Yangzhou · View all
Slender West Lake
The scenic signature of Yangzhou: a winding ribbon of lakes and gardens honored as a national 5A scenic area in 2010 and inscribed on the World Heritage list with the Grand Canal in 2014. Five Pavilion Bridge, the Twenty-Four Bridge and the White Pagoda line its willow-fringed banks, best enjoyed in spring by boat or on foot.
Geyuan Garden
A salt-merchant mansion garden of the Jiaqing era beside Dongguan Street, inscribed on the World Heritage list with the Grand Canal. Its celebrated Four Seasons Rockeries compress spring bamboo, summer lake stones, autumn yellowstone and winter xuanshi into one looping route — a primer on Yangzhou garden craft.
He Garden
Built in the Guangxu era and dubbed the First Garden of the Late Qing, this national heritage site is famous for its 1,500-meter double-deck covered corridor — an early Chinese prototype of the flyover — weaving towers, walks and rockeries together. The Shipian Shanshang rockery is attributed to painter-monk Shitao.
Daming Temple
Founded in the Southern Dynasties on Shugang Ridge, this is the temple where monk Jianzhen taught before his historic voyages to Japan. Ouyang Xiu's Pingshan Hall and the climbable Qiling Pagoda, with broad views over the lake district, weave Buddhist heritage and garden scenery into one visit.
Dongguan Street
Yangzhou's best-preserved historic street runs 1,122 meters from the old city to the ancient Dongguan ferry pier, a busy canal harbor since Tang times. Brick-and-tile Ming-Qing streetscapes shelter heritage sites such as Geyuan, Yipu and the Wang Family Compound — free to stroll, rich in everyday Yangzhou flavor.
Nashan Geological Park
A national 4A geological park and national science education base in Yizheng, formed by a volcanic eruption over 5 million years ago. The 146-meter hill features one of the world's ten great volcanic columnar basalt landscapes, alongside a geological museum and tea plantation.
China Grand Canal Museum
The national flagship museum of the Grand Canal, opened in 2021 inside the Sanwan park on Yangzhou's southern canal bend. Its vast halls weave 1,000-plus canal artefacts, immersive digital galleries and the grand Dayun Pagoda into the story of the world's longest artificial waterway. Free with real-name WeChat booking up to seven days ahead; closed Mondays.
Canal Sanwan Scenic Area
Where ancient canal engineers cut three great bends to tame the current, the free Sanwan park now strings wetland lawns, the silhouette Cut-out Bridge and lakeside groves along the water, with the Grand Canal Museum at its heart — Yangzhou's favourite free sunset walk.
Song Jiacheng Sports Leisure Park
The earthen walls of the Song-dynasty "middle city" — one of Yangzhou's three Song fortifications — were reborn in 2014 as a free 1,000-mu sports park inside the Slender West Lake heritage zone. Ball courts, rowing lanes and a wall-top walking loop ring the ramparts; open day and evening, no ticket.
Yangzhou Museum (Shuangbo Museum)
The "double museum" west of Mingyue Lake pairs the Yangzhou Museum with the China Block-Printing Museum, home of the woodblock craft UNESCO-listed here. Han-jade and Ming-Qing collections join working printing demonstrations; free with reservation, 9:00-17:00 (last entry 16:00), closed Mondays.
Wang Family Compound
The best-preserved late-Qing salt-merchant mansion in Yangzhou, hidden in the Dongquanmen historic block and listed as a national key heritage site. Three axial lines, three courtyards deep and four corner gardens fill its 3,000-square-meter plan, with superb wood, brick and stone carving throughout.
Zhu Ziqing Former Residence
The best-preserved former home of essayist Zhu Ziqing, tucked down Anle Lane near Pishi Street and free to visit. Zhu moved to Yangzhou at seven and lived here for thirteen years, always calling himself a Yangzhouer; the brick courtyard displays his manuscripts and memorabilia.
Shi Kefa Memorial Hall
Set on Meihua (Plum) Ridge just outside the old north gate of Yangzhou, this memorial honours Shi Kefa, the Ming commander who died defending the city in 1645. His cloak-and-cap tomb rests among plum trees; the complex became a national heritage site in 2013 and has been free with ID since 2016.
