Things to do in Changshu

No. 16 of Fall Viewing Attractions in Jiangsu

Shanghu Scenic Area

5.6

Changshu · 5.8km from downtown

6.1k reviews

Shanghu Scenic Area is located atSouthern foot of Yushan Mountain in Changshu, this lake and mountain are must-visit attractions in Changshu. Shanghu Scenic Area gains extra charm from its waters and is said to be named after Jiang Shang (Jiang Taigong) who retreated here during the tyrannical rule of King Zhou in the late Shang dynasty. If you're looking for a scenic and leisurely park for a stroll, Shanghu Scenic Area is the perfect choice. The north-south Fushui dike divides the area into eastern and western sections, with its 17-arch Chuanyue bridge resembling a string of pearls on the water. The large Hexiang islet in the southern part is connected to land by bridges. Most visits focus on the Hexiang islet area, so travelers usually enter through the main (southern) entrance on the lake's south shore, which is closer to Hexiang islet. Just inside the main entrance is Taigong island, featuring a statue of Jiang Taigong fishing, along with Jiang Shang cultural hall and ancient ship model exhibition. Next head to Fushui villa, one of Shanghu Scenic Area's key structures, originally located atYushanAt the foot of the mountain lies the residence of Qian Qianyi, where his beloved Liu Rushi, one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, was buried and remains to this day.YushanAt the southern foot of the mountain, you can also see the tombs of Liu Rushi and Qian Qianyi. Unfortunately, the original structures were destroyed, and the current ones in Shanghu Scenic Area are replicas. Then head to the water forest west of Hexiangzhou in Yushan Shanghu Scenic Area, where large groves of water-grown fir trees are another major attraction. Walking on the wooden boardwalks over the water and breathing deeply while wandering through the forest feels particularly refreshing. The lake surface in the forest is covered with water chestnuts, and white waterbirds can be spotted among the trees. You can also take a bamboo raft cruise through the water forest, with a reference price of CNY 30. Finally, return to Hexiangzhou in Yushan Shanghu Scenic Area to see the renovated Ming and Qing dynasty buildings—Liuxiang Hall, Boya Hall, Zhaoshan Tower, and Sijing Garden. Except for Zhaoshan Tower, which was originally by the lake, the others were relocated from other parts of Changshu. Then visit the Jiangnan Peony Pavilion in the China Peony Garden to learn about peonies. After exploring Shanghu Landscape Culture Park, which features rockeries, artificial waterfalls, and other typical park attractions, your visit to Hexiangzhou in Yushan Shanghu Scenic Area is nearly complete. Travelers with children can walk across the suspension bridge in Hexiangzhou, play at Happy Island with its children's amusement facilities, or take a cruise on the lake to enjoy the shimmering waves and the scenery reflected in the water.Yushan, reference price: speedboating CNY 40, cruise CNY 40 (departure from CNY 300, equivalent to a full capacity of 10 people). Every April, the peony exhibition is a highlight of the Shanghu Scenic Area. In summer, lotus flowers bloom across the lake. In fall, there is a lantern festival, usually from September to October, when the night garden opens and remains lively until 9 or 10 p.m. before closing. Fall is also the season for hairy crab harvest and culinary delights. Changshu offers more than justYangchenghuThe hairy crab and Shanghu clear water crab are also excellent. The water chestnuts in the water forest are ripe, and boatmen harvest them among the clusters. You can directly buy freshly picked water chestnuts in the attraction. Outside the main entrance of Shanghu Scenic Area, there is Shanghu Water Street with some tourist specialty shops and restaurants. Among them, Xiushui Fang is quite famous, and its braised pork, chicken soup, fish soup, and hairy crab are all good.

