Atlas of China
Wenzhou 温州Wēnzhōu
Volcanic crags, clear rivers and a city of traders with kin across Europe
About Wenzhou
Wenzhou spreads along the mouth of the Ou River, and its people are known across China for business: the city was among the first to experiment with private enterprise after 1978, and Wenzhou communities have grown up from Prato to Paris. Inland, the Yandang Mountains rise in volcanic pinnacles, waterfalls and cave temples, and old clan villages stand beside the clear Nanxi River. The 'southern drama', one of the earliest forms of Chinese opera, took shape here in the 12th century.
What to eat in Wenzhou
- Wenzhou glutinous rice (温州糯米饭)
- Dengzhan cakes, lamp-shaped fritters (灯盏糕)
- Fish-ball soup (鱼丸汤)
Listed sites in Wenzhou
46 listed sites are in Wenzhou. These are the 21 rated 5A or 4A; see all 46 in the Zhejiang list.
- Liu Bowen's Hometown (Baizhangji Falls and Liu Ji Temple) 刘伯温故里 5A scenic area · National heritage site
Wencheng County's 5A scenic area, named for the home region of Liu Ji (Liu Bowen), the strategist who helped found the Ming dynasty, combines two sites about 10 km apart. - Yandang Mountains 雁荡山 5A scenic area · National heritage site
The main area of the North Yandang range in Yueqing, a 5A scenic area and Global Geopark of about 450 km², formed by volcanic eruptions more than 100 million years ago and eroded into cliffs, pinnacles, caves and waterfalls. - Impression Nantang 印象南塘 4A scenic area · on the map
A riverside leisure and shopping district in central Wenzhou along the Nantang River, combining Nantang Street, lined with restaurants and shops, with Bailuzhou Park, a culture village and waterside gardens. - Jiangxin Islet 江心屿 4A scenic area · National heritage site
A long islet in the Ou River opposite central Wenzhou and long the city's emblem, with Jiangxin Temple, founded in 1137 when monks filled the channel between two islets, the East and West Pagodas, a shrine to the Song loyalist Wen Tianxiang, and buildings recalling the poets Xie Lingyun and Meng Haoran. - Middle Yandang Mountain 中雁荡山 4A scenic area · on the map
A national scenic area in the hills south-west of Yueqing, described as the 'toe' of the Yandang range and centred on Yuzeng Peak, a pale rock dome named for its resemblance to an ancient steamer pot. - Nanji Islands 南麂列岛 4A scenic area · on the map
An archipelago of 52 islands in the East China Sea off Pingyang, protected since 1990 as one of China's first national marine nature reserves and part of UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves since 1998, known for the variety of its shellfish and seaweeds. - Nanxi River Scenic Area 楠溪江 4A scenic area
A national scenic area along the Nanxi River, a clear, shallow tributary of the Ou that winds south through Yongjia County in 36 bends and 72 shoals, with pebble beaches, volcanic cliffs, waterfalls and the old clan villages of its middle reaches. - Sanyang Wetland 三垟湿地 4A scenic area · on the map
A large wetland park on the south-eastern edge of central Wenzhou, where a dense grid of rivers breaks the land into 161 small islets, traditionally farmed with orchards of Ougan, the local citrus. - South Yandang Mountain 南雁荡山 4A scenic area · on the map
A national scenic area in western Pingyang with five sections of rocky peaks, caves, clear streams and waterfalls, long paired with the northern Yandang Mountains. - Su Buqing's Hometown, Tengjiao 苏步青故里 4A scenic area · on the map
A cultural tourism area in Tengjiao town, Pingyang, built around the hometown of the mathematician Su Buqing (1902–2003), a founder of differential geometry in China and later president of Fudan University. - Taishun Covered Bridge Culture Park (Xidong and Beijian Bridges) 泰顺廊桥文化园 4A scenic area · National heritage site
A heritage park in Sixi town built around Xidong Bridge (1745) and Beijian Bridge (1803), two timber covered bridges with woven-beam arches that stand close together over the streams of Xiaqiao village. - Tieding Liuliu Park 铁定溜溜 4A scenic area · on the map
A rural theme park near Dajing in northern Yueqing, built around the growing of tiepi shihu (Dendrobium officinale), a medicinal orchid long associated with the Yandang area. - Tongling Mountain Forest Park 铜铃山森林公园 4A scenic area · on the map
A national forest park in western Wencheng, with forest over about 98% of its area and rare wildlife such as Cabot's tragopan. - Wanyao Ancient Village 碗窑古村 4A scenic area · on the map
An old pottery village in a wooded valley above Yulong Lake in Qiaodun, founded in the early Ming, which preserves its old hand-worked bowl kilns and workshops. - Wencheng Forest Oxygen Town 文成森林氧吧小镇 4A scenic area · on the map
A mountain resort area in western Wencheng, where Wencheng, Jingning and Taishun counties meet, made up of the Tianshengshan area in Xikeng She Ethnic Town and the Tonglingshan town area, with core areas above 1,000 m and forest covering about 96% of the land. - Wenzhou Amusement Park 温州乐园 4A scenic area · on the map
Wenzhou's first theme park, open for about two decades in Chashan south of the city, with a European-style zone, a cartoon zone, an adventure valley and a dinosaur zone, plus rides such as a suspended roller coaster added in 2008. - Wuyanling National Nature Reserve 乌岩岭 4A scenic area
A national nature reserve of 18,861.5 ha in north-western Taishun, set up mainly to protect Cabot's tragopan, a pheasant found only in China, and one of the best-preserved subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests in eastern China. - Xiandieyan and Banping Island 仙叠岩·半屏山 4A scenic area · on the map
Two coastal sights in the Dongtou islands off the mouth of the Ou River. - Yucang Mountain 玉苍山 4A scenic area · on the map
A granite mountain north-west of Cangnan's county town, rising to 921.5 m and protected as a national forest park since 1991. - Yuliao Beach 渔寮 4A scenic area · on the map
A coastal scenic area near the southern end of Zhejiang's coast in Cangnan, centred on Yuliao beach, a broad sandy bay about 2 km long, with a smaller crescent beach at Wuchengao. - Zeya Scenic Area and Siliandui Paper Mills 泽雅 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
A large mountain scenic area west of Wenzhou, nicknamed the 'West Yandang', with eight sections of waterfalls, pools and gorges such as the Qipujian (Seven Waterfalls) ravine and Jinkeng Gorge.
On the map
Open Wenzhou on the illustrated map to see its outline, its places and listed sites together, and to add them to a trip.
Open Wenzhou on the map