Wujiang
Wujiang is a small city (1.5 million) located about 20 km south of downtown Suzhou on the shore of Lake Tai. Administratively, it is a county-level city within the prefecture-level city Suzhou.
Understand
Get in
Line 4 of the Suzhou Metro reaches Wujiang. Take the southeast fork of the "Y" shaped Line 4, terminating at Tongli Station. From the tourist desk at Tongli Station, one may buy a ticket to see the town that includes a round-trip shuttle bus and entrance to all the major historical sites within.
Get around
Once inside Tongli, the streets are narrow and only suited for walking. However, one may buy a boat ride to see the city from the water.
TongLi official site in English.
See
Wujiang includes the water towns Tongli and Zhen Ze, very picturesque with many canals, bridges and old buildings. These were formerly market towns for surrounding agricultural areas and are now doing quite well as tourist attractions, mainly for Suzhou people wanting to escape the pressures of the big city.
Tongli has the Retreat and Reflection Garden, the only one of the nine Suzhou classical gardens on the UNESCO World Heritage List located outside downtown Suzhou.
Zhen Ze is a historical town with a river running through the center. The old buildings are still occupied by residents. 1-hour walk from the East End to the West End of town. Things to see are the Ci Yun Pagoda and temple ¥10, Shi Jian Tang, Yu Ji Bridge (qiao), and Shi Fan Bridge (qiao). The tomb of astronomer Wang Xiao An is located in a museum in Zhen Ze Middle School at the West End of town. Entrance fee is ¥5.
- 🌍 Wujiang Museum (吴江博物馆), 450 Lize Road (笠泽路450号) (Take bus no. 93, 709, 717 or 735 and get off at Wujiang Park), ☎ +86 512 63486091 (extension 802), +86 512 63486091 (extension 808), +86 512 63486851. 09ː00-11ː30, 13ː00-16ː30. Free.