Yangzhou
Do
add listing Stroll along the Xiaoqinhuaihe Canal (小秦淮河) that crosses the city's historical center, and the narrow lanes of the (few) surviving blocks of the old city nearby. Go for some exercise in Songjiacheng Sports and Recreation Park (entry free; some sports facilities may require fees. Open 17:30-21:30). It's on an island east of the Slender West Lake Scenic Area. The park has an interesting past: farmers' fields and a few small villages were converted to a Wetlands Nature Park in 2005, then to Songjiacheng Archaeological Park around 2009, and finally to a sports park in 2015. Boardwalks through the marshes surrounding the island have been inherited from its Wetlands Park incarnation, while the four gate towers, from the Archaeological Park period. The rest of the landscaping apparently comes from the 2015 remodeling. One can enter the park from the Changchun Rd (via its southern or western gates), or from Shouxihu Rd (via the eastern gate). Bicycles are not allowed in the park, except for those rented in the park itself (at the rental station outside of the western gate); those can be used on the 3,200 m long bicycle trail around the park's perimeter. On a summer day, walk on a boardwalk trail to Baozhang Lake (保障湖) a popular locals' swimming place, about 2
Buy
add listing [Hongyuan Market, a popular craft and antique market just north of the city center For goods and necessities, there are 2 RT-Mart(s) (大润发 da run fa) one on Hanjiang Road and the other on Wenchang Middle Road; several bus lines run there from downtown and from the local colleges. As far as Western products go, RT-Mart, Tesco (Hanjiang Rd, north of the old bus station) or Auchan (Jiangyang Rd, east of the old bus station), are good. One major local industry is ceramics and teaware; a few big ceramics factories and showcases can be visited here. Not a shopping mecca, however, there are a number of department stores in the city centre. Here you can find the Golden Eagle Shopping Centre (in the city's main square, facing the Wenchang Pavilion), Times Extra Mall and the Times Square Mall. If you feel the need for a more Western-style shopping experience, the Living Mall, in the new development zone, was completed in 2008 and is easily reached by taxi. Big name foreign and domestic designer brands, western style restaurants, K-TV bars and a cinema can be found here. add listing [Ganquan Road A popular area for the locals to shop for clothes and footwear is Ganquan Road (甘泉路), a major east–west street in the southern part of the historic central city. Over a mile of shops of various kind, from bargain-basement to boutique level. The north-south Guoqing Rd, which crosses Ganquan east of the city center, is full of such shops as well.
Books and maps
add listing The six-storey Xinhua Bookstore is located in South Wenhe Rd (Wenhe Nan Lu) just a block south of the city's main square, where the Wenchang Pavilion stands. Maps, and local interest books are on the first floor; for the city map, ask at the cash register. The store's usual business hours are 09:00 to 21:00; shorter hours on holidays. add listing Many cell phone and electronics stores are located in Siwangting Street, within several blocks to the west of the Siwangting Pavilion. Another large center for electronics and computer equipment is found in Wenchang St, about 1.6 Yinhe Dianzi Cheng) on the south side of the street, and Hongtu Sanbao Lou (宏图三胞楼) opposite to it (on the north side of the street). The 7-story Hongtu Sanbao Lou building also houses repair/service centers for various electronics and computer brands; entry from the back of the building. While small cell phone shops everywhere sell SIM cards, since the late 2017 most shops require a Chinese resident ID card (of a citizen or permanent resident) to buy a SIM card. If you're a foreign visitor, and your only ID is a passport, you need to go to the cell phone company's main office to buy a SIM card. Such an office for China Mobile is located at 55 West Wenchang Road (文昌西路55号), in a big tower with the company's name (中国移动) on top.
Eat
add listing [Baozi at the Fuchun Tea House The big-name local dish is Yangzhou fried rice 扬州炒饭, filled with fried egg, muer mushroom 木耳, ham, shrimp, scallions, peas, and carrots. It's representative of the Huaiyang cuisine. Other famous dishes include the Lion's Head 狮子头, which is a giant meatball made with pork and crab. Also suggested is; semisweet Thousand-layer cake 千层糕, steamed dumpling 蒸饺, amazing tofu noodles often like chicken soup 大煮干丝, delicious soup fill dumplings 小笼汤包, and stinky tofu 臭豆腐. For breakfast you'll be sure to find steamed filled buns (baozi)包子, steamed buns (mantou)馒头, rice porridge (zhou)粥, boiled eggs (zhujidan)煮鸡蛋. If these choices look unappealing to you—or if they look appealing, but you just don't eat that stuff—try Damingsi Vegetarian Restaurant 大明寺素菜馆, 1802 Wenhui Road East. It's affiliated with the temple, and serves vegetable-matter simulacra of the local favorites for very reasonable prices.
Drink
add listing [Xiaohongqiao ("The Little Rainbow Bridge") over the not-so grand Xiaoqinhuaihe Canal in Yangzhou's old city The most popular beer is from Shenyang, called Snow 雪花啤酒, and costs around ¥3 for a large bottle. But should you want something with a stronger beer-flavor, the L-Mart at the Living Mall has Kirin Japanese beer, brewed in Taiwan, ¥5 a can. The Living Mall 京华城 also boasts a Starbucks 辛巴克, semi-conveniently placed between the train station and the RT-Mart.
Sleep
add listing Unlike most Chinese cities, Yangzhou has little lodging available in the train station area, although a Hanting Hotel has opened in the new bus station building (next to the train station). Although some hotels are found in major streets all over the city, they are mostly concentrated in two areas: around downtown, and within a few blocks of the old main bus station (Jiangyang Rd and Hanjiang Rd, a few km to the southwest of downtown). The demolition of the old bus station has not affected the hotels too much, since Jiangyang Rd is still the natural route for entering the city by car. As of 2017, room rates start from around ¥100 in both areas. As elsewhere in China, some smaller hotels are closed for a few days around the Chinese New Year, while others raise their price around this and other holidays, when crowds of tourists from all over the country descend on the Slender West Lake area.
Go next
Public art in one of Yangzhou's new neighborhoods
- See the nearby city of [Nanjing
- Visit the stunning Huangshan mountain area
- The city of Suzhou
- Gaoyou
This city travel guide to Yangzhou****usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page. --- Hidden categories:
- Has custom banner
- Has mapframe
- Has map markers
- Airport listing
- See listing with no coordinates
- Has Geo parameter
- Jiangsu
- All destination articles
- Usable cities
- Usable articles
- City articles
- Pages using the Kartographer extension