yangzhou suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Yangzhou your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store