Wenfeng Pagoda
A seven-storey brick-and-wood pagoda built in 1582 beside the ancient canal's Baota bend, rising 44.75 metres. It was from this quay that the monk Jianzhu set out on the voyages that carried Buddhism to Japan; the pagoda anchors Wenfeng Temple and is free to visit.
Sui Yangdi Mausoleum Site Park
Opened in February 2024 around the restored tomb of Emperor Yang of Sui — the canal-building emperor buried here after his 618 assassination at Jiangdu. The 11.6-metre tumulus, heritage exhibition hall and imperial-style courts set on the Shugang fringe; entry CNY 30, closed Mondays.
Xianhe Mosque (Crane Mosque)
Founded in 1275 by the Persian missionary Pu Hading, this mosque on Nanmen Street ranks with Guangzhou, Quanzhou and Hangzhou mosques among the four great historic mosques of coastal China. Courtyards blend Chinese roofs with Islamic prayer halls in an active, free-to-visit sanctuary.
Wenchang Pavilion
Yangzhou's landmark pavilion stands on a traffic island where Wenchang Middle Road meets Wenchang North Road. Built in the Ming dynasty as the literary shrine of the prefectural school, the three-storey octagonal tower cannot be entered, but glows strikingly when lit at night, with Pishi Street's cafes a short stroll away.
Shaobo Ancient Town
A 1,600-year-old Grand Canal town in Jiangdu District, honored as a national historic town. In 2014 its Ming-Qing canal course, wharf cluster, ancient embankment and old ship lock joined the World Heritage list; the flagstone old street runs three li pastDouye Pavilion and the canal-taming iron ox.
Yucheng Post House
Founded in 1375 (Ming Hongwu era), Yucheng Post House is the largest and best-preserved ancient courier station in China — a living fossil of the imperial post system, now a 4A scenic site in Gaoyou. Halls, courier quarters and postal exhibits unfold beside Gaoyou Lake.
Guazhou Ancient Ferry
A storied ferry crossing at the old canal's mouth into the Yangtze, immortalized by Bai Juyi and Wang Anshi's verses and one of monk Jianzhen's departure points for Japan. The free park keeps the ancient ferry site, an imperial stele pavilion and north-south gardens among Yangzhou's "Twelve Canal Scenes."
Wu Daotai Mansion
Built in 1904 by Qing Daotai Wu Yinsun, a national key heritage site blending Zhejiang and Yangzhou architecture with courtyards, gardens and a private library.
Zhuyu Bay Scenic Area
A riverside scenic area and zoological-botanical park on a bend of the Grand Canal in Wantou town, named for the Han-era Zhuyu canal that once left the city here. The panda house, giraffes and open lakeside lawns make it Yangzhou's favourite family outing.
Fenghuangdao Ecological Tourism Area
A 225-hectare peninsula reaching into the Grand Canal northeast of Yangzhou, a national wetland park where herons and egrets fish the reeds. Walks, BBQ lawns and canal cruises fill family weekends; hours 8:30-17:00 with tickets CNY 30 off-season / 45 peak, and periodic free-entry campaigns.
Yangzhou Baguai Memorial Hall
Housed in the Song-era Xifan Temple site on Tuoling Lane, this memorial celebrates the "Eight Eccentrics" — Zheng Banqiao, Jin Nong and peers — whose bold ink styles redefined Qing painting. Galleries and gardens trace their lives; open 8:30-17:00 with tickets CNY 15 off-season / 22.5 peak.
Wenyoutai Terrace
A terrace garden in northern Gaoyou where Song poet Qin Guan received Su Shi and friends — "literati touring together" gave the site its name. Halls honour Qin's verse, a Wang clan memorial and painting galleries ring the moat-enclosed 3.7-hectare terrace; entry about CNY 30.
Zhenguo Temple Pagoda
A Tang-dynasty brick pagoda of 874 standing on an island in the Grand Canal at Gaoyou, nicknamed the "Wild Goose Pagoda of the South". The rebuilt Zhenguo Temple grounds are free to wander from about 6:00 to 18:00, with canal barges gliding past the pagoda's reflection.
Han Ling Yuan (Tomb Museum of the King of Guangling)
A national 4A museum on Shugang hill, opened in 1992 to display the Han-dynasty royal tomb excavated at Tianshan in 1979 and rebuilt here. Its "huangchang ticou" chamber of stacked cypress timbers is one of the finest surviving examples of Han royal burial construction.