Historic city · Cultural centre · Jiangsu
Yangzhou
扬州
Grand Canal city of salt merchants, gardens and Huaiyang food
Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu on the north bank of the Yangtze, where the Grand Canal meets the river. Wealthy from canal transport and the salt monopoly, it was one of the great cities of the Tang and Qing; it is known for Slender West Lake, merchants' gardens, Huaiyang cuisine and its morning teahouses, and was named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2019.
Key facts
Overview
Yangzhou grew where the canal from the north met the Yangtze, and for most of imperial history everything shipped between the rice and silk lands of the south and the capitals of the north passed through it. Under the Tang it was the empire's commercial capital, home to Arab and Persian merchants; under the Qing its salt merchants controlled the Lianghuai salt monopoly and spent their fortunes on gardens, theatre, painting and banquets.
Today it is a medium-sized city whose old town, gardens and canal have been carefully restored. Emperor Yang of the Sui is buried here, and the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors stayed repeatedly on their southern tours.
Names and nicknames
广陵
Han-dynasty and literary name of the city.
江都
Name of the Sui secondary capital; now a district of the city.
First city of the Grand Canal
运河第一城
Yangzhou claims the canal's oldest dated section, dug by King Fuchai of Wu in 486 BCE.
History
King Fuchai of Wu dug the Han Gou canal and built a city at Hancheng in 486 BCE. Emperor Yang of the Sui made Jiangdu his favourite residence and was killed there in 618. In the Tang the city had a population of foreign merchants and the monk Jianzhen set out from Daming Temple for Japan. The Qing massacre of 1645 destroyed the Ming city, but under the Qing salt monopoly Yangzhou became again one of the richest cities of China until canal transport declined in the nineteenth century.
486 BCE
Han Gou canal and city of Han
The oldest dated canal section in China and the founding of the city.
618
Death of Emperor Yang of Sui
The Sui emperor, who had completed the Grand Canal, was killed by his guards at Jiangdu; his tomb was identified in 2013.
753
Jianzhen sails for Japan
The monk of Daming Temple reached Japan on his sixth attempt and founded Tōshōdai-ji in Nara.
1645
Massacre of Yangzhou
After the Ming commander Shi Kefa refused to surrender, Qing troops sacked the city for ten days.
18th century
Salt merchants and the Eight Eccentrics
Merchant patronage supported the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, individualist painters such as Zheng Banqiao and Jin Nong.
2014
Grand Canal inscribed as World Heritage
Yangzhou led the nomination; several of its canal sections and merchant sites are components.
Landmarks
Park or garden
Slender West Lake
瘦西湖
Narrow lake lined with willows, pavilions and the Five Pavilion Bridge, landscaped by salt merchants for imperial visits.
Park or garden
Ge Garden
个园
Salt merchant's garden with four rockeries representing the four seasons and groves of bamboo.
Park or garden
He Garden
何园
Late-Qing mansion garden that combines Chinese layout with Western-style buildings and a two-storey covered walkway.
Temple or shrine
Daming Temple
大明寺
Temple on Shugang hill where Jianzhen taught, with a memorial hall in Tang style.
Street or quarter
Dongguan Street
东关街
Old street running to the former canal gate, lined with shops and merchant houses.
Museum
China Grand Canal Museum
中国大运河博物馆
Museum of the canal's history opened in 2021 beside the Sanwan section.
Neighbourhoods
Dongguan historic quarter
东关历史文化街区
The lanes of the old salt merchants' city.
Food
Yangzhou fried rice
扬州炒饭
Egg fried rice with shrimp, ham and vegetables — the local benchmark is lighter than the versions served abroad.
Three-dice buns
三丁包
Steamed buns filled with diced pork, chicken and bamboo shoot, a staple of Yangzhou morning tea.
Braised shredded tofu
大煮干丝
Finely cut tofu in rich stock, a showcase of Huaiyang knife work.
Lion's head meatballs
清炖狮子头
Large pork meatballs stewed in clear broth.
Culture
Yangzhou's culture is the legacy of its salt merchants: gardens, opera, painting and cuisine. The Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou broke with orthodox painting in the eighteenth century, the Guangling school of guqin was based here, and the city keeps traditions of woodblock printing, paper-cutting and lacquer. Its leisure habits are summed up in the saying “mornings, skin wrapped in water; evenings, water wrapped in skin” — tea in the morning, a bathhouse in the evening.
故人西辞黄鹤楼，烟花三月下扬州。Gùrén xī cí Huánghè Lóu, yānhuā sānyuè xià Yángzhōu.
“My old friend takes leave of Yellow Crane Tower in the west, and in the misty flowers of the third month goes down to Yangzhou.”
— Li Bai, “Seeing Meng Haoran Off to Guangling at Yellow Crane Tower” (黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵), Tang dynasty, 8th century
Getting around
- Yangzhou East station is on high-speed lines towards Nanjing, Shanghai and the north of the province.
- Yangzhou Taizhou International Airport serves the city; the Runyang Bridge crosses the Yangtze to Zhenjiang.
Day trips
Zhenjiang
镇江
City across the Yangtze with Jinshan Temple, Beigu Hill and the Xijin Ferry old street.
Shaobo
邵伯古镇
Canal town with a historic lock and a Qing iron ox guarding the dyke.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Yangzhou Municipal People's Government — Yangzhou Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Creative Cities Network — UNESCO (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- The Grand Canal — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Yangzhou — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
More cities in Jiangsu
- Nanjing南京Capital · Historic city · Cultural centreSouthern capital of six dynasties, the Ming and the Republic
- Suzhou苏州Historic city · Cultural centre · Industrial centreCanal city of classical gardens, silk and Kunqu
- Wuxi无锡Industrial centre · Scenic area · Historic cityLake Tai city of silk, industry and clay figures
- Xuzhou徐州Historic city · Industrial centreHomeland of the Han emperors at the crossroads of the north China plain
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