China Travels: Wuxi - Home of “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”
A small city now 45 minutes of bullet train away from Shanghai(was 2 hours a few years ago), Wuxi is and has been one of the brightest spots of tourism in all of China for the past ten years due to the film sets and the beautiful Tai Hu( Lake Tai). Of the “Three Heavens” outside of Shanghai: Wuxi, Suzhou, and Hang Zhou, Wuxi is more frequented due to the popular studio sets of many Chinese television series such as “Romance of the Three Kingdom”.
Three Kingdoms City - The title of all the films/tv series shot here are listed on wooden boards with each respective title.
After they built the sets a few years ago, they have also named one of the huge studio sets Three Kingdoms City. Although there are other sets next to the Three Kingdoms City, I’d have to say none are as exciting and magnificent. If you go visit during the day, be sure to catch the 1:30pm martial arts show held in the round Shaolin temple located in the center of the attraction. Each film set costs about 100 RMB to get in, there are a few around the area, but I’d skip out on the other ones and just go to Three Kingdoms City. They are all mainly the same; you seen one, you’ve seen all.
I don't even remember where this was, LOL, can't tell you how to get here, sorry!
Traveling tip: If you are ever visiting Shanghai and want to get away from the city for a weekend, visit these cities in the following order: Hang Zhou, Suzhou, Wuxi.
Traveling tip #2: Do NOT fall for overpriced ripoff tours like this one. $191/person for a one day trip is ridiculous.
YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS!!! 30 or 50rmb to rent this and take a picture! Bring own digital camera otherwise they charge you more!
How do I get there? If you decide to take a tour, it might be costly than going on your own(they charge locals and foreigners different prices for these tours due to language-barrier. Foreigners will most likely pay 4x the price of a local) But at least you don’t have to organize anything and worry about getting lost.
Wedding Crashers, well, a fake one...
WWJD? I’m a pretty adventurous cat, so I love to go out and explore, this is what I would do:
1. Get a map first and find out addresses of the spots I’d want to visit(from tourist guide pamplets available in your hotel room or internet sites. If your hotel has no tour guides, then you must be in a really ghetto part of town)
2. Buy a train ticket and go to that city.
3. Once there, take a taxi to the addresses (Make sure you get in a legitimate looking taxi with a working meter or else you’ll get jacked without knowing it)
4. Once you get to the front gates of the attractions, buy tickets, and also get out 50-100 RMB bill ready to give out to walking guides looking for business. A lot of them can speak English, and they might cost more, but 50-100 RMB should be sufficient; unless there’s some new union or inflation in China I don’t know about. What SHOULD be included in that fee is a full day of walking around showing you around, showing you a nice restaurant to eat some local cuisine(invite them to eat with you even if they politely say no; common courtesy), and finding you a hotel if you need.
This isn't exactly England with the tall guards; THIS CHINA FOOLS!
Traveling Tip #3: DO NOT miss out on the world famous “Wuxi Spareribs” (pronounced Woo She Pie Goo). Ask a taxi driver and he’ll know where to take you.
One Response to “China Travels: Wuxi - Home of “Romance of the Three Kingdoms””
Thanks for the travel tips - I plan to be in Shanghai next month, and will try to make a day trip to Wuxi. It looks beautiful, and quintessentially Chinese!