Attractions · Yangzhou

Slender West Lake is Yangzhou's most famous sight. The lake is long and narrow, winding and restrained, known for its delicate grace. The Five-Pavilion Bridge is its landmark, and the Twenty-Four Bridge is famous from Du Mu's poem. Highlights include the White Pagoda and Xiaojinshan. Tip: go in spring, when the peach blossom and willows are at their loveliest. Practical info: located at 28 Dahongqiao Road, Hanjiang District, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province; ticket ¥100 (peak season); opening hours 06:30–18:00. Best season: spring (Mar–May), the 'misty third month', when peach and willow line the banks; autumn (Sep–Nov) is clear and brisk. Combine with Ge Garden, He Garden and Dongguan Street for a half- or full-day itinerary. Check the day's opening and booking policy before you go, and allow enough time. In peak season or on holidays, book ahead and avoid the crowds, allowing time for queues and security checks.

Tip: Go in spring, when the peach blossom and willows are at their loveliest.

• Address: 28 Dahongqiao Road, Hanjiang District, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province
• Ticket: ¥100 (peak season)
• Opening: 06:30–18:00

Ge Garden was the private garden of the Qing salt merchant Huang Zhiyun. Its name comes from the shape of a bamboo leaf, which resembles the character ge ('individual'); bamboo is planted widely and the garden is celebrated for its bamboo and stones. Bamboo-shoot stones, lake stones, yellow stones and Xuan stones are piled into rockeries for spring, summer, autumn and winter, set out in a sequence both circular and varied — a layout famous for its four-season rockeries and unique in Chinese garden design, standing alongside He Garden, known as the 'first garden of the late Qing', in the old city. Highlights include the spring rockery (bamboo-shoot stone), summer rockery (lake stone), autumn rockery (yellow stone) and winter rockery (Xuan stone). Tip: hire a guide to explain the design ideas behind the four-season rockeries for a fuller appreciation of the garden art. Practical info: located at 10 Yanfu East Road, Guangling District, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province; ticket ¥45; opening hours 07:30–17:30. Best season: spring (Mar–May), the 'misty third month', when peach and willow line the banks; autumn (Sep–Nov) is clear and brisk.

Tip: Hire a guide to explain the design ideas behind the four-season rockeries for a fuller appreciation of the gar…

• Address: 10 Yanfu East Road, Guangling District, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province
• Ticket: ¥45
• Opening: 07:30–17:30

He Garden is a masterpiece of late Qing garden design, built by He Zhidao. A two-level covered walkway runs through the whole garden; the Pian Stone Mountain House preserves the rockery work of the master Shi Tao, and Chinese and Western architectural styles are combined. Highlights include the Qima Tower and Yuxiu Tower. Tip: He Garden is called the first garden of the late Qing; visit it the same day as Ge Garden for comparison. Practical info: located at 66 Xuningmen Avenue, Guangling District, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province; ticket ¥45; opening hours 07:30–17:30. Best season: spring (Mar–May), the 'misty third month', when peach and willow line the banks; autumn (Sep–Nov) is clear and brisk. Combine with Slender West Lake, Ge Garden and Dongguan Street for a half- or full-day itinerary. Check the day's opening and booking policy before you go, and allow enough time. In peak season or on holidays, book ahead and avoid the crowds, allowing time for queues and security checks.

• Address: 66 Xuningmen Avenue, Guangling District, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province
• Ticket: ¥45
• Opening: 07:30–17:30

Dongguan Street is Yangzhou's most representative historic district, about one kilometre long, paved with bluestone and lined with shops, many of them time-honoured names and traditional craft workshops. Highlights include the entrance to Ge Garden, Yipu, Jienan Bookstore and the many snacks. Tip: go in the evening and eat as you stroll. Practical info: located on Dongguan Street, Guangling District, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province; admission free; open all day. Best season: spring (Mar–May), the 'misty third month', when peach and willow line the banks; autumn (Sep–Nov) is clear and brisk. Combine with Slender West Lake, Ge Garden and He Garden for a half- or full-day itinerary. Check the day's opening and booking policy before you go, and allow enough time. In peak season or on holidays, book ahead and avoid the crowds, allowing time for queues and security checks; if carrying luggage or children, allow more time for security checks and walking.

Tip: Go in the evening and eat as you stroll. Do try the lotus-root starch balls and sixi tangyuan.

• Address: Dongguan Street, Guangling District, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province
• Ticket: Free
• Opening: Open all day

Daming Temple takes its name from the 'Daming' reign name of the Liu Song (457–464) and stands on the middle peak of Shugang; it is one of Yangzhou's oldest temples. In the first year of Renshou of the Sui (601) a nine-storey Qiling Pagoda was built in the grounds to house Buddhist bone relics, and Li Bai, Bai Juyi and Liu Yuxi all wrote poems about it; the pagoda was destroyed during the Huichang persecution of Buddhism under Emperor Wuzong of the Tang and rebuilt in 1994 following Tang pagoda form. During the Tianbao era of the Tang the master Jianzhen stayed at the temple and succeeded on his sixth attempt to cross to Japan, where he founded Toshodai-ji in Nara and died there; in 1963, the 1,200th anniversary of his death, the Jianzhen Memorial Hall was completed, designed under the direction of the architect Liang Sicheng and modelled on Toshodai-ji's main hall. In the eighth year of Qingli of the Northern Song (1048), when Ouyang Xiu governed Yangzhou, he built Pingshan Hall east of the temple, its name taken from the distant hills that come level with the hall; Su Shi later governed Yangzhou and built Gulin Hall in memory of his teacher, and Daming Temple thus earned the name 'the first prospect of Huai East'. Highlights include the Jianzhen Memorial Hall (modelled on the main hall of Nara's Toshodai-ji), the nine-storey Qiling Pagoda (climb for views over Yangzhou), Pingshan Hall (built by Ouyang Xiu in 1048) and Gulin Hall (Su Shi's memorial to Ouyang Xiu). Tip: it stands at the foot of Shugang near Slender West Lake and can be combined with the Twenty-Four Bridge route. Practical info: located at 8 Pingshantang East Road, Hanjiang District, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province; ticket ¥45 (peak season) / ¥30 (off-season), with ¥26 extra to climb the Qiling Pagoda; opening hours 08:00–17:30 (spring–summer, last entry 17:00); 08:00–17:00 (autumn–winter, last entry 16:30).

Tip: It stands at the foot of Shugang near Slender West Lake and can be combined with the Twenty-Four Bridge route.

• Address: 8 Pingshantang East Road, Hanjiang District, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province
• Ticket: ¥45 (peak season) / ¥30 (off-season); ¥26 extra to climb the Qiling Pagoda
• Opening: 08:00–17:30 (spring–summer, last entry 17:00); 08:00–17:00 (autumn–winter, last entry 16:30)