Jiaxing

Jiaxing (嘉興) is a historic city in Zhejiang province., with 1.5 million people in its urban area (2020). The historic city center is less than an hour by train from its much larger neighbor to the north-east, Shanghai, which makes Jiaxing a popular day trip destination from Shanghai. It is also easily reached from Hangzhou, Suzhou or Nanjing. Jiaxing city includes Wuzhen (烏鎮) and Xitang (西塘), two well-known preserved canal towns, and the historic district of Pinghu.

History
Jiaxing is more than 2000 years old. It was a strategically important town, and fought over by different kingdoms. The citadel at the city's centre is one vestige of this history.

Jiaxing proper is best known for historic buildings in the city center and South Lake, a picturesque spot favoured by emperors. Jiaxing and South Lake have long been a popular day-trip destination from Shanghai, while revolutionaries have also used it as an "escape" from Shanghai. In 1921, a group of young revolutionaries whose meeting in Shanghai's French Concession had been disrupted by authorities came here disguised as daytrippers, and finished their meeting on a boat on South Lake - and founded the Communist Party of China. Between 1932 and 1936, Kim Koo and various Korean revolutionaries also took refuge here to escape from Japanese authorities in Shanghai. Jiaxing's reputation for producing and attracting the literati continued into the 20th century. Several writers' homes, and houses where prominent scholars and politicians once lived have been preserved and are now open to the public.

Economy
The countryside around Jiaxing became some of China's richest agriculturally, and Jiaxing became a rich market town. In the 6th century, Jiaxing became an important stop on the Grand Canal, the 1,000-km-long watercourse that connected the economically important Yangtze Delta with Beijing, the political capital. Jiaxing became a popular place for scholar-officials to retire to. It was a favorite destination of the Qianlong emperor. To the emperor, Jiaxing, with its prosperous town and busy canal, combined with a beautiful lake and unspoilt countryside, was the ideal Chinese city. In the 19th and 20th centuries, neighboring Shanghai rose up as an international port and metropolis, and modern, Western influences also came to Jiaxing. The Carmelites built one of China's grandest churches in the city centre.

Jiaxing city also contains two of China's most famous canal towns - Wuzhen (烏鎮) and Xitang (西塘) - which feature preserved houses set on a dense network of narrow waterways, and are popular with visitors wanting to experience a taste of what was once typical life around the lower Yangtze delta, known as the Jiangnan region. If you have seen a Chinese period drama or kung fu movie set in a Chinese canal town, chances are it was filmed in one of these towns. (Mission Impossible III was also partly filmed in Xitang.) Wuzhen is to the west of Jiaxing, further towards Hangzhou, while Xitang is to the northeast, further towards Shanghai.

Climate
Jiaxing City is located in the south edge of the North subtropical zone, which is a region of East Asian monsoon, with four distinct seasons, moderate temperature, abundant rain and sunshine.

By car
If you want to go by car, it is recommended that you take the highway, which will get you to Jiaxing fast.

Jiaxing is on the Shanghai-Hangzhou Highway and 320 National Highway.

By bus
In China, there are direct buses between cities.However, it is not recommended to take the bus compared with the high-speed train, because it will be more inconvenient. If you have a lot of luggage, it is recommended to drive or take a high-speed train into Jiaxing.

There are numerous long distance coaches connecting Jiaxing with all surrounding cities, including Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Nanjing.The station in the downtown of Jiaxing is Jiaxing North Bus Station. If you plan to play in the downtown, you can recommend this station, which will be more convenient.

By taxi
Almost every high-speed rail station, airport, and even bus station exits, there will be many taxis parked on the side of the road.

By boat
The World Heritage-listed Grand Canal runs through Jiaxing.

Shipping routes include the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Hangzhou-Shen Line, Liuping-Shen Line, Zhajia-Su line, and Hujia-Shen Line. But now with more convenient transportation such as high-speed rail and cars, few people choose to go by boat now, and it can be difficult to find a suitable route. It is no longer possible to travel on the Grand Canal by public transport.

By plane
It is expected that Jiaxing Airport will be opened in 2025. Until then, you can go to Hangzhou, Shanghai or Wuxi Airport, then transfer to the high-speed rail or take a direct bus to Jiaxing.

In the city centre
Jiaxing's taxis are plentiful and (compared to Shanghai and Hangzhou) cheap. There is also a good bus network serving the urban area. The old city is surrounded by a ring road and there are a couple of major avenues running north-south and east-west through the city that connect with the other scenic areas near the city center, buses will usually follow either the ring road or one of these avenues. The old city is walkable on foot.

Jiaxing has a public bicycle rental scheme, but you need to get a special bicycle rental card, unless you already have a "city card" (issued to residents) or a public transport card. As such, this is not a practical option for casual visitors.

South Lake is served by a regular ferry service, but public transport around the rest of the city by boat ceased several years ago.

With the development of the local tourism industry, there are now water buses available in the city center, which require time reservation and route selection. ¥3 at a time (2022), you can use the local transportation card for payment.

