Wuxi

Wuxi is a popular tourist destination in the Lower Yangtze Delta. It contains both natural and man-made attractions.

The city was developed on the shores of Lake Tai, which serves as a valuable tourist resource. Yuantouzhu (the Islet of Turtlehead) and Taihu Xiandao are two notable locations (Islands of the Deities). This 115-metre (377-foot) towering Ferris wheel, which opened in 2008, takes 18 minutes to complete one round. Passengers may gaze out the window onto Lake Tai and the city center. Lighting effects are activated around the wheel at night.

Mount Xi and Mount Hui, which translate as “Tin Mountain” and “Kindhearted Mountain,” are two minor hills in the city’s western outskirts. The traditional imperial Ji-chang-yuan Gardens, as well as the Tianxia di er quan (), literally “the second spring beneath heaven,” are situated at the foot of the hill. Xi Shan is also the name of a tourism area in Suzhou. Because two distinct Chinese characters are both pronounced “Xi”: one for “West” and the other (in this instance) for the metal tin.

The city is traversed by the Grand Canal. There are two canals: the ancient canal, which has been there since it was dredged, and the modern canal, which was built after 1949.

In the past, smart intellectuals and wealthy individuals established several private gardens or parks in Wuxi. Li Yuan and Mei Yuan are two excellent specimens that have been beautifully kept. Xihui Gongyuan (Xihui Park), at the foot of Xi Shan, also has historical antiquities, most notably Jichang Garden. It is about 1,770 kilometers (5,810,000 feet) long.

The 88-metre (289-foot) tall Grand Buddha at Ling Shan, located south of Long Mountain in Wuxi’s Mashan Town, is one of China’s biggest Buddha statues and the ninth highest statue in the world.

The settlement was built between the 16th and 19th centuries A.D. and is situated in the north-west area of Wuxi on the west bank of the Grand Canal and at the foot of Mount Hui. The town’s structures are mostly family ancestral halls.

Wuxi is hot and humid in the summer and cold and wet in the winter, with an average yearly temperature of 18 °C (64 °F) and only extremely seldom snow. It has a monsoon season and gets 100 centimetres (39 inches) of rain every year due to its closeness to the East China Sea.

The city design, like many ancient Chinese cities, is of a core city with a roughly circular form, crisscrossed by older canals, the main canal still seeing substantial barge activity.

Wuxi is located on an alluvial plain with deep sedimentary deposits split between limestone hillsides, making it one of the sources for “scholar’s rocks,” finely aged stones used as contemplative devices.

Wuxi is now recognized as an investment grade city, with two huge industrial parks dedicated to emerging industries. While textiles remain the present focus of production, there are plans to expand into electric motor manufacture and MRP software development. Wuxi is China’s solar technology centre, with two major photovoltaic enterprises headquartered there. They are Suntech Power and Jetion Holdings Ltd, both of which are publicly traded on foreign stock markets.

In 2008, the value of new energy businesses was 37.8 billion RMB, with the solar photovoltaic sector accounting for 30.2 billion RMB of the amount. In 2011, the GDP per capita was 107,400 (US$17,050), ranking Jiangsu first, ahead of Nanjing and Suzhou.

Another industry is international brand bicycle manufacturing, which includes bicycle assembly and bicycle component manufacture. Wuxi is home to one of Taiwan-based brake producer Tektro’s two Chinese facilities.

The city center is dominated by contemporary high-rise structures, and the market is being renovated in a postmodern design. In Wuxi, Hynix constructed a new chip facility.

In Shanghai, you can take the new G train to Wuxi. The trip takes about 45 minutes and costs ¥61 (November 2010). G trains can be taken either at Shanghai Hongqiao Station, accessible by subway line 2 to East Xujing, or at Shanghai Central Station, accessible by subway line 1. Alternatively, you can take the regular D train, which takes about 50 minutes and costs ¥49 (August 2010).

If you get off at Nanjing Lukou airport, you can take the intercity bus or a cab, don’t forget your stuff when you get off.

The Shanghai-Nanjing railway line runs through the city.

Nine highways connect Wuxi to major cities like Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou. The Shanghai-Nanjing expressway runs through the city. The trip from Wuxi to Shanghai’s Pudong Airport takes about three hours.

There are also waterways to different parts of the country via the Yangtze River, the Grand Canal and Lake Tai.

• Xihui Park and Old Town (锡惠公园) – A pedestrian area in the old town with many souvenir and food stores. Free, but individual residences cost extra (maybe ¥10 each). The main ticket is good for several gardens and temples, including the Garden of Ecstasy (Ji Chang Yuan), one of the most important gardens in southern China, which the Qianlong emperor, who visited seven times, had a copy made at the Summer Palace in Beijing. The entrance ticket is also valid for the nearby park, which is quite large if you take the time to walk around the hill. For an additional fee, it is also possible to take the cable car to the pagoda at the top of the hill (possibly available as part of a combination ticket).
• Lingshan (灵山) – The main attraction is the Great Buddha, one of the largest Buddha statues in China at over 80 meters tall. The entire Lingshan site is a tourist attraction that was only built in 2008, so there is no history here, with a musical fountain that plays the story of the birth of the Buddha, as well as the Brahma Palace (梵宫), a very large palace with sandalwood columns, built for the 2009 Buddhist conference. Admission costs ¥210 for a standard ticket without the electric buses. There is a show in one of the temples, for which you should get a free ticket when you buy your parking ticket (maybe not in high season). The show lasts only 20 minutes and consists partly of a video, so it is not worth spending extra money for it if you did not get the ticket with the entrance ticket.
• Tai Lake (太湖) – A very large lake with many scenic spots, famous for its fish and freshwater pearls. Nothing special to visit, but Lingshan.
• The Grand Canal is 1800 km long and connects Beijing to Hangzhou. Not really for tourism, but it’s there.
• Donglin Academy (东林书院). Held by the stone arch, with swimming pool, Dong Lin monastery, Lize Hall, Yong Tang, swing temple, three temples, things walk, to re-vegetarian, Road South Temple, Donglin temple and other important building report, remain Ming and Qing dynasty style shaping and history. There are banished names associated with Gu Xian: “Read the wind rain and the sound of the ears; family affairs world are concerned about everything”.

• Taihu Lake Yuantouzhu (Turtle Head) Scenic Area. With a water surface of 2,400 km2, Taihu Lake is the third largest freshwater lake in China. In 1982, it was declared a national protected area by the State Council. Yuatouzhu is actually a small hill that protrudes into the lake like a turtle’s head, hence the name. The area covers 130 hectares and consists of eight picturesque sites.
• Tianlonggong muyu hui suo (天龙宫沐浴会所), 18无锡市锡山区东亭府北路号, +86 510-88251688. 24 hours. Massage Place.

There are many pubs in Wuxi. While some of them welcome more expats, you can expect to find a mix of locals in every pub or nightclub in Wuxi.

• Havana Cafe Bar Lounge, XianQian Jie (behind 85 Coffee Shop). Latin American-inspired cafe with a wide selection of cocktails and beers.
• Blue Bar Cafe, 53 – 1 Chongning lu, +86 82759866. 17:00 – 2:00 hours. Western-owned and operated bar/restaurant in downtown.
• The Imperial Family No. 1 (蝗家一号), 9无锡市东梁溪路号一楼 (located on Bar Street with many other bars), +86 510-81889898. This is a large and noisy club.