Though incomparable to some metropolis like Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou etc, Wenzhou is a very unique city in China for its people – Wenzhounese, its characteristic manufacturing and its wonderful scenery.
1. The Local Food
Chinese food is what foreign vistors do not want to miss when they visit China. Since Wenzhou is a coastal city, seafood is the most popular cuisine in the Chinese restaurants in Wenzhou and a lot of local dishes are based on seafood. For those who want to have a taste of most local snacks in Wenzhou, Tianyijiao Snack Street(天一角食街,No.9, Middle Xueyuan Rd. 学院中路9号) will be a great choice, where most featured local snacks in Wenzhou are served. If you want to have a dinner with your friends at weekends in the city center, you can find many popular restaurants in three places: European city(欧洲城), Nantang (南塘），Dong’ou Zhiku (东瓯智库）。
2. Shopping
There are mainly four shopping malls in the downtown Wenzhou, including Kaitai Department Store, Intime Department Store, Times Square and the high-end Fortune Shopping Mall, where you can find most well-known Chinese brands and some world-famous luxury brands.
Wuma Shopping Streets
400 meters long and 12 meters wide, Wuma Street is one of the oldest streets in the downtown Wenzhou with a history of thousands of years. Most buildings along the street are of Western style dating back to the Qing Dynasty.
Markets for Cheap Clothes & Shoes
Next to Wenzhou Train Station (温州火车站), there is a big market for cheap clothes and shoes where you generally need to bargain to get a good price. In addition, on Renmin Road (人民路) sits a shoes market (温州鞋城) for wholesaling and also retailing.
Markets for Digital Appliances and Mobile Phones
Currently, there are mainly two markets for digital appliances in the downtown Wenzhou where you can find laptops, digital cameras, computers, printers and other related accessories of different brands. One is called Wenzhou Digital Plaza (温州数码广场) on West Liming Road (黎明西路) and the other is Wenzhou Computer Market (温州电脑市场) on East Renmin Road (人民东路).
3. Places of interest
Yandang Mountain
Regarded as the First Mountain of Southeast China, Yandang Mountain is one of the ten most famous mountains in China, rising 1,150 meters high in Yueqing City, twenty-five kilometers from Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province. In Chinese, Yandang means "reed marsh for wild geese" and in autumn wild geese do gather in the marshes around the lake at the top of the mountain.
Nanxi River
This national scenic area is the only one marked by the rural scenery of China. With its leisurely atmosphere and picturesque scenery, it is an ideal place for holiday and leisure and is praised as the Cradle of Landscape Painting of China.
Jiangxin Island
Jiangxin Island is located in the middle reaches of the Oujiang River north of Wenzhou. It covers an area of about 70,000 square meters (17 acres). The island features various kinds of old green trees, such as the approximately thousand year-old banyan, the eight hundred year-old camphor tree and the four hundred year-old olive.
Nanji Islands
Nanji Island is the main island of a group of 15 islands and islets, situated in the south-eastern waters of Pingyang County, Wenzhou in south-east China. This was the first marine/coastal biosphere reserve in China. The 28 km long coastline consists of exposed bedrock and sharp cliffs, bays and islets.
4. Banking
In order to open a bank account in the Wenzhou you will generally need your passport. Main Banks in China:
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Tel: 95588)
China Construction Bank ( Tel: 95533)
Bank of China (Tel: 95566)
Agriculture Bank of China(Tel: 95599)
5. Transport
Wenzhou Longwan International Airport
Wenzhou Longwan International Airport is located in Longwan District, about 24km southeast of the downtown Wenzhou. Currently, the airport mainly handles flights to most major cities in China. For the airport transit, there are airport shuttles between Wenzhou Longwan Airport and the downtown Wenzhou (Minhang Road 民航路), the fare of which is 10 Yuan.
Wenzhou Railway Station
Wenzhou has two train stations, Wenzhou South Railway Station (for high-speed trains) and Wenzhou Railway Station. For the high-speed trains(G/D trains), you need to select "Wenzhou South" as the train station name, and you can take a NO.83 bus there.
Bus
In Wenzhou, buses can get you to most places of the city. Most buses are of self-service ticketing with a fare of 2 Yuan and no change is provided. There are NO.54/83/131/38/52/53 buses near the campus.