Jiaxing has seven planned tram lines with a total length of 98 km. The first phase of the project consists of two lines with a total length of 15.6 km, including the demonstration section of Line 1 (Binhe Road station from Fangong Road to Jiaxing South Station, 10.6 km).

You can also take the tram to the city center at the exit of Jiaxing South Station.

To suburban towns
To get to, and between, Wuzhen, Xitang, and other towns, a combination of trains and buses is available.
 * For Wuzhen, either take a local train to Tongxiang station, then change for a bus, or catch a bus directly from Jiaxing Coach Station. Between 07:00 and 17:00 buses run every 15 minutes from Tongxiang Station to Wuzhen. A tourist coach service also runs directly from Shanghai South Coach Station (next to Shanghai South Station) to Wuzhen. Coaches also run from Xujiahui in Shanghai to Tongxiang, where you can change for the local bus.
 * For Xitang, either take a local train to Jiashan station or Jiashan South station, then change for a bus, or catch a bus directly from Jiaxing or Jiaxing South station. Some coach services from Shanghai South Coach Station (next to Shanghai South Station) run directly to Xitang (though most run only to Jiashan, requiring a change to a local bus.) Buses from Jiashan to Xitang cost ¥5.

Around Wuzhen and Xitang
In Wuzhen and Xitang, there are buses and taxies to convey visitors between major locations such as between the train station or coach station and the preserved scenic area. Once you are in the preserved quarter, visitors mostly get around on foot. There are also rickshaws for hire and small canal boats. Some places (like the Western Quarter or Xizha of Wuzhen) have boat-buses the cost of which is closer to a taxi, while other places might only have sightseeing boats for hire with guides, which cost a lot more.

Talk
The language of the region is the Wu dialect; it is not mutually intelligible with standard Chinese (Mandarin), or Cantonese for that matter. The specific dialect in Jiaxing is very similar to that of nearby Shanghai (or "Shanghainese"), and is also mutually intelligible with the Suzhou dialect, which is the prestige dialect of Wu. However, as anywhere in China, most people are bilingual in the local dialect and Mandarin, and you should have no problem speaking Mandarin unless you are talking to the elderly.

English is less widely spoken than in Shanghai, Hangzhou or Suzhou, although staff at the better hotels and more tourist-oriented restaurants will speak some. Cab drivers, staff at local shops or restaurants or railway ticket offices are unlikely to speak any English. For prudence, have the names of your destinations written in Chinese, so that taxi drivers can get you there; carry a business card for your hotel so they can get you back to it.

City centre
Jiaxing is unearthing its tourism assets. A number of attractions are being restored or renovated, while others have been refurbished.

South Lake
South Lake (南湖 Nán Hú) or "Nanhu Lake" is a scenic lake located the south of the city centre, and is Jiaxing's main tourist attraction. The lake covers an area of 0.54 km². It is also known as "Mandarin Duck Lake", due to the lake's shape. The main South Lake to the east is connected to the "western South Lake", a smaller water body to the west. The lake is connected to the Grand Canal between Hangzhou and Beijing, a channel of which runs next to the northwestern shore of the lake.

Other than the mid-lake island, most of the lake's shoreline (and most attractions) are accessible for free on foot or by taxi or bus, but the best way to see the main sights of the South Lake is by boat: see entry in "Do" below. The main attractions are:



Wuzhen
Wuzhen used to be two towns administered by different prefectures, divided by a canal. The two main preserved quarters of Wuzhen today (the "Eastern Quarter" and "Western Quarter") are located on opposite sides of the same canal, and access to them are quite separate. They are based around two old main streets called the "Eastern Palisade" (Dongzha) and "Western Palisade" (Xizha) respectively. Both of these quarters have been comprehensively redeveloped for tourists, are fenced off and charge admission. The areas around the "Northern Pallisade" and "Southern Palisade" (two other old main streets) are also preserved scenic areas, but have not been redeveloped for tourists as much (and still have local residents) and so have less of a "theme park" feel. They are not as scenic, but the Southern Quarter in particular is interesting for a walk that is further off the beaten track, although there are few attractions open to the public. The Northern Quarter has a couple of preserved buildings open to the public, but it has mostly been replaced by modern buildings, so is much less atmospheric. Between the old streets is the modern town centre, which is less atmospheric but has cheaper accommodation than (especially) the Western Quarter.

Xitang
Xitang has remained largely a rural township. The core of the old town has been preserved as a "scenic area", but you can find atmospheric lanes and houses outside the scenic area too.

Buy
Jiaxing is a city with a lot of shopping areas, it has a variety of brands to choose from.There are many shopping and leisure malls in Jiaxing.

There are many brands for you to choose from. The prices are included from low to high, and discount activities are often held. These places are places where Jiaxing people often go shopping.

Go next
Wuzhen and Xitang, two well-preserved canal towns within Jiaxing city limits, are popular destinations for a taste of "water country" life in the Jiangnan region. They are easy to reach from Jiaxing. Wuzhen can be reached by local train plus bus, while Xitang can be reached by bus from Jiaxing railway station.