Yao Lake Town 2-Day Diary

Departed from Shanghai on Saturday and arrived in Yixing after a 2.5-hour drive.

'Tao Er Factory + Shushan Ancient South Street'
After lunch, we headed to Tao Er Factory and Shushan Ancient South Street. At Tao Er Factory, I bought a plate for 20 yuan. This place mainly sells tableware, cups, and handicrafts. We quickly browsed a few shops and bought a plate for 20 yuan. If you take your time, you can easily spend two to three hours here. Shushan Ancient South Street mostly features Yixing clay teapots and small handicrafts. Since we don’t know much about Yixing teapots, we just took a casual look around.

'Zhanggong Cave - Not Cost-Effective'
In the afternoon, we went to Zhanggong Cave. The ticket price is 70 yuan per person, which is not very cost-effective. The weather in June was about 35 to 36 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. Inside the cave, it was much cooler. Around 2 PM, we caught a performance. Occasionally, water drips inside the cave, and walking in slippers is a bit inconvenient.

'Yaohu Grand Hotel! Highly Recommended'
Around 3 PM, we arrived at Yao Lake Town. We booked the Yaohu Grand Hotel, which was perfect for checking in. There were a lot of people on Saturday, and we had to queue to check in. We rested in the hotel until 5 PM, then strolled around the town for half an hour. Hotel guests can enter and exit Yao Lake Town anytime; there is a path that allows direct walking access without needing to buy a ticket. For dinner, we chose the hotel’s Xiaoying Chinese Restaurant. The taste and quality were quite good, though the cost performance was definitely on the lower side.

'Boat Rowing! Highly Recommended'
Boat rowing is highly recommended. The whole trip lasts about 20 minutes and takes you around the town. The manually rowed small boat gently rocks, allowing life to slow down as you listen to the boatman chat with everyone.

'Dragon-Shaped Water Show! Highly Recommended!'
The evening dragon-shaped water show and fireworks are really worth watching. We arrived half an hour early and saw many people already waiting. We found a seat with a view of the sunset. The water show, accompanied by music, was very impressive and lasted about 20 minutes. The fireworks started near the end of the show. By the way, don’t sit in the front row for the water show—you might get wet.

'Yao Lake Town'
The next morning, the four of us had breakfast and then continued to stroll around the town, checking in at popular photo spots. Since the town opens at 9 AM and our hotel is inside the town, we could enter before 9 AM when there were no people and take photos. This was really nice.

'Little Train 🚄 Not Recommended!'
At 9:35 AM, we took the little train. Overall, the little train is not recommended. We took the Pure Oxygen Return Line, which mainly passes through bamboo forests and a small tea field. After getting off at the visitor center, we took the hotel shuttle back. Not sure if the other line has better scenery.