Yangzhou Shuangbo Museum

Discovered a seriously underrated family-friendly spot in Yangzhou! It combines the wild charm of wetlands, the refinement of a park, and the energy of sports. Best of all, it’s huge but not crowded. One afternoon, it felt like we had the whole park’s warm sunshine and beautiful scenery to ourselves. 📍 Destination: Mingyue Lake Wetland Park Yes, Mingyue Lake Wetland Park. Built around Mingyue Lake, it’s an urban ecological leisure park. In winter, the lake is deep blue, the withered lotus has a unique charm, and large lawns still show green—perfect for running and sunbathing. 💫 Comprehensive Activity Options (There’s something for everyone) • Energetic Sports: Top-notch rubber running track and cycling path around the lake. You can rent family bikes or balance bikes to let kids burn off energy. • Nature Observation: The lake area is a bird paradise. Bring binoculars to spot cormorants, egrets, and other water birds. With luck, you might see flocks of migratory birds wintering here. • Leisure Camping: The park has several flat lawns where you can lay picnic mats and have simple picnics (remember fire safety and take your trash with you). • Artsy Photo Spots: The park’s modern design features uniquely shaped bridges, viewing platforms, and a “city study room”—great for taking stunning photos. 🔄 Efficient Play Routes Suggested Plan A (Toddler-friendly): Enter from the west gate → Play in the children’s playground (slides, sandpit) → Stroll by the lake for birdwatching → Picnic on the lawn → End. Plan B (High Energy): Rent a bike from any entrance → Cycle the entire lake loop (about 5-6 km) → Rest at the lakeside café → Head to the viewing platform for panoramic views. 🌉 More Than Just This: Connect with Yangzhou’s Highlights Mingyue Lake Wetland Park is located in the heart of Yangzhou’s new city, with excellent surrounding facilities: • Cultural Tour: Next to the park is the Yangzhou Twin Museums (Woodblock Printing + Yangzhou History), within walking distance, warm indoors, and rich in knowledge. • Shopping & Dining: Opposite is Yangzhou Jinghua City Living Mall, a huge complex that meets all your dining and shopping needs. • City Nightscape: When the lights come on, the park and Jinghua City light up, with beautiful reflections on the lake—perfect for an after-dinner stroll. 🍽️ Dining Options (From Quick Bites to Feasts) • Convenient Choice: Dining floors inside Jinghua City offer everything from fast food to various regional cuisines. • Local Flavors: A 10-minute taxi ride to Wangyue Road Food Street or Shunda Road lets you taste Yangzhou’s old brands and authentic Huaiyang cuisine. • Park Supplies: The park has vending machines (selling water) and small shops, but it’s recommended to bring some snacks yourself. 🏠 Premium Accommodation Guide (New City Core) If you want to stay nearby, these hotels offer excellent quality: Yangzhou Shangri-La Hotel: Located by Mingyue Lake, some rooms have direct lake views, with great executive lounge service and full family facilities. Yangzhou Crowne Plaza Hotel: Connected to Jinghua City, extremely convenient for shopping and dining, spacious rooms, ideal for families. Yangzhou Jinling Hotel: A classic five-star with reliable service and very authentic Huaiyang cuisine restaurant. Yangzhou Qingpu Cultural Inn (Slender West Lake Branch) (a bit farther, about 20 minutes by car): For an ultimate cultural experience, this inn integrates intangible cultural heritage activities into the stay—unique and special. ⚠️ Thoughtful Tips • Parking: Parking lots are available at all park entrances. Spaces are tight on holidays, so arrive early or park at Jinghua City. • Bike Rental: Family bikes are limited; it’s best to rent early on weekends. • Sun Protection: Winter UV rays are still strong, especially by the lake, so be sure to protect yourself. • Courtesy: Keep quiet when birdwatching to avoid disturbing the birds; practice “leave no trace” when camping and picnicking. At Mingyue Lake Wetland Park, I found the ideal model for urban family life: nature within reach, bustling city nearby, perfect balance of activity and relaxation, warm and healing.

