If you ask a Chinese person his opinions of Yangzhou, mostly he will describe this city as elegant or delicate. This city is renowned for its poetic sceneries, savory cuisine, profound history and resplendent achievements now. As the junction point of Yangtze River, Grand Canal, and Huaihe River, Yangzhou made great fortunes since thousand years ago, attracting merchant families, poets, painters, and scholars. More than 2500 years' history promoted Yangzhou as one of the top tourist destinations in China. This city of middle size owns more than 500 historic relics. Prosperity, mild climate, comfortable living condition won this city the award of Habitat Scroll of Honor from UN.
* Slender West Lake, narrower but longer than the West Lake in Hangzhou, like a slender and tall beauty attracting countless admirers; Take a cruise on the lake is the best way to experience the refined Yangzhou;
* It is said that the Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty (581-618 A.D.) had the Grand Canal excavated just to make it convenient to cruise to Yangzhou in spring, the season when viburnums are in blossoms;
* Daming Temple, oldest temple in Yangzhou, symbolizes Yangzhou's Buddhist culture. Built some 1500 years ago, this temple gained high fame because of Monk Jianzhen in Tang Dynasty (918-907 A.D), renowned both in China and Japan. He made numerous attempts to travel overseas to Japan and introduce Chinese religious culture.
* Yangzhou dishes (Huaiyang Cuisine), one of the Four Great Cuisines in China, also made this small city renowned nationally. Not like other Chinese cuisines using oily sauces, Yangzhou dishes retain the fresh savor of the food and meanwhile have an appealing color, aroma, taste and appearance;
* As one of the wealthiest cities in the world, Yangzhou hosted visitors from all over the world. At that time many foreign celebrities traveled to Yangzhou, such as Puhaddin and Marco Polo, and left numerous historic relics behind them.
* Weathy families in Yangzhou built fabulous gardens such as Geyuan Garden and Heyuan Garden. Located in middle part of China, Yangzhou's gardens feature not only the spectacular of northern gardens, but also main characteristic of southern gardens using elaborate architectural works;