No. 15 of Fall Viewing Attractions in Jiangsu

Shajiabang Reed Wetland

5.3

Changshu · 12.1km from downtown

7.5k reviews

Shajiabang reed wetland is located more than 10 km south of Changshu city, on the north side of Yangcheng lake. It gained fame from the model Peking opera "Shajiabang" and was also the filming location for the TV series of the same name. In the scenic area, you can see scenes from the drama, take a cruise deep into the reed marshes, and enjoy the beautiful wetland scenery. In summer, lotus flowers bloom abundantly here. The main entrance of the attraction is at the southwest corner. After passing through the memorial square with statues of characters like Sister Aqing and New Fourth Army instructor Guo Jianguang, you can first visit the Shajiabang revolutionary history memorial hall. The memorial hall is located on the periphery of the main scenic area. Learning about Shajiabang's anti-Japanese history here will give you a deeper appreciation of the revolutionary lives of Sister Aqing and Guo Jianguang when exploring further. Heading east through the Tiankaibojing memorial archway brings you to the main Shajiabang scenic area, where you'll encounter the typical Jiangnan water village of Hongshi. In the village's numerous museums like the root carving museum and wedding customs museum, you can learn about local traditions. Going north past the Yinhu corridor leads to the cruise dock, where you can take a black-canopied boat to Shajiabang national wetland park - reed maze, or board a boat to Hengjing old street film base. The maze, located south of the folk culture village, has both water and land versions - the water maze involves boat rides while the land maze features boardwalks over the water. The boat tour through the maze is highly recommended as it showcases the essence of the scenic area. The reeds here grow taller than people, creating lush green "gauze curtains" on water in spring and summer, while turning golden with floating reed catkins in autumn and winter. This was where Sister Aqing and local villagers hid wounded New Fourth Army soldiers to recuperate and evade Japanese troops. Cruising through narrow waterways with breezes rustling the reeds, spotting egrets, and listening to boatmen sing in soft Wu dialect makes the "Jiangnan" experience feel vividly real. After completing the circular boat route near the original dock, head northeast to Hengjing old street film base. This reconstructed ancient town of Shajiabang for the TV series features complete sets including wine shops, dye houses, bamboo workshops, embroidery rooms, blacksmiths, and weaving workshops. You can visit the agricultural customs museum displaying rural tools, climb up to the balcony of traitor Diao Deyi's mansion (5th army headquarters of the Loyal and Righteous National Salvation Army) from the drama to overlook Hengjing old street, which has a section of city wall built specifically for filming at its northern end. The northern part of Shajiabang contains attractions like Luhua village, Wanzhu island, and national defense education park from east to west. The defense education park displays military aircraft, tanks, and artillery, with obstacle course facilities like ring bridges and swing bridges. Various performances occur throughout the scenic area. The ancient stage in the folk culture village intermittently presents excerpts from the Peking opera "Shajiabang" like "The battle of wits." Hengjing old street's stage also shows Peking opera performances and flower-pole dances at irregular times, with wedding custom performances on weekends. Most teahouses in the scenic area are named Chunlai teahouse after Sister Aqing's establishment in the opera. The original Chunlai teahouse is in Shajiabang national wetland park - reed maze, the second generation at the main entrance, and the third in the folk culture village. After performances, you can order tea at these teahouses while recalling Sister Aqing outwitting Diao Deyi. Hengjing old street offers local snacks like beggar's chicken, stir-fried noodles, and rice cakes showcasing Changshu flavors. Outside the scenic area's parking lot are rows of restaurants, while further south along Xitai highway stand charming waterfront wooden cottages serving delicious fresh dishes like water bamboo shoots, pumpkin porridge, and clam tofu. While nearby Bacheng is famous for Yangcheng lake hairy crabs, Changshu offers equally authentic crabs with less crowds at Shajiabang.

No. 3 of Best Things to Do in Changshu

Yushan Scenic Area

5

4.5/5

2.8k reviews

Yushan has beautiful scenery, and its southeast foothill extends into the city of Changshu. Hiking up the mountain is free admission with only a few scenic spots requiring tickets. Locals can be seen relaxing and exercising in the mountains. Things worth doing in Yushan: Ascend the Jianmen Scenic Spot on top of the mountain to overlook the beautiful scenery of Shanghu Lake, climb up the Yushan city wall to view the city, and eat noodles in Xingfu Temple.

Changshu · 4.3km from downtown

2026 Asia 100 - Best Things to Do

Humble Administrator's Garden

8.8

Suzhou · 38.4km from Changshu

87.9k reviews

The Humble Administrator's Garden is a famous garden in Suzhou, with water as its central feature, surrounded by artfully arranged rockeries and exquisite courtyard buildings, all flourishing with plants. This exemplary Jiangnan garden, along with Beijing's Summer Palace, Chengde Mountain Resort, and Suzhou's Lingering Garden, is collectively known as the "four great gardens of China" and has been inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage list. The garden's design is exquisitely crafted, offering "a unique view with every step" as you explore, with every corner embodying the charm of Jiangnan water towns. Its winding paths lead through layered archways and stone walls with intricate cutouts, where no two pavilions or windows are alike—each perfectly complemented by surrounding flora to create picturesque scenes. You could easily spend hours photographing here. The garden is divided into eastern, central, and western sections, each with distinct features. The central garden largely preserves the simple and natural style of Ming Dynasty gardens, representing the essence of the entire complex and warranting thorough exploration. The eastern garden offers more open spaces, while the western garden features exquisite architecture. At the southern end of the Humble Administrator's Garden lies Suzhou Garden Museum, China's specialized museum dedicated to garden art. Humble Administrator's Garden features major views including Lanxue hall, Hanqing pavilion, Yuanxiang hall, Xiangzhou boat, Thirty-six mandarin ducks hall, and bonsai garden. Two particularly interesting sights stand out: first is the "borrowed view of Beisi pagoda"—when looking westward from the east garden, the pagoda 1 km away appears within the garden, creating a popular photo opportunity for travelers, with this borrowed scenery technique visible throughout the grounds during exploration. Second is the "small flying rainbow bridge" in the central garden, where vermilion railings reflected in water resemble a rainbow, forming an exceptionally beautiful view centered on this bridge. The garden's floral displays change with the seasons: azalea exhibition in spring, lotus exhibition in summer, chrysanthemum exhibition in fall, and fruit bonsai exhibition around the Spring Festival.