Among Yangzhou's museums, the Grand Canal Museum is currently the most popular. However, based on personal experience, aside from the Grand Canal Museum, the Yangzhou Museum, Emperor Yang of Sui Mausoleum Museum, and the Han Guangling King Tomb Museum offer far better experiences. The Grand Canal Museum is too large and lacks significant artifacts, though it excels in digital exhibits, making it more suitable for families with children. 🌟Among Yangzhou's museums, my top recommendation is the Yangzhou Museum. In addition to its two permanent national treasures prohibited from leaving China: the "Yuan Dynasty Blue-Glazed White Dragon Plum Blossom Vase" and the "Tang Dynasty Changsha Kiln Green-Glazed Brown-Green Dot-Patterned Cloud-Lotus Twin-Handled Jar," it also features special exhibitions like "Splendor of Clouds and Water" showcasing Jiangnan gold and silverware, "Shared Brilliance" with calligraphy and paintings by Bada Shanren and the Yangzhou Eccentrics, and "Radiant Splendor" displaying exquisite Ming and Qing porcelain from the collection. It’s worth spending half a day here. 🏨Due to the hot weather, I stayed at the Yangzhou Shangri-La opposite the Yangzhou Museum for convenient access—just a short walk across the street. The room, decorated in a modern Chinese style, overlooks Mingyue Lake. The lobby bar’s outdoor space connects to a serene Chinese garden, perfect for photos in the cooler evening hours. 🍴For dinner, I finally got to try the long-awaited Shang Palace, which was awarded one of the three highest Michelin one-star ratings in Jiangsu in the first edition of the Jiangsu Michelin Guide (Jiangsu has no two-star restaurants). In my opinion, even without the Michelin accolade, Shang Palace still ranks among the top three Huaiyang cuisine restaurants in Jiangsu. For me, skipping Slender West Lake in Yangzhou is fine, but missing Shang Palace is not an option. 🥢The freshly released "Must-Try Yangzhou Dim Sum List" at the end of June includes Liuyuan Chun Tea House, a solid contender. Locals say, "In the morning, skin wraps water; in the evening, water wraps skin." For us out-of-towners, the proper way to experience Yangzhou is "morning at Chun Tea House, evening at Shang Palace" haha... 🎫During the Jiangsu Super Travel period, visitors with a Jiangsu ID card can enjoy free admission to all attractions in Yangzhou! A single ticket to Slender West Lake usually costs 100 yuan, but now it’s completely free. Compared to Nanjing and Suzhou, Yangzhou is clearly more generous—haha!

Yangzhou Double Museum consists of the Yangzhou Chinese Block Printing Museum and the new Yangzhou Museum (referred to as "Yangzhou Double Museum"). The museum has nine exhibition halls, including the Guangling Tide - Yangzhou Ancient City Story, Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics Painting and Calligraphy Hall, Ming and Qing Painting and Calligraphy Hall, National Treasure Hall, Ancient Art Hall, Chinese Block Printing Exhibition Hall, Yangzhou Block Printing Exhibition Hall, Special Exhibition Hall, and Modern Art Museum. Location: No. 468, Wenchang West Road, Hanjiang District, Yangzhou City Opening hours: 9:00-17:00 (closed on Tuesdays) Tickets: Free

🏛️ Located on the bank of Mingyue Lake, Yangzhou Museum consists of Yangzhou China Block Printing Museum and the new hall of Yangzhou Museum. It is a national first-class museum and a 4A-level scenic spot. It houses 144,000 cultural relics, including the Yuan Dynasty Jilan glaze white dragon pattern Meiping, known as the "Oriental Sapphire", as well as ancient block printing books, bronze mirrors of the Tang Dynasty, and calligraphy and paintings of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which string together the 3,000-year civilization epic of Yangzhou from the Hancheng Spring and Autumn Period to the heyday of salt merchants. 🌟 Must-see highlights: Decoding Yangzhou's Civilized Genes 🔮 Treasure of the Town Hall: Jilan Glaze White Dragon Meiping • One of only 3 extant Yuan Dynasty masterpieces in the world, the blue glaze is like the deep sea, and the white dragon breaks through the waves. The glaze is as pure as new, and it is known as the "top aesthetic in porcelain". • Exhibition Tips: Only 1 cultural relic is displayed in the National Treasure Hall. It is recommended to reserve 20 minutes to carefully appreciate it, and flash photography is prohibited. 