Northern, Central, and Southern Jiangsu (V) — Exploring Qinhu Lake Wetland in Taizhou

D4 (Monday, Sept 9): Yancheng → (Taizhou) Qinhu Lake National Wetland Park → Xinghua (overnight stay)

As autumn winds blow and leaves turn slightly yellow, in this early autumn season we visited the Qinhu Lake Wetland Park in Taizhou to taste the “Eight Delicacies of Qinhu Lake.” The autumn fence crabs of Qinhu Lake rival the hairy crabs of Yangcheng Lake.

At 08:30, we left the Holland Flower Sea scenic area and drove to Qinhu Lake National Wetland Park.

Address: No. 1 Qinhu Lake Avenue, Qintong Town, Jiangyan District, Taizhou City, Jiangsu Province

Navigation: [Qinhu Lake National Wetland Park - Parking Lot 2] (Baidu Maps) or [Qinhu Lake International Travel Service]

From Yancheng Holland Flower Sea, heading southwest via Yanluo Expressway and Yanjing Expressway, it is 116 km to Qinhu Lake National Wetland Park’s Parking Lot 2, taking about 1.5 hours.

The entrance to Parking Lot 2 is on Shenyu Road. The ticket office and visitor center are both at the southwest corner of Parking Lot 2. After entering Parking Lot 2, turn left and park as far west as possible in a spot near [Qinhu Lake International Travel Service] (close to the south gate).

[Qinhu Lake National Wetland Park - Parking Lot 2 (ground)]: ¥10 per visit; Address: No. 1 Qinhu Lake Avenue; Capacity: 250 spaces.

At the visitor center ticket office, remember to pick up a park map.

From the visitor center, walk west to the south gate, then go north across the bridge to the waiting hall—about 440 meters.

We arrived at the waiting hall at 10:10.

Boats to the east lake dock depart every half hour.

Opening hours: All year 08:10–17:00 (last entry at 15:00). Ferry times: 8:30–15:30.

Taizhou Qinhu Lake (Qinhu Lake Scenic Area) is located in Qintong Town, Lixiahe region, central Jiangsu. Qinhu Lake Scenic Area is China’s second national wetland park, and on March 31, 2012, it was rated a National AAAAA Tourist Attraction.

The main lake of the scenic area is Qinhu Lake, which naturally divides into east and west sections. The eastern part is the wetland eco-tour area, featuring unique nature and wild charm, with rare animal resources and freshwater wetlands seldom seen in China.

Attractions now include the Wetland Science Museum, Deer Forest Maze, Milu Deer Homeland, Wetland Challenge Camp, Four Seasons Farm, and Waterfowl Park, all centered around Qinhu Lake Wetland.

Dining: The food city is in the parking lot of the scenic area, and the Farming Fun Garden is east of the lake (on the small island southeast of Colorful Four Seasons Pier).

Ticket: ¥80 (free for those aged 70 and above).

The ¥80 ticket includes round-trip ferry service to the east lake dock. Ferry times: 8:30–15:30, every half hour.

In the scenic area, the west side of Qinhu Lake is the entrance area, while the east side is the main attraction area.

Our tour route:

1. Took the ferry from the waiting hall dock on the west side of the lake to the main scenic area on the east side (the scenic area also offers speedboats and luxury painted boats at extra cost). Entering the main scenic area: Waiting Hall Dock → East Lake Science Museum Dock (visit east lake attractions). The ferry first stops at the Ancient Shengshou Temple dock on the west side, then continues to the East Lake Science Museum dock; the journey takes half an hour.

2. Disembarked at the east lake dock and entered the China Qinhu Lake Wetland Science Museum.

Qinhu Lake is a naturally formed living lake covering over 6,300 mu. There are nine main rivers flowing into the lake from all directions, creating the unique “Nine Dragons Paying Homage” landscape.

Visitors can explore the wetland park by boat on the water routes or hike on foot.