Fangta Garden

3.6

Changshu · 967m from downtown

602 reviews

Fang Tower Park stands 80 meters away from the north of the busy Fangta Street, Changsu. It is an antique garden built based on the historical site of Chongjiao Xingfu Temple dated back in the Song Dynasty, sharing resemblance with the Suzhou Garden in style. Though the ancient temple was destroyed, the Fang Tower built in the 4th year of Jian Yan period of the Southern Song Dynasty (A.D. 1130) remains. Fang Tower has been renovated for several times. It is a landmark of Changshu. Fang Tower Park is named after Fang Tower. The scenery in the park is appealing, and observing fishes in Zuiwei Pool in the west of the park is also one of the favorites of visitors.

No. 8 of Best Things to Do in Jiangsu

Lion Grove Garden(Shizilin Garden)

8

Suzhou · 38.8km from Changshu

27.1k reviews

Lion Grove Garden, Humble Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden, and Canglang Pavilion are collectively known as the “Four Famous Suzhou Gardens”. The Lion Grove Garden was built in the Yuan Dynasty and was originally a back garden of Zen temples. It was later purchased as a private residence. This garden was treasured by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, who always stayed here during his visits to Southern China. Although the Lion Grove Garden is small, the artificial mountains in the park are very well-known. The strange rocks resemble dancing lions. The connection between the artificial mountains is not dissimilar to a maze. You can play hide-and-seek in the stone maze or count the number of observable stone lions.

No. 4 of Fall Viewing Attractions in Jiangsu

Tiger Hill(Huqiu) Scenic Area

7.9

Suzhou · 39km from Changshu

33.2k reviews

Tiger Hill has a history of more than 2,500 years and is a landmark of Suzhou City. The attractions here are mostly historic sites with a beautiful view. Although Tiger Hill is only a small hill, it contains natural landscapes such as cliffs and ravines. Because of its construction history, many cultural attractions have been formed. In the garden, buildings and plants are built to complement each other according to the exquisite Jiangnan garden style. Here, you can learn about the story of the Spring and Autumn Period and visit the lopsided landmark, Yunyan Pagoda.

No. 3 of Family-friendly Attractions in Jiangsu

Suzhou Museum

7.8

4.8/5

5.1k reviews

The Suzhou Museum is located on the west side of the Humble Administrator's Garden in Pingjiang District, an ancient city in Suzhou. It includes the new building that opened in 2006 and the ancient building of Palace of King Zhong of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (the old building). The entire museum is like a small garden. In the new museum, you can see artifacts such as pottery, jade, paintings and calligraphy from ancient times to modern times. In Palace of King Zhong, you can also see the beauty and elegance of the “Su-style painting”.

Suzhou · 38.6km from Changshu

No. 7 of Best Things to Do in Jiangsu

Hanshan Temple

8.1

Suzhou · 42km from Changshu

27.2k reviews

Hanshan Temple is located in the western suburbs of Suzhou and has a history of over 1,500 years. It gained worldwide fame through the famous line "Outside Gusu City, Hanshan Temple; midnight bell sounds reach the traveler's boat" from the Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Ji's poem "Mooring by Maple Bridge at Night." Every day, countless devotees come to the temple to strike the bell, offer incense, and pray for peace. Hanshan Temple primarily consists of structures such as the Mahavira Hall, bell tower, stele corridor, and scripture repository. The Mahavira Hall features a tall white marble Sumeru pedestal, atop which sits a gilded statue of Sakyamuni. Flanking the walls are 18 exquisitely crafted gilded iron arhat statues cast during the Chenghua era of the Ming Dynasty, relocated here from the sacred Buddhist site of Mount Wutai. In the stele corridor, visitors can see fragments of inscriptions by Wen Zhengming and Tang Yin—two of the "Four Great Talents of Jiangnan"—as well as poetic steles by notable figures like Yue Fei and Kang Youwei. Particularly iconic is the poetic stele "Mooring by Maple Bridge at Night," inscribed by the renowned late Qing scholar Yu Yue. The bell tower in the temple is the source of the "midnight bell sound," and the resonant, melodious chime is a symbol of Hanshan Temple. Every December 31st, Hanshan Temple holds a bell-ringing ceremony to ring in the new year, striking the bell 108 times to symbolize the dispelling of worries in the coming year. Although the current bell is no longer the one mentioned in Tang poetry but rather a relic from the late Qing dynasty, it is an enormous rarity that requires three people to embrace it fully.

No. 3 of Fall Viewing Attractions in Jiangsu

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Lingering Garden(Liuyuan Garden)

7.8