Discover Jiaxing: Yuehe, South Lake and culture

Explore Jiaxing through two distinctive places: the historic Yuehe cultural district and South Lake. Yuehe is in the northern part of the old town; the southern part of the district is crossed by the Grand Canal. South Lake lies in the south of the city and is developed as a scenic area centered around the lake. Here, you’ll find a historic urban district and a culturally rich lakeside landscape—two different focal points for your trip.

Yuehe, South Lake and the cultural route

Zicheng Ruins Park is an important hub on Jiaxing’s “CITYWALK·Wandering South Lake” cultural route. The route connects the park with South Lake and Yuehe, bringing together three named cultural sites under one shared theme. When planning your visit, keep their different focal points in mind: Yuehe is associated with the old town, South Lake with the lake and its history, and Zicheng Ruins Park with its role along the route.

South Lake: history and scenery

South Lake is the birthplace of the Communist Party of China; this is where the Red Boat set sail. This historical significance gives the lake a distinct cultural dimension. The scenic area also includes traditional Chinese architecture, Chinese calligraphy and stone inscriptions. Historical remembrance, calligraphy and architectural styles offer different aspects to explore during your visit.

Shizihui Ferry Wharf is also part of South Lake’s history: it is about six meters long, has 13 steps, and served as a landing place for the excursion boats that once sailed on the lake.

Zongzi and Jiaxing’s cultural history

The Jiaxing Rice Dumpling Culture Museum focuses on zongzi and their cultural context. Its six exhibition areas cover the origins of zongzi, Wu-Yue culture and cultural traditions associated with zongzi. They also explore the development of rice, food and zongzi culture in Jiaxing. The focus is not only on individual foods, but also on how they fit into local cultural traditions.

The “Red Boat Sails” exhibition at Nanhu Revolutionary Memorial Hall offers a different perspective. It is divided into four sections and 21 units, and also covers the themes “Life Stories of the Delegates to the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China” and “The Development of the Constitution of the Communist Party of China.” These two perspectives focus, respectively, on the delegates’ life stories and the development of the Party constitution. This allows you to distinguish between exhibition themes according to their historical focus.

Choose the right base

When looking for a vacation rental in Jiaxing, it helps to decide what you’re most interested in visiting first: should Yuehe, with its old-town setting and cultural route, be the focus, or would you rather explore South Lake, with its scenery, historical significance and cultural features? Choose your accommodation location based on the places you want to make the focus of your stay in Jiaxing.

Discover more destinations: Ningbo, Yiwu, Quzhou, Shaoxing, Taizhou, Hangzhou, Jinhua, Huzhou

For the broader travel overview: Zhejiang.