3. Walked to the scenic area boat dock.

The exit of the Science Museum leads to a 320-meter-long water boardwalk (aquatic ecology corridor). At the east end of the boardwalk, turn right and follow the signs to the “Transfer Center” about 300 meters away.

Here, you can take electric boats or rowing boats to travel through the waterways of the Qinhu Lake Wetland Scenic Area.

Rowing boats at Qinhu Lake Scenic Area:

A. Wetland sightseeing boat (electric boat): Full ticket ¥30, supplementary ticket ¥25. Route (departures every 30 minutes from 9:45–16:15, or when full): Departure dock → Adventure Park dock (disembark for attractions) → Farming Fun Garden dock (board) → Medicinal Plant Garden (disembark and walk to the east lake return dock exit) (one-way about 10 minutes).

B. Small scenic transport—Fisherman’s Style Boat (rowing boat, chartered): ¥240 for 6 seats (full ticket ¥240, supplementary ticket ¥180); ¥320 for 8 seats (full ticket ¥320, supplementary ticket ¥240). Route: East Lake departure dock, Adventure Park dock, Farming Fun Garden dock (board and disembark at these three docks); Waterfowl Park dock is a disembark-only dock.

We originally planned to charter a rowing boat to tour the wetland. However, after entering the scenic area, we found that walking was better than boating for enjoying the riverside scenery. So we decided to hike through the Qinhu Lake Wetland.

4. Wetland Challenge Camp adventure.

After crossing a wooden bridge, we followed a path beside the reed marshes for about 10 minutes to reach the Wetland Challenge Camp. We tried walking across the floating bridge—stepping onto the first float, it wobbled violently; stepping onto the second, it kept shaking. It seemed difficult to finish the bridge. But recalling the introduction, which said to run across quickly, I took a gamble, strode briskly, and made it across successfully!

5. Walked to Deer Antler Park.

A sign ahead warned that the road through the “Deep Wetland Experience Zone” and “Deer Forest Maze” was being painted. So we took an L-shaped route to reach “Deer Antler Park.”

6. Visited Four Seasons Farm and had lunch.

Following the navigation, we crossed “Autumn Reed Bridge” to a small island running east-west—this was Four Seasons Farm. We entered the restaurant and found it had big Qinhu Lake fish heads, with fish head and tofu soup being the classic dish.

7. Strolled along the Waterfront Scenic Area.

From Four Seasons Farm, we crossed the bridge south, then turned back west. North of here, toward the Waterfowl Park area, is the waterfront scenic zone. We found this area to be the most beautiful part of Qinhu Lake: vast lake surfaces interlaced with waterways, aquatic plants and reeds everywhere, along with birds, fish, and fallen leaves.

8. Fed swans at Waterfowl Park.

About 200 meters west of the East Lake Dock is the Waterfowl Park, where black swans are most common. A group of white swans parade with heads held high on the lake, along with mandarin ducks and wild ducks. Starting from the Waterfowl Lake dock, we circled the park northwestward for about 800 meters to reach the East Lake ferry return dock. Between the Waterfowl Park and the dock, there are wooden boardwalks and stone paths.

Our walking route within Qinhu Lake Wetland was about 3,100 meters. Qinhu Lake National Wetland Park has a circular hiking trail of about 7.5 km.

If you rent an electric cart in the east lake wetland park, it costs ¥300 per cart; single ride ¥40, one trip per hour.

9. Returned to the waiting hall.

We took the return ferry from the East Lake return dock, and it took only 15 minutes to reach the waiting hall.

We arrived at the Qinhu Lake Wetland parking lot at 3:00 PM.

In the evening, we went to Xinghua for accommodation.

From Qinhu Lake Wetland Park, heading northwest via S353, S231, we reached downtown Xinghua—49 km, 32 traffic lights, 60 minutes (deliberately avoided the expressway to enjoy the waterfront scenery along the way).

We arrived in Xinghua at 4:00 PM.

We came one month too early; in another month, we could taste Qinhu Lake fence crabs and Xinghua red-shell crabs.