A Lotus-Inspired Self-Drive Trip to Gaochun’s Gucheng Lake Water Slow City

I'd long heard that Gaochun District in Nanjing is home to an International Slow City. Taking advantage of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday and a friend’s invitation, I finally made the trip. And the main reason this time was the opening of the Lotus Festival at Gucheng Lake Water Slow City. First, what is an International Slow City? You can think of it as a new urban model, or simply as a place where the pace of life is relatively unhurried. Many criteria must be met to be named an “International Slow City” — to put it plainly, there’s more space for strolling, more green areas for leisure. It’s worth noting that Gaochun District is not only China’s first “International Slow City” accredited by the World Slow City Alliance, but also the location of the Alliance’s China headquarters.

Now, follow my two-day, one-night photos and words to feel the charm of Gaochun’s “slowness”!

If you love road trips, you’ll quickly appreciate how excellent Jiangsu’s highways and country roads are. The roads are wide and smooth, the terrain mostly flat plains, making driving a breeze. I drove from Changzhou to Gaochun — about 145 km, with over 95% on expressways. And since the theme of this trip is “slow,” the country roads along the way are stunning, like Changzhou Liyang’s Rainbow No.1 Highway and Gaochun’s “Sky Mirror” Shijiu Lake Bridge. (If you’re taking public transport, take Metro Line S1 from downtown Nanjing to Xiangyu South Road, transfer to Line S9 to Gaochun Station, then hop on the tourist bus Route 2 to the entrance of Gucheng Lake Water Slow City.)

DAY 1: Changzhou – Gaochun, check in at Guchengwan Kaiyuan Resort Hotel, evening visit to Gucheng Lake Water Slow City (Lotus Festival opening); DAY 2: Gucheng Lake Water Slow City, return in the afternoon.

Evening at Water Slow City: Lotus Festival Opening

Gucheng Lake Water Slow City covers over 5,300 mu (about 353 hectares). It’s a lakeside resort combining ecological farming, eco-tourism, science education, water sports, and leisure. In plain terms, it’s huge and packed with things to do. After checking in on the first day and having dinner with friends, we drove over to the site.

Why come in the evening? Because it was the opening night of the Lotus Festival, complete with wonderful performances. As someone who loves a lively crowd, how could I miss it? I soon found out I wasn’t the only one — it felt like people from all the surrounding villages had turned up. The annual Lotus Festival is clearly a big event here.

The opening ceremony ran smoothly and well-organized — no surprise, as this was already its 13th year. The organizers clearly knew what they were doing. On the main stage, there were speeches by officials and song-and-dance shows. I learned from the speeches that this year’s festival puts special emphasis on evening activities, with bustling night-market stalls, colourful lighting effects, and mist installations. It’s a magical place for a summer evening stroll, running until 31 August.

Besides the performances on the main stage, an adjacent waterside stage featured folk shows like molten iron fireworks, while a massive drone formation lit up the sky, forming ever-changing patterns and characters — a real visual thrill that pushed the atmosphere to a climax.

When we’d had our fill of fun, we grabbed some snacks from the night market stalls before reluctantly heading back to the hotel. On summer nights, you never want to go to sleep, and the evening breeze is especially cool. A nighttime visit to Water Slow City is a fantastic experience!

Daytime at Water Slow City: Flowers and Photoshoots

The previous evening’s visit didn’t fully satisfy me — plus, you can’t enjoy the daytime activities at night, and I hadn’t yet taken any portraits among the flower fields. So, first thing in the morning we entered the park. Nanzhi changed into a beautiful Hanfu outfit, our trip’s visual star, and let me snap away.

Water Slow City is enormous. Once inside, you can choose from several eco-friendly ways to get around: electric sightseeing cars, bicycles, or simply walking a loop. A quick glance at the phone map shows areas like Golden Beach, Lakeside Flower Sea, Wetland Zoo, Reed Marshes, and Lotus Garden. In summer, you can also pick bayberries, drive go-karts, ride horses, try archery, or play golf. Just remember one word — “slow” — and soak it all in with an open heart. That’s the best way to enjoy this place.

Our first stop after entering was Golden Beach, a family-friendly area built beside the park’s inner lake, Yongsheng Lake. Lying on the sand, gazing at the green waters, you might almost think you’re in a “Nanjing Bali.” There’s also a trendy pink sand section — though Nanzhi’s Hanfu clashed with it. If a girl wore a white dress or a bikini there, her photos would definitely break the internet.

Next, at the Lakeside Flower Sea, we took a serious photo binge. There are sweeping fields of purple verbena and a sea of yellow blossoms. Photos in Hanfu here are incredibly photogenic. I’d suggest girls also bring pastel outfits for a sharper contrast with the colours.

Of course, the thousand-mu lotus pond in the Lotus Garden was the highlight. As the poem goes, “Endless green lotus leaves stretch to the horizon; blooming lotuses dazzle in the summer sun.” Lotus flowers have been cherished by poets and artists since ancient times, and I never tire of photographing them day after day.

