Wuxi, a shining peal of Taihu Lake, is located at the south of Jiangsu Province, linking with the Yangtze River in the north and Taihu Lake in the south. Moreover, it is approximately half way between the cities of Shanghai (metropolis with west-meets-east sites) and Nanjing (capital of Jiangsu Province), the former is about 130 kilometers to the southeast and the latter is about 200 kilometers to the northwest. Along with the nearby city - Suzhou (50 km away), Wuxi is a popular destination for travelers to travel with Shanghai and nearby destinations linked by high speed train with less than 1 hour’s journey.
Wuxi is one of the birthplaces of Jiangnan culture which can be traced back to 3000 years ago in the late Shang Dynasty (1600~1046 BC). Taibo, the eldest son of emperor Zhoutai in the West Zhou Dynasty resigned sovereign authority to his third brother and came to Meili (today’s Mei Village in Wuxi). He introduced the inland culture to the south and created the Wu culture. Nowadays, Wuxi is a good choice to travel on its fertile land which is rich in “fish and rice” and explore its beautiful natural scenery and abundant culture.
Every city has its own stories. The legendary stories of Wuxi are described in the beautiful poems of Taihu Lake, flowing through the old grand canal through Wuxi downtown, as well as contained in the picturesque gardens, lakes and ancient temples. For more Wuxi attractions and recommended activities, please visit Top Wuxi Attractions & Things to Do in Wuxi
Lingshan Grand Buddha is one of the symbol of Wuxi located at the northern bank of Taihu Lake. It features the tallest bronze Shakyamuni Buddha standing majestically at 88 meters tall. It belongs to the grand Buddha situated in the east of China when the “Five Great Buddhas in Five Orientation of China” formed and it is even 17 meters taller than Leshan Giant Buddha.
Yuantouzhu, also called Turtle Head Island, is a famous peninsula situated at the northwest side of Taihu Lake. There is a famous saying “The superb view of the Taihu Lake lies in the Turtle Head Peninsula”, making Yuantouzhu a must-visit scenic area in Wuxi. Travelers should catch the best period when cherry fully blossom in spring (March to April) to immerse yourself in the sea of flowers.
Taihu Lake is one of the five freshwater lake in China with an area of 2428 sq. km and its shoreline stretching about 393 kilometers. To see the vast Taihu lake scenery, it is better to take a boat sailing leisurely on the water. You can appreciate the gorgeous view at the north side of Yuantouzhu and also take a boat to Fairy Island across Taihu Lake.
Wuxi Nanchan Temple, located at old grand canal, was first built during Liang Dynasty (502~560AD) with a history over 1450 years. It was unparalleled in Liang Dynasty and got the reputation of “the top temple in Jiangnan area”. You can have basic understanding about Chinese Buddhism and long history thousand years ago.
Liyuan Garden, situated on the shore of beautiful Li Lake, is a nice park to take a leisure walk and enjoy the lake and garden view. It was named after Fan Li who lived in seclusion with Xishi. The Four Season Pavilion, Thousand-step Corridor, Chunqiu Pavilion are worth visiting. Don’t miss the Lotus Blossom during June to September.
Plum is the city flower of Wuxi. To enjoy the fragrant blooming plum, you should take a visit to Plum Garden which is the well-known place to appreciate plum in Jiangnan Area. This exquisite and well-designed garden has over 5000 plum plants with various types. The best time to enjoy flowering plum is from the end of January to the late March.
Jichang Garden, close to Huishan Temple, is a famed Chinese classical garden in South China. Xiequ Garden inside the Summer Palace and Double-Crane House in Yuanming Yuan in Beijing both imitated Jichang Garden. “The natural hills, elegant water, ancient trees, ingenious design” makes Jichang Garden a charming paradise to be visited.
Huishan Old Town is with long history which can be called Wuxi history and culture museum in open air. There are 118 ancestral halls and important sites from Tang Dynasty to the Republican of China with 180 celebrities. Travelers can visit Huishan Heng Street, Zhi Street and Baoshan Bridge to explore the antique town.
The Three Kingdoms City (三国城) is a film and television base built by CCTV to shoot the 84-episode Romance of the Three Kingdoms. There are other two scenic spots: Shuihu City and Tang City. Tourists can see real scenes of the TV series here, which makes you feel like coming back to 2000 years ago.
Yixing Bamboo Forest, across Jiangsu, Anhui and Zhejiang provinces, is a sea of bamboo with magnificent scene. In spring, the bamboo forest is bright green and it is especially lovely after the spring rain. In summer, it is a perfect place to escape the summer heat because the temperature is much lower than that in the city.
