Slender West Lake is the premier attraction in Yangzhou. The park, lined with willow trees, picturesque pagodas, and loads of history has enough to keep a visitor busy for the entire day. During spring the park is an expansive wonderland of flowers and budding trees. There are few enclosed city parks in China as impressive as this, making Slender West Lake a must visit.

Five Pavilion Bridge, the unofficial symbol of Yangzhou, is found here connecting the slender lake’s shores. The bridge was constructed nearly five hundred years ago. Always bustling with activity, the bridge offers excellent elevated views of the lake. It’s also a reliable place to catch a pleasant breeze to help visitors cool down a bit on a hot summer day.

Boat rides are also a fun way to explore the lake. They can be hired quite easily (around 10 yuan per person), or rented on your own for more freedom. Within the park there is a Buddhist nunnery and a large white, somewhat out of place, Tibetan Chorta. Countless side paths, bridges, pavilions, calligraphy halls, and the historic Gong He Chun Restaurant, specializing in dumplings, pot stickers, and noodles fill up the rest of the park grounds. Following the lake north leads all the way to Da Ming Temple and Guan Yin Monastery.

Just over the stone bridge from the park’s south gate is the Yangzhou Potted Plant (Bonsai) Garden, which is another beautiful place to wander. This park is on an island in Willow Lake and maintains hundreds of very old, and actually quite interesting potted plants. The ticket to Slender West Lake also includes admission to this park. The street opposite the entrance naturally has numerous souvenir stores and restaurants. 

Combo Ticket: For 110 yuan you can get a combo ticket which includes the entrance fees to Slender West Lake, a small museum within the Slender West Lake scenic area, Ge Yuan and He Yuan.  It also includes a twenty minute ferry ride down The Grand Canal.  The ticket can be purchased at the south entrance (南门) but may not be available at other entrances.

Bus numbers 4, 5, 6, and 16 all go to Slender West Lake. Alternatively, you can take a pleasant walk northwest from the city center to reach the park. The park covers the entire NW part of Yangzhou. The south entrance is near the arched stone Hongqiao bridge. 

Hiking

Walking up the slowly ascending road to the observatory takes 45 minutes if you maintain a brisk pace and do not take any breaks.  If you are not sure whether or not you want to hike all the way up the mountain, remember that you will have another opportunity to hop on the tramline from the observatory.  If you want to continue hiking, follow the small, unkept path just to the left of the entrance to the observatory.  This path leads to a 3-path intersection.  Turn right and walk about 50 meters to get to the tramline.  Keep going straight to head for the main peak of the mountain.  From this point on, just keep heading upwards on the main path or on one of the several smaller trails.  Hiking up the main path should take another 45 minutes without breaks.  Another spot on the main path leads down towards the Ming Xiaoling Tomb.

A gently sloping cement and stone road leads all the way from the mountain peak to the Linggu Pagoda.  It takes 1.5 hours to walk this route if you do not take breaks.  Likely because there are no notable viewpoints along this route, it is very lightly travelled.

Tourist Attractions

The drum tower (Gulou, 鼓楼) was built in 1382 during the Ming Dynasty.  It was later damaged and rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty.

Originally, the drum tower was used to signify the changing of the guard. On rare instances it was also used to warn the populace of an emergency such as an impending attack or fire. From its hilltop setting, the drum tower allowed for an incredible view of the city in years past. However, the view now seems quite limited due to the high rise office and apartment buildings.

On the third floor there is a collection of photos depicting the old Nanjing. Some photos date back to as early as 1888. For a bit of a fun challenge, examine the old pictures and try to figure out which area of Nanjing they are from.

The drum tower lies on Beijing Xi Lu (北京西路) in the Drum Tower district (Gulou, 鼓楼区). It is adjacent to a large traffic circle that is at the junction of Beijing Dong Lu (北京东路), Beijing Xi Lu (北京西路), Central Road (Zhongyang Lu, 中央路), Zhongshan Bei Lu (中山北路) and Zhongshan Lu(中山路). It is also within walking distance of the Gulou subway station.

Chain Convenience Stores

There are a few different convenience store chains in Nanjing. There is no real noticeable difference between them in terms of the products they carry. Here’s a list of some basic categories of items found at these convenience stores.

-Edibles such as beverages, treats, chips, etc.
-Some drug-store items such as pads and tampons.
-Beer, wine and baijiu. There are even some fairly expensive bottles of liquor there at times. Note that the beer is usually not kept cold.
-Some hot food such as meat balls on a stick and tea eggs.

Su Guo is the largest chain of convenience stores in Nanjing. They have stores that range from convenience store size to grocery store size.

A little known fact about Su Guo is that they will rent umbrellas for free! Give Su Guo a 10 yuan deposit to borrow the umbrella and they return to you the 10 yuan when you bring it back.

Holes in the Wall

Little “holes in the wall” sell beverages, alcohol, and assorted snacks and treats. A "hole in the wall’ is the often the smallest shop imaginable and are found everywhere. Most of these holes in the wall are not very busy, because Chinese people don’t trust them. However the ones next to the Nanjing University foreign students dormitory (Xiyuan) are always busy thanks to the reliable foreign customers.

There are other types of “holes in the wall” including ones that specialize in cigarettes and liquor.

This gate is the Southern gate of the whole city wall, as well as the largest castle gate in the world. The whole city wall is about 33km and took about 20 years to finish it.

You can walk on the wall or even biking on it, super nice!

More introduction you can see here Nanjing City Wall.

There have many buses there: Y4, 2, 16, 26, 33, 49, 88, 101. And alll the taxi drivers know where it is.

Another great place to wander is around the old part of town off Ganquan and Guoqing roads commonly known as 'Old Yangzhou'. There’s no telling what interesting things you’ll stumble across down these back streets. Find the canal running north and south for a beautiful scene that rivals the famous canals of Suzhou. The main streets are ideal for browsing hundreds of tiny storefronts at your own pace.  From Guoqing Road head east down the alley marked for the Fu Chun Teahouse (富春茶社), one of the oldest in Yangzhou. Not only is this teahouse worth a visit, the alley leading to it is called “scissor street” and aptly sells an eye catching variety of scissors and knives.

Any ol’ day along the canals                           Qionghua, the Yangzhou city flower

Pingjiang Road, a creek-lined narrow street stretching over 1.6 kilometers, is the most original old street in Suzhou. The existence of Pingjiang Road street dated back about one thousand years ago as the evidence of its appearance on the map of Suzhou drawn in the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279). Many ancient bridges and old houses by the street carry stories to be told. If you are interested in folk arts of Suzhou, such as Kungqu Opera (Oral & Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO) performances, Pingtan plays (storytelling and balad singing in Suzhou dialect) and sugar-painted lollipops, it is also the place to be, with theaters, museums and stalls scattered in the convergences off the Pingjiang Road street.