Turtle Head Isle (Yuantouzhu)

Turtle Head Isle is the most visited part of Lake Tai's Wuxi shoreline — a long peninsula of gardens and pavilions jutting into the water, with good views of the offshore islands. The entrance is set back from the water, and the walk through the forested grounds to reach the lakeside pavilions takes twenty minutes and passes through well-tended gardens.

The lake views from the tip of the peninsula are genuinely lovely, especially in soft light: the distant islands appear to float on a silver expanse, and on clear days you can see the characteristic lake mist rolling in from the south. In late March and early April, the cherry trees transform the whole peninsula into a mass of white and pink blossom. Outside cherry season the park is far less crowded. Allow two to three hours.

things to do sight
A story
Turtle Head Isle takes its name from a rocky peninsula that early visitors decided resembled a turtle's head pushing into the water. In spring the peninsula is carpeted with thousands of cherry trees that bloom simultaneously — the largest cherry blossom display in China — a tradition started when Japanese businessmen gifted trees in the early twentieth century.