Trip to Yixing — Final Chapter
Some scenery can only be truly appreciated by seeing it with your own eyes. After all, the highest resolution is the eyes. 570 million pixels shouldn’t just be used to see the human heart, but to see all the beauty in the world. Hmm~ I love romance—steadfast until death—and will always be my own travel companion for every trip 🥰.
Originally planned 8 attractions
Actually visited 6 attractions
Bamboo Sea & Mirror Lake ✅
Ceramics Factory No. 2 ✅
Dongpo Academy ✅
Shanjuan Cave ✅
Dajue Temple ✅
Little Great Wall ✅
Ceramics Museum ✗
Longbei Mountain ✗
The numbers are not coordinates [Yeah], the first number is the kilometers from the previous stop to the next, the second is the taxi time in minutes.
Plan 1:
Saturday: Yixing Station — Longbei Mountain (2.8, 4) — Ceramics Factory No. 2 (12, 21) — Dongpo Academy (walk, 15) — Ceramics Museum (3.8, 9) — Little Great Wall (8.4, 16)
Sunday: Bamboo Sea & Mirror Lake (22, 31) — Dajue Temple (29, 36) — Shanjuan Cave (14, 20) — Yixing Station (19, 25)
Plan 2: 118.5 km ✅ adopted
All by taxi!!! All photos taken with a phone
Due to the weather, it was forecasted to rain lightly on Saturday and heavy rain starting Sunday noon. Considering heavy rain might affect entering Shanjuan Cave, and the Little Great Wall and Dajue Temple require clear weather for great photos, the Saturday and Sunday routes and details were swapped. Also, my friend and I weren’t interested in the museum, so we skipped it and replaced it with a famous local wonton shop. The same goes for Longbei Mountain; there was enough time, but we felt it wasn’t necessary—just looking at photos on Trip.com and Baidu was enough.
Summary: Personally, I think Yixing’s entrance fees and some paid attractions are not cost-effective. It’s not as cheap and easy as many bloggers say, with prices around 100-300 RMB per person. I’ve been to Yixing three times, and my direct impression is that most paid attractions are not worth it! I hope Yixing’s cultural tourism authorities take feedback seriously and improve. Honestly, going with a friend, one of us felt a bit ripped off! Also, many small attractions don’t have luggage storage, so don’t bring too much heavy stuff. We carried about 15 pounds and walked a lot on Saturday; our legs hurt, but it was pain mixed with joy, no big deal!
Detailed itinerary:
Saturday: Yixing Station — Dachaoshan Little Great Wall [Make sure to navigate to the main gate of Fuyuan Zen Temple, otherwise you’ll walk over 1 km] (16, 21), free, about 1.5 hours, you can see the boundary of Taihu Lake, photo 2, stunning — Shanjuan Cave (26, 30), ticket price 99 RMB all-inclusive, no show, about 2 hours — Dajue Temple closes at 5 pm (14, 19), free, after arriving, first go to the vegetarian noodle shop for lunch, tasty and affordable. This spot is great for photos and takes time (it took over 20 minutes in the blazing sun to get the shot; the sun was playful, appearing and hiding every few seconds), about 2 hours — Bamboo Sea Hotel (27, 31), the hotel is right opposite Yixing Bamboo Sea (photo 19). Not much to say about the hotel; over 400 RMB per night is not worth it. Our stay wasn’t that great. We ate at Shanshui Zhiwei opposite the hotel at night—tasty but not expensive, about 70 RMB per person for three dishes, not to our taste. The owner asked us to give a positive review in exchange for a gift, but we declined and gave no review. It’s tough to please everyone. We didn’t try their fish head dish, which might be good since many ordered it.
Sunday: Morning rain turning clear, Bamboo Sea, ticket 70 RMB, [We took the cable car both ways painlessly, 120 RMB round trip, sightseeing bus 30 RMB round trip, about 1.5 hours. This attraction! My friend and I both complained that if you’re a hiking enthusiast, you can save money by hiking and enjoy the scenery, which might be worth it, but it takes 4 hours. If you’re afraid of fatigue and choose the route we took, the 220 RMB per person cost is not worth it at all. No need to go! If you want to see the internet-famous "Sky Mirror," I also think it’s unnecessary, but it’s personal preference. You can’t go up when it rains. Photo 14 is a distant view. Mainly, the cable car price is really outrageous! I even think it’s not as good as Nanshan Bamboo Sea, where the cable car is about 80 RMB, and Nanshan Bamboo Sea has a commercial street to stroll in the evening. Yixing Bamboo Sea has nothing much on top except a wild man show at 1 pm] — Zhou Zhen Wonton (11, 13), one-hour queue, just order according to my photos, decent value, worth trying if you come, no need to go out of your way — Ceramics Factory No. 2 (8.1, 13), great for photos, about 1.5 hours, the milk tea shop inside is not recommended, drinks are bad, some small workshops are not very hygienic, and prices are not cheap — Dongpo Academy (1.1, 5), about 30 minutes, it has historical traces, worth a visit. If you’re not afraid of walking, it’s a 15-minute walk passing through Ancient South Street, which is also worth visiting — Yixing Station (9, 13)
If you’re not afraid of fatigue, the Ceramics Museum can be visited before Ceramics Factory No. 2, and Longbei Mountain can be visited after Dongpo Academy, as Longbei Mountain is only 2-3 km from Yixing Station.