A Detailed Two-Day Itinerary for Wuxi's Lihu Lake, Nanchang Street, and Huishan Ancient Town

Wuxi is truly a city that delights both the palate and the senses. It seamlessly blends high-tech development zones with the charm of Jiangnan water towns. Here's our relaxed two-day schedule:

Day 1: Lihu Lake - Nanchang Street Ancient Canal Scenic Area
Day 2: Huishan Ancient Town

🚶‍♂️Itinerary:
📍Lihu Lake
Part of Taihu Lake, this is a favorite weekend getaway for locals to enjoy nature walks. With distant mountains and nearby waters, it features rockeries, lotus ponds, and dams—perfect for photography.

📍Nanchang Pedestrian Street (Qingming Bridge Ancient Canal Scenic Area)
A Jiangnan-style town along the Grand Canal. Centered around the ancient canal, the area is lined with quaint black-tiled houses. Qingming Bridge is a famous landmark here—don't miss it! Visit Nanchang Street in the evening when the canal shimmers with lights, surrounded by numerous eateries, museums, and historic residences of notable figures.

📍Huishan Ancient Town
While Xihui Park within Huishan Ancient Town is free, attractions like Jichang Garden, Huishan Temple, and the Second Best Spring Under Heaven require tickets. Xihui Park is an urban oasis where you can boat, enjoy tea, or take the Xishan Cable Car to Huishan's summit. The vast grounds include a azalea garden and Nine-Dragon Wall—wear comfortable shoes as you could spend a whole day exploring. The food here is diverse and reasonably priced without heavy tourist markups.

Jichang Garden is a quintessential Jiangnan garden, one of the region's four great gardens. Its centerpiece is the Jin Hui Yi landscape (photos 4 & 5), where pavilions, trees, and flowers reflect in rippling waters teeming with goldfish—a photographer's dream.

The stone inscription of the Second Best Spring Under Heaven, endorsed by Tea Sage Lu Yu, is also here. The spring's design follows mountain contours—climb the gentle slope (just a few steps) alongside the waterway. Midway, a teahouse offers mountain views. Discover the "Nine Dragons and Thirteen Springs": nine dragon-head spouts and thirteen spring mouths. The first dragon-head is at Erquan Yingyue's lower pool, with others along the watercourse—two at Yuan Pool in Huaxiaozi Shrine, one at Sun-Moon Pool, two in Jichang Garden (one in Jin Hui Yi), one in Erquan Academy, and two outside the garden.

Huishan Temple, built into the mountainside, boasts an awe-inspiring millennium-old ginkgo tree from the Hongwu era. It's also home to Wuxi's oldest bridge, Jinlian Bridge.

🍜Food Guide:
✅Huaxiaoxie Restaurant: Famous for its flavorful drunken crab (rich in roe) and tender white fish. Also features pingtan performances.