Water Slow City’s Lotus Garden has its own charms. Besides spanning nearly a thousand mu, it boasts almost a hundred varieties, including precious ones like ‘Pretty Girl’, ‘Friendship Peony Lotus’, and ‘Sword Dance Lotus’. The blooming season is exceptionally long — from mid-June right through to early September. Visitors can walk along the raised paths to get up close to the flowers, or take a black-awning boat or bamboo raft to be completely immersed in the scenery.

The lotus is a flower with an unmistakable Chinese aesthetic, so pairing it with Hanfu for portraits is a perfect match. Some might think lotuses are common and found in neighbourhood parks — why travel far? But in my opinion, a venue with such scale, variety, and perfectly designed settings as Gucheng Lake Water Slow City is rare indeed. With over a decade of annual Lotus Festivals, they’ve perfected the lotus travel experience. So bring your special someone and start clicking!

Another area well worth exploring in depth is the Wetland Zoo. Before arriving, I had no idea there was a zoo here — and I was even more surprised by the variety of animals. It’s divided into a crocodile house, a big cats house, a primate house, a herbivore house, a flamingo garden, and more. Along the way, I saw many families with children.

My favourite was definitely the big cats house. Although it was midday and I expected the tiger to be napping, I got lucky and snapped a shot of one having a stroll. With safe distances and barriers, you can photograph freely and fearlessly.

The zoo is also home to many birds, with the most popular being the elegant yet vividly coloured flamingos. These creatures seem so serene — they even sleep standing on one leg, making visitors stop and stare.

There are plenty more interesting animals, so bringing kids here makes a wonderful educational outing. Best of all, the Wetland Zoo doesn’t require an extra ticket; it’s all included in the general admission to Water Slow City — very good value.

When it comes to hands-on fun, Water Slow City doesn’t disappoint. We tried horseback riding, archery, go-karting, and golf, one after another. The horses are gentle ponies, suitable for children — and light-as-a-feather Nanzhi could ride too. Archery comes in adult and children’s versions: the bows are real, but the arrows have rounded rubber tips instead of sharp metal, keeping safety in mind without spoiling the experience.

Next to the horse riding and archery area, there’s a winding go-kart track. I took an aerial shot — do you think it looks challenging? For someone like me who drives often, it wasn’t too thrilling. That’s why they also have two-seater karts, so your girlfriend or child can sit beside you and share the joy of driving.

“Look, a plum grove ahead…” No, I wasn’t imitating Cao Cao’s ploy to quench his soldiers’ thirst. There really was a bayberry orchard where you could pick your own fruit. After tasting how huge and sweet they were, we picked several boxes. We all ate as we picked — a summer delight that was the icing on the cake of our Water Slow City visit.

Tips: Address: No. 9 Yinghu Road, Gaochun District, Nanjing; Tickets: 50 yuan per person (discounted online), evening tickets 30 yuan per person; Opening hours: (during Lotus Festival) 8:30–20:30 (evening entry from 16:00 to 20:30).

As the saying goes, “provisions precede troops.” Before setting off for Gaochun, we’d already sorted out our accommodation: the Guchengwan Kaiyuan Resort Hotel. Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu and a historic ancient capital, never disappoints when it comes to tourism infrastructure. The Kaiyuan brand needs little introduction — in short, it’s a top-notch resort hotel.

And “top-notch” is no exaggeration, as the room configurations show. I spotted a Dyson hairdryer, RE Fragrance toiletries, Kohler bathroom fittings, and a luxurious fruit platter with cherries, lychees, and loquats. I’m not kidding — I washed my hair twice extra a day just to use that hairdryer, and even drew a bath with bath salts in the evening.

The deluxe first-floor twin lake-view room I stayed in had a large balcony overlooking the beautiful lake. The over-400-year-old Gaochun Old Street was right around the corner, and the hotel was close to the modern city zone — so ordering a milk tea at night, the delivery arrived in just over 20 minutes. The hotel is also only about 4 km from Gucheng Lake Water Slow City, making it a perfect base for exploring Gaochun.

Cuisine: The Signature Lotus Banquet

On this trip to Gaochun, I had two proper meals. The first evening’s dinner was at the Guchengwan Kaiyuan Resort Hotel, and the second was the signature lotus banquet at the Water Slow City restaurant. The hotel dinner was near-perfect in terms of ambience and presentation — ideal for those seeking quality or on a business trip. Take the pre-meal fruit: I thought I’d been handed a cosmetics case and was supposed to touch up my makeup before eating!

That meal centred on local Huaiyang-style cuisine, with ingredients sourced locally. There was braised giant fish head with soy sauce, lion’s head meatballs with fresh abalone, water caltrop shoots, iced crayfish, and more — a testament to Gaochun’s abundant aquatic produce. Every dish was delicious; if you’re hosting a meal here, you’ll certainly earn face.

The lotus banquet at Water Slow City left a deep impression too. I never imagined the lotus could inspire so many creative dishes. There was lotus seed and chicken rice soup, crispy lotus pastry, lotus-scented braised pork, lotus leaf noodles — truly, every part of the plant is a treasure. The dish names were also playful, like “Lotus Harmony,” “Two Become One,” and “Lotus Fate.” They sound so interesting — why not try guessing what they are? Let’s interact!