Wuxi is located at the south of Jiangsu Province with fertile soil called “land teeming with fish and rice”. It belongs to the subtropical maritime climate with four distinctive seasons, gentle temperature, plentiful rainfall and abundant sunshine. The annual average temperature is about 16℃. The hottest month is July with an average temperature of 29 °C and the coldest month is January with an average temperature of 3 °C.
Best time to visit Wuxi: Wuxi is suitable to visit all year round and the best time is spring (March ~ May) and autumn (September ~ November), especially in March and early May when cherry blossoms are around Taihu Lake showing travelers a sea of flowers.
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Travelers can reach Wuxi by flight, train and coach. Wuxi Sunan Shuofang International Airport is located at the southeast of Wuxi city, about 18 km from downtown area. It has flights linking with Beijing (2.5 hrs), Xian (2 hrs), Chengdu (2.5 hrs), Chongqing (2 hrs), Guangzhou (2.5 hrs), Shenzhen (2.5 hrs), etc. and some foreign cities such as Seoul (Korea), Tokyo (Japan), Singapore (Singapore) and Manila (the Philippines). There are 3 main train stations in Wuxi, namely Wuxi Railway Station (无锡站), Wuxi Xinqu Railway Station (无锡新区站) and Wuxi East Railway Station (无锡东站). You can get to Wuxi by high speed train from Nanjing (1 hour), Suzhou (0.5~1.5 hours), Hangzhou (1.5~2.5 hours), Yangzhou (1~1.5 hours), Changzhou (12~30 minutes), etc.
Shanghai - Wuxi: 130 km, 2 hours by car, 30 minutes by high speed train. There are about 200 high speed trains from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station and Shanghai Railway Station to Wuxi Railway Station and Wuxi East Railway Station. Within 1.5 hours, you can get to Wuxi from Shanghai and the fastest trains need only about 30 minutes.
Suzhou - Wuxi: 50 km, 1 hour by car, 10 minutes by high speed train. It is extremely convenient to travel from Suzhou to Wuxi. There are about 150 high speed trains a day and the fastest one takes only 10 minutes.
Nanjing - Wuxi: 200 km, 2.5 hours by car, 1 hour by high speed train. There are over 100 high speed trains from Nanjing Railway Station or Nanjing South Railway Station to Wuxi Railway Station or Wuxi East Railway Station. It is the most recommended travel way.
Hangzhou - Wuxi: 200 km, 3 hours by car, 1.5-2.5 hours by high speed train. There are about 20 high speed trains available every day from Hangzhou East Railway Station (a few from Hangzhou Railway Station) to Wuxi Railway Station or Wuxi East Railway Station.
▶ Read More about Wuxi Transportation >>
It usually needs at least 2 days to explore the highlights in Wuxi. During your Wuxi trip, you can accommodate in Wuxi downtown with a lot of choices ranging from 5 star luxury hotels to budget ones. With good location, fine service and famous brand, you can stay in hotels such as Hyatt Regency Wuxi, InterContinental Hotel Wuxi, Wuxi Hotel, etc. If you want to spend longer time admiring Taihu Lake view, you can also stay in hotels near Taihu Lake area such as Taihu Hotel and Jiangnan Four Seasons Hotel. If you want more choices, please feel free to contact us anytime. Or, if you have your ideal choice to stay in Wuxi, you can tell your professional travel consultant and they will arrange the one for you.
▶ Read More about Where to Stay in Wuxi >>
To help you know more about the distributions of Wuxi attractions and how to travel in Wuxi, we have selected some useful Wuxi maps for you. Please feel free to use them. For more maps of Wuxi, please see Wuxi Maps.
Wuxi Location Map
Wuxi Attractions Map
Lingshan Grand Buddha Scenic Map
There are some awesome destinations near Wuxi which are well worth your time and exploration. Travelers can visit the modern metropolis - Shanghai, exquisite Gardens in Suzhou, picturesque West Lake in Hangzhou, and Dr. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing. Discover now!
Chinese Name: 无锡
Chinese Pinyin: wú xī
English IPA: ['wu:'ʃi]
Population: 6.51 million
Language: Mandarin & Wuxi Dialect
Tel Code: 0510
Zip Code: 214000
Time Zone: (UTC+8)
Usually, travelers can spend one or two days traveling Wuxi. You can cover the highlighted attractions - Yuantouzhu (Turtle Head Island), Lingshan Grand Buddha Scenic Area, Nanchan Temple, Liyuan Garden and more tourist spots. The amazing Taihu Lake scenery is what you can not miss in Wuxi.
Wuxi is well connected with Suzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou by high speed train. You can travel with these cities before or after a Wuxi tour. No matter where you want to visit or which attractions you want to explore, China Discovery will customize the tour for you. Select your favorite tours now!
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