Taihu Lake (Binhu)

Taihu — Lake Tai — is the third-largest freshwater lake in China, covering 2,250 square kilometres at the meeting point of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Wuxi's southern shore is the most developed tourist corridor on the lake, with a concentration of classical gardens, scenic peninsulas, and resort infrastructure that has drawn visitors from the Yangtze Delta since the Song dynasty.

Yuantouzhu (Turtle Head Isle) is a peninsula jutting into the lake from the Binhu shore — the primary lake-viewing destination, with walking paths through plum and cherry orchards, pavilions at the lake-edge, and views across the open water. The site is most visited in late March when the plum and cherry trees flower; the lake views in autumn clear weather are also notable.

Lingshan Grand Buddha, on a hill above the western Binhu shore, is a standing bronze Buddha of 88 metres — one of the larger outdoor Buddha sculptures in China and a major draw for Buddhist pilgrimage tourism from the Yangtze Delta region. The surrounding complex includes a large contemporary Buddhist cultural centre and, on a separate hilltop, the Brahma Palace — a dramatised recreation of the Suzhou-style garden aesthetic on a very large scale.

Li Garden, a Qing-dynasty (early 20th century) classical private garden on the lake shore, is smaller and less famous than Suzhou's major gardens but has a genuine lakefront character — garden architecture opening directly onto the lake surface — that the Suzhou gardens, set inland, do not share.