Huishan Ancient Town Scenic Area is located in Liangxi District, Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, at the northern foot of Huishan. It is a national 5A-level tourist attraction. The scenic area features ancient ancestral halls as its core, integrating elements such as Jiangnan water town style, tea culture, and traditional craftsmanship, serving as an important carrier of Wuxi's historical culture. The total area of the scenic area is approximately 3.5 square kilometers, with the core area (including ancestral halls, ancient streets, and gardens) covering about 0.7 square kilometers. It houses 118 various ancestral halls from the Tang Dynasty to the Republic of China period. The quantity, variety, and well-preserved state of these halls rank first among similar ancient towns in China, earning it the reputation of "China's Ancestral Hall Culture Museum". In addition, the scenic area has more than 20 ancient bridges, over 300 ancient and famous trees, as well as many residences and shops from the Ming and Qing dynasties, forming a unique landscape where "mountains, water, forests, springs, ancestral halls, and streets" blend with each other.
History and Culture
The history of Huishan Ancient Town can be traced back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties, over 3,000 years ago. As early as the Tang Dynasty, the Huishan area became a gathering place for literati and scholars due to its production of the tribute "Yangxian tea", and teahouses and temples gradually emerged. During the Song Dynasty, with the development of the imperial examination system, ancestral halls commemorating virtuous predecessors began to appear in Huishan, reaching their peak during the Ming and Qing dynasties, forming a large group of ancestral halls involving official, clan, and industrial categories, recording the family changes and social and cultural development of Wuxi and even the Jiangnan region.
The Huishan Spring in the scenic area is known as the "Second Best Spring Under Heaven" and has been famous since the Tang Dynasty. Lu Yu specifically recorded it in "The Classic of Tea", and literati such as Su Shi and Bai Juyi also left poems praising it. In modern times, traditional crafts such as Huishan clay figurines and bamboo carvings have been inherited and developed here. Among them, Huishan clay figurines are known as one of the "Three Treasures of Wuxi" and were included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists in 2006. In 2019, Huishan Ancient Town was rated as a national AAAAA-level tourist attraction, becoming an important window to display traditional Jiangnan culture.
Main Attractions
Huishan Ancient Ancestral Hall Group
Huishan Ancient Ancestral Hall Group is the core landscape of the scenic area, distributed along both sides of Huishan Bang and Zhi Street, stretching about 1.5 kilometers. Among them, the most famous are the Huishan Temple Ancestral Hall of the Tang Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan Ancestral Hall of the Song Dynasty, Gu Xiancheng Ancestral Hall (a memorial site for Donglin Party members) of the Ming Dynasty, and Zhang Zhongcheng Ancestral Hall of the Qing Dynasty. These ancestral halls have different architectural styles, combining the delicacy of Jiangnan gardens with the solemnity of official architecture, with exquisite brick carving, wood carving, and stone carving craftsmanship. For example, the "Hundred Shou Characters" brick carving screen wall of Zhang Zhongcheng Ancestral Hall, carved with 100 "Shou" characters in different fonts, is a masterpiece of brick carving art.
The Second Best Spring Under Heaven
The Second Best Spring Under Heaven is located near Huishan Temple, dug by the Tang Dynasty monk Ruobing, originally named "Huishan Spring". The spring water is divided into upper, middle, and lower pools. The upper pool is octagonal with the best water quality, once a tribute to the imperial court; the middle pool is square; the lower pool is the largest, rectangular, with a stone inscription "The Second Best Spring Under Heaven" beside it, written by the Yuan Dynasty calligrapher Zhao Mengfu. The modern musician Hua Yanjun (Blind Abing) once composed "Moonlight on the Second Spring" here, making the spring famous far and wide. Today, tourists can taste tea by the spring and feel the sweetness described by "Tea Saint" Lu Yu.
Jichang Garden
Jichang Garden is a classical garden in Huishan Ancient Town, built in the Ming Dynasty, originally a private garden of the Qin family. It is one of the representative works of Jiangnan gardens and is listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit. The garden covers an area of about 10,800 square meters, famous for its "borrowed scenery" technique, integrating the scenery of Huishan and Xishan into the garden, forming the artistic conception of "mountains beyond mountains". The garden has landscapes such as "Jinhuiyi" pool, "Zhiyujian" pavilion, and "Bayin Stream" rockery. Among them, Bayin Stream uses the drop of the mountain to create the sound effect of "high mountains and flowing water", which is a unique feature of garden construction.
Huishan Clay Figurine Museum
Huishan Clay Figurine Museum is located on Zhi Street of the ancient town, with a construction area of about 3,000 square meters, systematically displaying the history and craftsmanship of Huishan clay figurines. The museum collects more than 5,000 clay figurine works from the Qing Dynasty to the present, including classic categories such as "Da Afu" and "Hand-pinched Opera Scenes". Tourists can watch craftsmen make clay figurines on site, learn about processes such as "kneading clay, pinching blanks, and painting", and also experience making simple clay figurines by themselves, feeling the charm of intangible cultural heritage.
Food
Wuxi Braised Spare Ribs
Wuxi Braised Spare Ribs is a traditional famous dish in Jiangsu, and authentic flavors can be tasted at the branch of "Sanfengqiao Meat Shop" in Huishan Ancient Town. This dish uses pork ribs, braised with seasonings such as soy sauce, rock sugar, and rice wine for several hours, with tender meat, rich sauce, and a balance of sweetness and saltiness. The braised ribs in the scenic area are sold by portion, each about 500 grams, priced at 68 yuan, and are a must-try Wuxi flavor for tourists.
