Wuxi

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East China (华东) » Jiangsu (江苏) » Wuxi (无锡)

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Jiangsu
Jiangsu

[edit] Overview

Wuxi is an old city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Split into halves by Lake Taihu, Wuxi borders Changzhou to the west and Suzhou to the east. The northern half looks across to Taizhou to the north over the Yangtze River, while the southern half also borders the province of Zhejiang to the south. Wuxi earned its nickname “Lake Tai Pearl” because it’s built on the shore of Lake Tai with beautiful sceneries. Wuxi was also dubbed "little Shanghai" because of its fast urbanization and booming economy.

--from wikipedia.org

[edit] History

[edit] Zhou Dynasty

Wuxi was founded 3,000 years ago by two fugitive princes, Taibo and Zhongyong, of Zhou from northern China, who intended to give their brother "Jili" the throne. The two princes settled down in "meili", which is believed to be today's Meicun of Wuxi (albeit some historic records lead to somewhere in today's Suzhou). They helped developing local agriculture and waterways and soon this area flourished. After the death of Taibo, because Taibo has no son, the emperor of Zhou named a descendant of his family king of kingdom "Wu". The king called his kingdom itself "Gowu". Taibo's shrine was set up in today's Meicun and the original wood structure was destroyed during the wars over the history. It has been renovated several times and today's architecture is mostly from Qing dynasty. A stone carved with Confucius' comment can still be seen in today's Taibo Shrine.

[edit] Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period

Wu became one of the strongest kingdoms during the spring and autumn period. Sunzi (Suntzu), who wrote the famous "the Art of War" came to Wu and helped the king in military affairs. Wu was considered one of the seven strongest kingdoms during Spring and Autumn Period . Some of Sunzi's descendants are still living in Sunxiang in Wuxi near the Plum Garden. However, Wu was defeated by Yue (today's Zhejiang and Fujian) later on, which was also defeated by Chu later and Wu became part of Chu during the Warring States Period.

[edit] Qin and Han Dynasty

The culture and economy center of the "Wu" area shifted to Suzhou after Yinzheng, the first emperor united China and Wuxi belonged to Suzhou back then. During the Han dynasty, Wuxi was set up as a county by the emperor Wudi. Historic records showed that tin was discovered during the early Han era, leading to conflicts in the area. Soon, however, the tin was depleted, which is generally believed to be the origin of the name Wuxi, meaning "no tin." Recent scholarship has brought this explanation into doubt, however. It is claimed that "Wu" is one of the auxiliary suffixes common in the local dialect. This is similar to referring to Suzhou as "Gusu" and Wu as "Gowu". The name was changed to Youxi (有錫), meaning "having tin", during the Wang Mang conflicts period because Wang wanted to change the name.

[edit] Six dynasties, Tang and Song Dynasties

Agriculture and silk industry flourished in Wuxi especially after the construction of the great canal. Although Suzhou became a bigger center of the Wu area, Wuxi is an important county of Wu.

[edit] Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties and on

The agriculture (rice and fish as major products) and industry continued to develop and until the early 20th century, Wuxi became a center of the textile industry in China and one of the four most important rice markets nationwide. During the period between 1900 and 1940, Wuxi was considered a most important county in China. That is why in dramatist Caoyu's famous drama "Leiyu" ('Thunder Rain') Wuxi was mentioned several times with a comment "Wuxi is a good place". After the PRC was set up by communist in 1949, Wuxi continued to grow in importance, with the establishment of more textile production and both light and heavy industry. This city was considered a second important city in the Jiangsu province just after the capital city Nanjing, with being given driving sequence "Jiangsu 02" (Nanjing is "Jiangsu 01"). However, its developmental model was criticized among people because of the cost of environmental deterioration. New strategies are demanded by the people to ensure its continuous development with heavy pollution.

--from wikipedia.org

[edit] Map

Click here to open Wuxi map.

[edit] Weather

[edit] Videos

Wuxi

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[edit] Getting in & Getting out

[edit] By Air

Wuxi Airport, which opened in 2004, is situated 14 km from city centre, and has direct flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and other Chinese cities.

[edit] By Train

By rail, Wuxi is conveniently situated on the Nanjing-Shanghai Railway, linking it directly with the provincial capital of Nanjing (2 hour train-ride) and China's economic hub, Shanghai (1 hour train-ride) and the fifth biggest economic hub and top of china's tourist destinations, Suzhou. K-series trains all stop at Wuxi.

--from wikipedia.org

[edit] By Bus

[edit] By Ship

[edit] Getting Around

[edit] By Public Bus

[edit] By Tour Bus

[edit] By Metro

[edit] By Taxi & Rental Car

[edit] Attractions

[edit] Hotels

[edit] Budget

[edit] Mid Range

[edit] Luxury

[edit] Restaurants

The traditional Wuxi foods are very sweet and savoury types of food, but there is a wide range of selection of western foods.

In some alleys there are different kinds of foods on a stick, it is very poular with a lot of locals going.

[edit] Shopping

Wuxi is a city with alot of shopping areas, although it is very expensive, there are a wide range of brands.

[edit] Night Life & Entertainment

[edit] Sports & Recreation

Taihu Lake Yuantouzhu (Turtle's Head) Scenic Area

With a water surface of 2,400 km2, Taihu Lake is the third largest fresh water lake in China. In 1982 it was designated as a national scenic area by the State Council. Yuatouzhu is actually a small hill stretching into the lake like the head of a turtle, hence the name. This scenic area covers an area of 130ha and is composed of the following eight scenic spots.

[edit] Excursions & Day Trips

[edit] Tips & Practical Info

[edit] See also

zh:无锡

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