Wenzhou Travel Guide

Wenzhou (Simplified Chinese: 温州; Traditional Chinese: 溫州; Hanyu Pinyin: Wēnzhōu) is a prefecture-level city with a population of 873,000 in southeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It borders Lishui to the west, Taizhou to the north, and looks out to the East China Sea to the east.

Wenzhou was a prosperous foreign treaty port, which remains well-preserved today. It is also known for its emigrants who leave their native land for Europe and the United States, with a reputation for being enterprising folk who start restaurants, retail and wholesale businesses in their adopted countries.

Wenzhou means a mild and pleasant land. The city gets its name because of its mild climate without extremely cold winters or hot summers. It is an ideal place for vacation. Mountains, plains, islands, long rivers and broad seas coexist in the city, providing various Wenzhou attractions. Mt. Yandang, Nanji Islands, Nanxi River and Wuyanling Natural Reserve are all excellent choices for visitors to explore. Local cuisine features fresh seafood. Delicacies such as 'Fish Boiled with Three Kinds of Shreds', Garlic Seasoned Fishskin and other appetizers such as 'Tall Man' Wonton, 'Lamp' Cake and Fish Balls are all favorites renowned for their fresh taste, enticing aroma and beautiful presentation.

Wenzhou is a modern city with many good hotels and restaurants catering to visitors' needs. Supermarkets, malls and various specialty stores along commercial pedestrian streets provide a shopping paradise. Comfortable bars, dancing halls and amusement venues enrich the city's night life.

Wenzhou is easily accessible by planes, trains and buses. Wenzhou Yongqiang Airport has more than 64 airlines flying to other cities, including Hong Kong and Macao. Jin Wen (Jinhua to Wenzhou) railways connect the city with Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou as well as other cities in Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Fujian provinces. Highways are also well developed with good service stations. Long distance buses serve neighboring counties and cities in Zhejiang Province as well as cities in Liaoning, Hebei, Shandong, Hunan, Sichuan, Jiangxi and other provinces in China.

A few hours drive out of Wenzhou is the Nanxijiang Scenic Area - well worth a visit. The river itself is very clean and shallow, although the current are strong in a few places. Most visitors congregate in a few select areas where parking and shops are available, although there are plenty of areas where you can just pull over - just watch your car, as there are a few undesirable characters in the area who see tourists as a nice source of income.

About the only interesting thing to see in Wenzhou, Jiangxinyu make a good few hours, with a nice temple, pagoda, and pavillions - all in all a nice park. However, getting there can be a little odd. Don't try to be clever and try to drive there (a bridge does connect the islands western end) as you still have to pay to enter the actual park, as well as paying a toll on the bridge itself. Cheaper than the bridge entrance (even without the toll price) is the ferry from Wenzhou city center.