Yixing

Yixing, the “Pottery Capital,” where purple clay workshops line Shushan's Gunan Street, and the three great caves of Shanjuan, Zhanggong and Linggu plus the bamboo forest make it a weekend getaway for the Yangtze River Delta.

Yixing is a county-level city administered by Wuxi, on the western shore of Lake Tai where Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui meet. Known as the “Pottery Capital,” it is the home of the purple clay (zisha) teapot, centred on Dingshu town south of the city. The north is a plain laced with waterways, with lakes such as Tuanjiu and Dongjiu around the city; the south consists of low hills on the fringes of the Tianmu Mountains, where bamboo forests, tea plantations and karst caves are concentrated. Sightseeing falls into three areas. In Dingshu, explore purple clay culture: the old workshop street of Gunan Street in Shushan, the China Yixing Ceramics Museum, and the Qianshu Dragon Kiln, still wood-fired. In the southern hills, enjoy nature: the Yixing Bamboo Sea, the three great caves of Shanjuan, Zhanggong and Linggu, and the Longchi Mountain cycling route. In Xizhu town in the west are Yunhu Lake and Dajue Temple, the ancestral temple of Fo Guang Shan. The city itself has Zhouwang Temple, Longbei Mountain and the Dongjiu lakefront. It's good year-round: in Apr–May, dig for bamboo shoots and enjoy bamboo-shoot banquets in the Bamboo Sea; in summer, escape the heat in the caves and bamboo forests; Oct–Nov brings crisp, clear weather for cycling and hiking; and the caves stay warm even in winter. Getting there: Yixing Station is on the Nanjing–Hangzhou high-speed railway, linking Nanjing, Hangzhou and Shanghai, about 1–2 hours from Shanghai or Nanjing. Sights are scattered across the southern hills, and the Bamboo Sea is about 40 km from the city, so self-driving or hiring a car is recommended. Plan on 2 days: one for Dingshu's purple clay and the city, one for the southern Bamboo Sea and caves; add half a day for Dajue Temple and cycling. Buy purple clay teapots only from reputable shops, and be wary of high-priced pitches for pots “handmade by a master.”

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