Wuxi and Yangzhou Two-Day Tour

Wuxi was originally planned as part of last year's trip to Shanghai and Suzhou, but it didn't happen due to some reason. This time, thanks to a friend's vehicle support, we made up for it. We departed from Nanjing and arrived at Huishan Ancient Town in two hours. It was not yet 9am when we arrived, but the ancient town was already full of tourists. There are many ancient towns in the south of the Yangtze River, but each has its own characteristics. Huishan Ancient Town is said to be famous for its ancestral halls. More than a hundred celebrity ancestral halls are distributed in the ancient town, and many tall memorial archways stand on both sides of the ancient street. Interestingly, I actually saw a chastity memorial archway on the ancient street, which I had only heard of in legends before. Some of the buildings in the ancient town are original, but some are obviously newly built or just renovated. As a literati, my biggest regret this time was not being able to find Fan Zhongyan's ancestral hall. In the afternoon, we first came to Liyuan Garden. It is said that after Fan Li helped King Goujian of Yue to successfully take revenge and restore his country, he took Xi Shi to live in seclusion here and built this garden. But frankly speaking, this garden is far inferior to Suzhou gardens in terms of scale and exquisiteness. It is a bit like a refined version of a farmhouse. Perhaps this is where Mr. Fan Li's wisdom lies. He doesn't take credit, doesn't show off his wealth, and doesn't show off his talents. He only seeks to be with his beauty and live a peaceful life. After leaving Liyuan Garden, we came to the famous Yuantouzhu. To be honest, although the weather was gloomy, this place did not live up to its reputation. We took a boat to an island in the lake. The area was very small. Apart from being able to feel the vastness of Taihu Lake, the other scenery was quite ordinary. At about 4 or 5pm, we arrived at Nanchang Street and checked into a hotel near the entrance of the street. But at this time, we were exhausted. After resting in the hotel, we officially went to the ancient street for a stroll in the evening. The Grand Canal runs through the street, with white walls and black tiles on both sides, which reminds me of the scenes of Pingjiang Street and Shantang Street in Suzhou last year. I wanted to find a small shop on the street to have some beer, but both sides were full of snacks that young people love to eat, which were not suitable for my old stomach, so I had to go back to the hotel to eat. Although the commercial atmosphere here is a bit strong, where can you find a quiet and simple place now? After investors invest, they certainly want to recover their costs and make money as soon as possible, which is something that cannot be helped. The next morning, while there was no one in the ancient town, I went to the other side of Nanchang Street. Compared with the prosperity on this side, the other side was extremely quiet. After breakfast, we drove for more than an hour to Slender West Lake in Yangzhou. As soon as we entered the park, we were impressed by the beauty of Slender West Lake. Pavilions are densely distributed, and rivers and swamps crisscross. Everything is exquisite and shocking. Sometimes, the same place has a different view after moving the angle. The so-called "changing scenery with every step" should refer to this situation. I have been to many places in the south of the Yangtze River, but Slender West Lake is the most touching place for me. In the entire scenic area, although there are many modern facilities, they are disguised very cleverly and are almost invisible. Although it was a Friday, Slender West Lake was crowded with tourists. Especially in the Twenty-Four Bridge and other places, I was a little worried that the small bridge would be crushed by tourists. In the afternoon, we came to Heyuan Garden, which is known as one of the four famous gardens in China. Heyuan Garden covers a large area and has excellent scenery, but it is still slightly inferior to Suzhou gardens. Maybe it was because of first impressions. Dongguan Street was very close, but after several days of fatigue, both of us were too tired to walk, so we had to drive back to Nanjing.