15 Best Things to Do When Visiting Wuhan

An Intro to Wuhan

Wuhan is a city which combines the serene with the urban. The city is best defined by it’s expansive water features, including various lakes and the Yangtze River. Visitors tend to appreciate the incredible variety of food, the panorama views of the city and countryside and the famous temples and culture of the Hubei Province. There are many things to do when visiting Wuhan, including theater performances, outdoor hikes, boating down the Yangtze River and sampling Hubei cuisine.

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Baotong Temple

Baotong Temple is a large and peaceful Chinese temple located at the foot of Mount Hung. The temple was built more than 1,500 years ago around three springs.  The temple has many ancient, well-tended trees and it is home to the famed Hongshan Tower.

Alive Museum

This museum is an interactive optical illusion experience.  Visitors can step “into” paintings while taking pictures with phones.  The museums utilizes pop culture, famous paintings and popular optical illusions in the various interactive artworks.

The Wuhan Sex Museum

Sexual artifacts are somewhat rare in China, which has traditionally maintained a conservative stance throughout history.  However, this museum has many sex culture antiques, including brothel coins, porcelain figurines and stylized statues.  This is one of the strangest things to do when visiting Wuhan.

The Zhongshan Warship Museum

This museum hosts a reclaimed and restored Chinese gunboat.  The vessel served in the second Sino-Japanese War.  The vessel, it’s history and models of it’s service are all housed at the museum.

Yellow Crane Tower (Snake Hill)

Yellow Crane Tower is one of the most beautiful buildings in China.  It has been regarded as “The First Scenery Under Heavens” for centuries.  The core of the structure is an eight story Tang-Dynasty Pagoda overlooking the Yangtze River Bridge and shimmering river below.  The tower grounds include corridors, pavilions, galleries and relaxing outdoor plazas. The tower is best seen at night, when the numerous awnings are awash in yellow and red lights.

Huangpi Mulan Culture Ecological Tourism

Named for the legendary female general Mulan, this geological park is home to various preserved eco-tourism sites.  This includes Mulan Mountain, the Ancient Village Area, the Mulan Grasslands and the Mulan Yunwu Mountain.

Yangtze River Bridge

This bridge can be seen from Yellow Crane Tower.  The bridge was famously constructed to allow both cars and trains over the famous Chinese river. When walking along the bridge, the guardrail is nicely decorated with Chinese-stylized pictures of flowers and animals.

Han Street

A traditional street with modern additions, this shopping and historical area hosts Qu Yuan Square, Zhaojun Square, The Zhenggang Art Gallery and Wenhua Bookshop.

Donghu National Park

An outdoors, boardwalk hike through the Wuhan wetlands, accented along the shorelines by cherry blossom trees.

Hubu Alley

This is a narrow pedestrian ally known for local and traditional foods.  It’s famous for Hot Dry Noodles, Hutang Rice Noodles, Rice Wrapped Fried Bread Sticks and Mianwo. The alley is somewhat crowded and hard to maneuver around on weekends.

The Han Show

This is an extremely popular theatrical and acrobatic performance based in Wuhan.  The Han Theater is pretty as well.  At night it glows a variety of colors, designed to look like a Chinese- lantern. 

East Lake

A large green space located in downtown Wuhan.  While much of the city is defined by water features, East Lake is special.  Birds, sakura flowers, lotus blossoms, autumn willows, plum blossoms and traditional buildings make it a pleasant place to walk around.

Hubei Provincial Museum

A museum filled with important relics and items from ancient Chinese tombs, including the legendary Sword of Goujian.  The millennia old artifact survived water damage thanks to an airtight seal.  The sword still, to this day, retains its edge and the sacred text on the blade is visible. The museum is also home to a series of famously intact Chime-Bells from the Tomb of Marquis Yi. The museum is one of the greatest cultural sites in China. It is one of the best things to do when visiting Wuhan.

Guiyuan Buddhist Temple

A very active Buddhist temple and plaza in Wuhan.  The area is very clean and quaint and impressively hosts a giant standing Buddha with a halo of flames. The Sutra Collection Pavilion is the most famous aspect of the temple: It hosts 418 pieces of caligraphy and paintings from the Song Dynasty. 

Chu River Han Street – This is a very pretty Riverwalk area.  The bridges and buildings here are often lit with views of the river.  Most famous foreign brands set up shop in this area.

Looking for more activities or things to do when visiting Wuhan? Read further at the Leftfade Trails Blog

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