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Zhou Enlai Former Residence
The childhood home of Premier Zhou Enlai in Fuma Lane of the old Huai'an town — 32 connected rooms bought by his grandfather in the Xianfeng era. Free with real-name reservation, closed Mondays; the courtyard residence presents the premier's family life and early years.
Hexia Ancient Town
A canal town within the 5A Zhou Enlai Hometown scenic area, free to wander day and night. Over its 2,500 years Hexia produced Han Xin, Liang Hongyu, Wu Cheng'en and top scholar Shen Kun; stone lanes, private gardens and teahouses serve the famous Huaiyang morning tea.
Li Canal Cultural Corridor
A national 4A riverside corridor of 10.8 square kilometers along the old Li Canal in Qingjiangpu District. Qingjiangpu Tower, Guoshi Pagoda and Zhongzhou Island's canal museums line the banks; the core area is free around the clock, with exhibit halls and evening cruises ticketed separately — the night view is the highlight.
Hongze Lake Ancient Dike
A national 4A area centered on the 67-kilometer Hongze Lake Grand Dike — a UNESCO Grand Canal heritage point and national key heritage site built from the Han dynasty onward. Shuicheng old town, Yuren Bay and lakeside walkways are free to explore, with boat cruises and sightseeing vehicles extra.
Huai'an Fu Shu (Prefecture Yamen)
One of only two ancient prefecture yamen compounds surviving in China, a national 4A site whose main hall of over 500 square meters is the largest in the country. Halls, prisons and exhibits reconstruct Ming-Qing local government —窦娥冤 lore included — with 2–3 hours recommended.
Jinhu Lotus Flower Sea
A national 4A wetland of some 12,000 mu in Jinhu County, famous for its summer lotus seas — among the best-known lotus-viewing sites in China. Boardwalks and boats thread the ponds at peak bloom from June to September; entry about 40 CNY (the site has run free-entry promotions in recent years).
Fantawild Glorious Orient (Huai'an)
A red-culture theme park of the Fantawild "Glorious Orient" series on Fangte Avenue in Hongze district, recreating a century of modern Chinese history with immersive rides, giant-screen theatres and night shows across some 60 hectares. One of Huai'an's most-visited family attractions, it drew about 1.73 million guests in 2023; tickets from about CNY 140 with separate night sessions.
Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall
Opened on 6 January 1992 on the shores of Taohuayin lake north of Huai'an's old town, with the hall name inscribed by Deng Xiaoping. The water-girt main hall, statue plaza and lakeside gardens commemorate Premier Zhou Enlai, born in Huai'an in 1898; the 40-hectare complex ranks among China's hundred classic red-tourism sites. Free with ID.
Tieshan Temple Forest Park
A national 4A forest park in the hills of Xuyi County, blending secondary forest, the Tieshan Temple heritage and the Chinese Academy of Sciences' nearby observation station — making it a rare stargazing destination. Xuyi's crayfish cuisine seals the trip.
Huanghuatang New Fourth Army Headquarters Site
From early 1943 to 1945 the New Fourth Army ran its headquarters at Huanghuatang village near Xuyi, the key command post as the War of Resistance turned from stalemate to counter-offensive. The 4A memorial complex of about 6,000 square metres keeps the former offices and exhibition halls in their pine-shaded grounds; free since May 2008 with real-name reservation, closed Mondays.
Tianquan Lake Resort
A 9-square-kilometre mountain lake inside Tieshan Temple National Forest Park, the largest of its kind in northern Jiangsu, ringed by pine and metasequoia woods. The 4A resort and national water-conservancy scenic area covers 47 square kilometres and is free to visit, with lakeside hotels, camping lawns and fiery autumn metasequoia; the forest park ticket is charged separately.
Huai'an Museum
The city's comprehensive museum on West Jiankang Road, holding Neolithic finds from the Qingliangang culture through Han-dynasty tombs and canal-era relics. In February 2025 it became one of the first museums in China to drop the Monday closing day, opening every day of the week; admission is free by reservation.
Wu Cheng'en Former Residence
The home of Wu Cheng'en, author of Journey to the West, in the heart of Hexia Ancient Town — a national 4A site with exhibition halls on the novel, its author and the Monkey King imagery that spread from this study.
Wudao Lake Park
An open county-park in central Lianshui combining Wudao Lake, Nengren Temple and the county museum across about 659,000 square meters, with five linked isles on the water. Free and open all day, it doubles as the town's daily green lung and a stop for temple and local-history visits.
China Caoyun Museum
Built beside the excavated ruins of the Ming-Qing Governor-General's Office of Grain Transport — one of China's major archaeological finds of 2002 — this national 4A museum tells the 2,000-year story of the canal administration that fed the capital, across 6,300 square metres of halls.
Qingyan Garden
Founded in 1417 and expanded from 1678 as the pleasure garden of the Qing Director-General of River Conservation, this is the only intact yamen garden in the history of Chinese river management. Known as the "first garden of the Jiang-Huai region", it belongs to the Grand Canal World Heritage area and is free to visit.
Diyi Mountain National Forest Park
A national 4A forest park facing the Huai River north of Xuyi county town, originally called South Hill until Song calligrapher Mi Fu inscribed "Diyi Shan" (First Mountain) on its rocks. Cliff carvings from the Song to Qing dynasties and a Confucian temple line the paths, with the lobster capital's best river views.
Mingzu Ling (Ming Ancestral Mausoleum)
The "first mausoleum of the Ming", begun in 1385 by Zhu Yuanzhang as a memorial tomb for his great-grandfather, grandfather and father. When the Yellow River seized the Huai in 1680 it drowned beneath Hongze Lake for more than 300 years before resurfacing; the spirit way lined with 21 pairs of stone figures survived remarkably. National heritage site and 4A scenic area, "the water-veiled imperial tomb".
Jinhu Water Forest Scenic Area
Jiangsu's largest man-made wetland forest, some 12,000 mu (8 sq km) of metasequoia and pond cypress standing in water at Tanggang, Yindu town, beside Baiying Lake. Rafting channels thread the trunks, a 20-metre lookout rides above the canopy, and April carpets the floor with Ophiopogon blooms — a national 4A scenic area and provincial water-conservancy park known as a natural oxygen bar.
Zhenhuai Tower
The drum-tower landmark of old Huai'an, first built in the Northern Song as a watchtower over the city gate and later renamed Zhenhuai, "guarding the Huai". A provincial heritage site since 2002, it can be climbed for views across the canal-era old town.
Hanxin Guli (Hometown of Han Xin)
Scenic area in Matou town, Huaiyin district, birthplace of Han Xin (c. 231-196 BC), the founding grand general of the Han dynasty. Opened in 2003 with Qin-Han-style halls along the old Huai river, it gathers the Huaiyin Marquis Temple, Fishing Terrace, Piaomu Shrine and Tomb, Cangxia Bridge and Qianjin Pavilion — home of the "meal worth a thousand gold" and "crawling under the crotch" legends; the through ticket also covers Mei Cheng's nearby residence.
Baimahu Ecological Tourism Area
One of Jiangsu's ten great lakes, Baimahu lies about 30 km southeast of Huai'an's urban core, a transit lake of the South-North Water Diversion eastern route shared by Jinhu, Hongze and Huai'an district shores. The lakeside eco-area chains wetland parks, flower seas and fishing villages; entry is free with on-site activities charged separately, best in spring bloom and autumn reed season.