瘦西湖

Why this place

Slender West Lake is not a lake so much as a narrow waterway lined with gardens, pavilions, bridges and white pagodas — built by the salt merchants of Yangzhou in the eighteenth century to impress the emperor on his tours south. It is a masterpiece of Chinese garden-water design, and the city's emblem.

What to see

• The Five Pavilion Bridge, the most photographed structure on the lake
• The Xiaojinshan island and the White Pagoda, which are copies of Beijing's
• The Twenty-Four Bridge and the Xichun Terrace, at the western end
• The boat ride along the lake, which is how it was designed to be seen

What to eat

• Yangzhou morning tea in the teahouses — a benchmark for Jiangsu cooking
• Wensi tofu, Yangzhou fried rice, and the local 'shizitou' meatballs

How to plan

One day: the lake in the morning, the old town and Dongguan Street in the afternoon.

Best time

March–May; the lake was designed for spring

Practical tips

• Go early — Yangzhou is popular with domestic tour groups and the lake gets crowded by mid-morning