🖋️ Block Printing: Touching the Thousand-Year Temperature of Movable Type Printing • Chinese Block Printing Exhibition Hall: Displays 100,000 ancient book block prints, restores the printing process of the Complete Tang Poems, and you can personally brush the poetry notes of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou". • Intangible Cultural Heritage Experience: Make a reservation for block printing DIY (CNY 30/person), make an exclusive zodiac woodcut bookmark, and take it home as a cultural souvenir. 🏮 Guangling Tide Exhibition Hall: Traveling Through the Chronicle of Yangzhou City • From King Fucha of Wu building Hancheng to the mansions of salt merchants in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, 130 cultural relics + dynamic sand table restore the prosperous scene of "Yangzhou First, Yizhou Second": ◦ Han Dynasty: Guangling King Gold Seal (made of pure gold, printed with "Guangling King Seal") ◦ Tang Dynasty: Sancai Hu Shang figurines, dugout canoes (remnants of 13-meter-long canal cargo ships) ◦ Qing Dynasty: Jadeite Cabbage (old collection of salt merchant family, grasshopper on cabbage leaves implies "more children and more wealth") 📝 Practical Guide: Guide to Efficient Play 🎫 Tickets and Opening • Free admission: You need to make a reservation in advance on the official account "Yangzhou Museum" (tickets are released at 19:00 every day), and enter the museum by swiping your ID card. • Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 9:00-17:00 (ticket sales stop at 16:00), closed on Monday (except for public holidays). 🚶 Recommended classic route (2-3 hours) 1. First floor: Guangling Tide Exhibition Hall (Origin of Hancheng → Heyday of Salt Merchants) → Lacquerware Special Exhibition such as Gilt Perfume Sachets 2. Second floor: National Treasure Hall (Meiping) → Chinese Block Printing Exhibition Hall (Ancient Book Block Library) 3. Third floor: Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics Painting and Calligraphy Hall → Temporary Special Exhibition (such as "Grand Canal Cultural Relics Exhibition") 🌸 Parent-child Easter egg • Treasure Hunt Game: Receive a "Cultural Relics Clue Card" and exchange it for cultural and creative stickers when you find the designated cultural relics in the exhibition hall. • Block Printing Workshop: Children can experience rubbing zodiac patterns (accompanied by parents). 🚗 Transportation Guide: One-click access to cultural landmarks • Self-driving: Navigate to "Yangzhou Museum", turn to Yangli Expressway from Shanghai-Shaanxi Expressway, parking lot at the South Gate of the museum (free). • Bus: Take Tourist Line 1/101 to "Cultural and Art Center Station" and walk for 5 minutes. • Shuttle: It takes about 10 minutes (CNY 6) by taxi from the China Grand Canal Museum, which saves time for linked tours. 🏡 Nearby Accommodation: An Elegant Choice to Sleep by the Water • Changle Inn: Renovated from an old house in Ming and Qing Dynasties, you can see Slender West Lake when you open the window, 8-minute walk to the museum, including breakfast + block printing experience package CNY 598/night. • Hidden Residence · Dongguan Street Inn: New Chinese courtyard, providing Hanfu rental, CNY 180/person per night, free pick-up and drop-off to the museum. • Blossom Hill Inn · Wenyun Villa: Garden-style design, private hot spring pool to relieve travel fatigue, 10-minute walk from the museum. 📸 In-depth gameplay suggestions • Night Tour Linkage: Walk from the museum to Dongguan Street in the evening, taste Sixi Tangyuan and Huangqiao Sesame Cake, and take a night tour of the ancient Grand Canal. • Must-buy cultural creations: Meiping bookmarks, block-printed Heart Sutra, Yangzhou paper-cutting, and cultural and expo stores can be mailed on the first floor. From the bronze sword light of Hangou to the ink fragrance on the block prints, the Yangzhou Museum uses 140,000 cultural relics to condense the glory and elegance of a city into eternity. Pick a drizzly afternoon, push open the door of time, and start your Yangzhou civilization decoding journey. 🍃