Jiaxing Tourist Attractions

Jiaxing is situated in the extreme north of the province of Zhejiang, northeast of the provincial capital Hangzhou, in the middle of a fertile rice-growing area. Jiaxing can be reached by rail from Hangzhou in two hours, from Shanghai in three.

The great age of the town can be demonstrated by a document from the Qin era (221-206 BC). At that time it was known as Youquan, its present name going back to the period of the Three Kingdoms (AD 220-280). In 1921 the founding of the Communist Party of China was proclaimed from a ship on Lake Nanhu. Jiaxing has been an important rice and silk trading-center for centuries.

South Lake

South Lake in the south of the town consists of two connected halves and occupies an area of some 35ha/86acres. Lying at anchor on the southeastern shore of the island known as ''Heart of the Lake'' (Huxin Dao) is the famous ship which witnessed the launching of China's Communist Party.

The small island has yet another monument, the Palace of the Smoking Rain (Yanyu Lou), which was built in 1549 over the ruins of a building dating from the year 940. Fifty old cut gems are kept in the palace.

Yi Yuan Garden

Yi Yuan Garden - also known as the garden of the Feng family, who had it laid out in 1871 - is situated in Haining, a small town about 25km/16mi southeast of Jiaxing. It is the largest and best preserved private garden in the province. It has been open to the public since 1964.