Slender West Lake, Yangzhou

Yangzhou is located in Jiangsu Province some 300 kilometers to the northwest of Shanghai. To get there, you can either take a direct train or coach from Shanghai to Yangzhou. The train T782/T783 (soft seat: CNY97.00; hard seat: CNY63.00) departing at 14:39 and arrives at 20:05. The coach can be caught from Shanghai South Railway Station (No. 666 Shilong Road) or Shanghai Passenger Traffic Terminal Station (No. 1662 Zhongxing Road) with departures starting from the early morning to the afternoon. The journey takes 4 hours and the ticket is about CNY100.00. Alternatively, you can take the Multiple-Depot Train (class one: CNY88.00; class two: CNY74.00) to Zhenjiang first and then transfer to a bus (ticket: CNY13.00) at Zhenjiang Railway station to Yangzhou, with the combined journey taking 3 hours and stops at Yangzhou East Passenger Station.

Both transportations and accommodations are very convenient in Yangzhou. When you are traveling, please ensure you have enough loose changes to pay for the bus, taxi or rickshaw fare. Yangzhou is a popular tourist destination so if you travel during spring or a national holiday, you must make hotel reservations in advance. We recommend Jinjiang Inn (3 stars; Addr: No. 363 Si Siwangting Road, Weiyang District; Tel: 0514-87963800) and Hanting Hotel (3 stars; Addr: No. 71 North Wenhe Road, Guangling District; Tel: 0514-87322399), which are economical chains located all over the country. The room rates are very reasonably priced at CNY180.00 per room per night.

Ge Garden, Yangzhou

After a short rest at the hotel, you may have lunch at the nearby restaurant named Fu Man Lou (Addr: No.30 North Wenhe Road, Guangling District; Tel: 0514-7342777) which is a famous restaurant well known for it real local flavor. It is at the crossing of Si Wang Ting Road and Wenhe Road. You can either take a taxi or a rickshaw to get there. After lunch, please turn right onto Huaihai Road and head to the Slender West Lake.

We suggest you buy a combined ticket (CNY120.00) which includes the Slender West Lake (CNY80.00; Addr: the south entrance is near the arched stone Hongqiao bridge on Dahongqiao Road), the Ge Garden (CNY40.00; Addr: No. 10 East Yanfu Road), the He Garden (CNY40.00; Addr: No. 66 Xuyimen Street) and the Bonsai Garden (CNY15.00; Addr: outside the south gate of the lake park). It is much more economical than buying the tickets separately and the spots do not require you to finish your exploration the same day. The lake park occupies the entire northwest part of Yangzhou and  will require at least 3 to 4 hours to visit. After that, you may take a tour to the Ge Garden and the Bonsai Gardens which are very close to the lake park. The best way to see these sites is by taking a rickshaw which costs no more than CNY5.00 per trip.

The closing time of these spots is around around 18:00. So if you can not finish these three sites in an afternoon, you may return the following day.

He Garden, Yangzhou

The flavor of the Yangzhou food enjoys a high reputation in China. During your stay in Yangzhou, you no doubt have seen a great many restaurants. Siwangting Road itself is a well-known food street. If you are a gastronomic kind of person and love Chinese food, this is your lucky day. After dinner, walk back to the hotel or appreciate the night view near Wenchang Pavilion or the city moat.

Continue the tour to the He Garden the next day. Besides, the Wang's Garden (CNY15.00; Addr: No.14, Dongquanmen Street) and the Eight Yangzhou Eccentrics Memorial (CNY15.00; Addr: No. 18 Tuoling Lane; near the lake park) are also interesting places to visit.

In the late afternoon, take a comfortable direct coach to Shanghai. Your pleasant Yangzhou tour has now come to a pleasant end.