Huishan Shortbread
Huishan Shortbread is a traditional pastry in Wuxi, named after its origin in Huishan, available at "Zhu Shunxing Shortbread Shop" in the ancient town. The shortbread is made of flour, sesame, and white sugar, fried in oil, with a spiral shape, crispy outer skin, and sweet filling. The shop, founded in the Qing Dynasty, adheres to traditional craftsmanship, making and selling on site, priced at 3 yuan each, suitable as a tea snack or souvenir.
Clear Water Fried Gluten
Clear Water Fried Gluten is a characteristic vegetarian food in Wuxi, available at "Old Wuxi Restaurant" in the ancient town. It is made of Wuxi's specialty wheat starch into spherical gluten, fried to golden yellow, with a soft and elastic texture. It can be boiled with mushrooms and green vegetables in soup, or stir-fried with minced meat. The fried gluten in the scenic area is sold by portion (about 6 pieces) at 20 yuan, light and refreshing, reflecting the characteristics of Jiangnan diet.
Surrounding Food
Nanchang Street, 1 kilometer away from Huishan Ancient Town, has more Wuxi delicacies, such as Yulan cakes at "Muguiying Food" (glutinous rice skin wrapped with meat filling, fried, 3 yuan each), and small steamed buns at "Xishengyuan" (thin skin, rich filling, delicious soup, 15 yuan per cage). In addition, "Sanbai Wontons" (filled with white fish, white shrimp, and silver fish) on Nanchang Street are also worth trying, with an average consumption of about 40 yuan per person.
Tickets
It is open for free, but some attractions require separate charges. For example: combined ticket (Cultural Relics Area + Xihui Scenic Area) is 70 yuan per person, and single ticket (Xihui Scenic Area) is 10 yuan per person.
You can search for the official WeChat public account "惠山古镇景区" to get the latest updates or buy tickets online.
Opening Hours
Opening hours: 08:00 - 17:00.
Tour Route
Recommended one-day in-depth route: Enter Huishan Ancient Town at 8:30 am, first visit the free ancient ancestral hall group, focusing on Fan Zhongyan Ancestral Hall and Gu Xiancheng Ancestral Hall, appreciating the ancestral hall architecture and carving art. At about 10:00 am, go to The Second Best Spring Under Heaven to taste tea and rest; at 11:00 am, enter Jichang Garden, stroll through the garden to feel the Jiangnan garden art, and have lunch at "Old Wuxi Restaurant" in the ancient town at 12:30 pm.
Visit Huishan Clay Figurine Museum at 2:00 pm and experience making clay figurines; at 3:30 pm, wander around Zhi Street of the ancient town to buy souvenirs such as Huishan shortbread and clay figurines; at 4:30 pm, go to Huishan Temple (free open) to feel the tranquility of the ancient temple; end the trip at 5:30 pm, or go to the nearby Nanchang Street for dinner.
This route is about 5 kilometers on foot, combining cultural experience and leisure, suitable for tourists of all ages.
Transportation
- Bus: Take bus No. 15, 39, 43, 611, or 635 in Wuxi to "Huishan Ancient Town Station", then walk about 5 minutes to the main entrance of the scenic area; take Metro Line 4 to "Huishan Ancient Town Station" (Exit 2), then walk about 8 minutes to reach.
- Self-driving: Starting from Wuxi Railway Station, drive south along Tongjiang Avenue into the express inner ring, exit at Fengxiang South Road, drive east along Sheng'an West Road for about 3 kilometers to reach, with a driving time of about 20 minutes; the scenic area parking lot charges 5 yuan per hour, with a daily maximum of 20 yuan.
- Taxi: Take a taxi from the center of Wuxi (such as Chong'an Temple) to Huishan Ancient Town, with a driving time of about 15 minutes and a cost of about 25 yuan.
Must-Visit Attractions
- Huishan Ancient Ancestral Hall Group: 118 ancestral halls from past dynasties, with exquisite brick and wood carvings, showing the essence of Chinese ancestral hall culture, free to open.
- Jichang Garden: A 10,800-square-meter classical Jiangnan garden, famous for borrowed scenery and Bayin Stream, with a ticket of 45 yuan, a must-visit for garden art lovers.
- The Second Best Spring Under Heaven: A famous spring from the Tang Dynasty, with a deep connection to "Moonlight on the Second Spring", where you can taste tea and enjoy the spring, free to open.
- Huishan Clay Figurine Museum: A 3,000-square-meter exhibition hall with more than 5,000 clay figurine collections, where you can experience making them, with a ticket of 30 yuan, suitable for parent-child tours.
Travel Suggestions
- It is recommended to spend 1 day for the tour. If you are particularly interested in garden and ancestral hall culture, you can arrange half a day for in-depth visit.
- Spring and autumn (March-May, September-November) have suitable climates and the best scenery, avoiding high temperatures in summer and severe cold in winter.
- There are many steps and stone roads in the scenic area. It is recommended to wear comfortable flat shoes, and the elderly can carry lightweight folding stools.
- It is recommended to visit Jichang Garden and Clay Figurine Museum during off-peak hours (before 9:00 am or after 3:00 pm) to avoid the peak of tour groups.
- When tasting Wuxi food, note that the local flavor is sweet. If you don't like sweet food, you can inform the shop in advance to put less sugar.
Matters Needing Attention
- Smoking and carving are prohibited in the ancient ancestral hall group. Some ancestral halls are privately owned, so please abide by the "No Entry" signs.
- Climbing rockeries and picking flowers and trees are prohibited in Jichang Garden; please protect cultural relics and natural landscapes.
- Touching exhibits is prohibited in Huishan Clay Figurine Museum; please follow the guidance of craftsmen when experiencing making.
- There are many shops in the scenic area. It is recommended to compare prices when buying souvenirs and pay attention to checking production dates and price labels.
- There are many tourists during holidays, so it is recommended to travel during off-peak hours.