Dragon Boat Festival

The core of the old town is a scenic area. You must buy a ticket if you are entering on the weekend, but you can avoid this fee by visiting on a weekday, after midnight, or simply by entering the "scenic area" via a small lane rather than one of the main gates (the area is not fenced). It gets very crowded every weekend, as daytrippers from Shanghai, Hangzhou and other nearby cities descend on it, and at those times it can feel very little like a quiet canal town. Xitang was a prosperous canal town in ancient times and the town centre (mostly dating from the 17th to 19th centuries) is well preserved - some have likened it to an authentic version of Suzhou. It's easy to get lost in the winding lanes, which might lead you to a dead end by the side of a canal or take you to a crowded stone bridge. The main streets of the old town, however, are entirely taken over by tourist-orientated shops selling souvenirs and knick-knacks, but away from them, many locals still live here. You may well spot locals gutting fish by the canal side as they have done for centuries, just a few feet from art students painting the scenery. At night, its "bar street" (Tangdong Street) is a famed night spot for both visitors and residents of nearby areas. Fierce competition amongst the bars leads to some odd ways to entice customers - such as signs reading "beautiful girls often visit", or a greeter dressed as the monkey-king of Chinese legend.

In its heyday, Vincent Abbey, a Lazarite (Congression of the Mission) monastery, was one of the largest Catholic monasteries in China. It is remarkably well preserved. After 1949, it became a nursing home. It is no longer open for visits, but the public can get a good view of the cloisters from the street. The city government plans to restore the abbey and turn it into another tourist attraction.

Another restored neighbourhood, this one on the north side of the old city, Yuehe Street or "Moon River Street" is named after a system of canals connected to the city moat, so-called because they are curved like the crescent moon. This used to be a centre of traditional commerce and light industry. As opposed to the elegant houses of prominent people featured on Meiwan Street, Yuehe Street features authentic shop and workshop buildings of a more "commoner" type, with numerous tea rooms, small restaurants, and sellers of Chinese cakes and baked goods. If your itinerary does not allow you to go on to Xitang or Wuzhen, Moon River Street is a good taste of what those canal towns are like. The Museum of Zongzi Culture is dedicated to the leaf-wrapped rice balls for which Jiaxing is famous. There are some large hotels in the same neighbourhood based in restored or newly built but traditional style houses.

Another small island in the South Lake, close to the north-east shore, Xiaoyingzhou features a picturesque pavilion that was once a temple to Cang Jie (under restoration), the mythical hero credited with inventing Chinese characters. It is similar to the mid-lake island and was also popular with local scholar-officials for drinking and/or poetry parties. The island is connected to the lake shore by a bridge. At its southern end is a wharf which the ferry calls at. A picturesque covered bridge is the north east of the island - this bridge crosses a channel that connects South Lake with the Grand Canal. Continuing the theme of Chinese characters, there is a display of the history of Chinese calligraphy on the lake shore, close to Xiaoyingzhou island. Also nearby, on the eastern shore of the lake, is the Nanhu Revolutionary Memorial Hall, a concrete monument and a must-visit destination for Communist Party members on party-education tours but unlikely to be of much interest to anyone else. The memorial hall has a newer and larger branch south of the lake (see listing below).

Once one of China's grandest churches, St Mary's Church was built by the Carmelites near the centre of Jiaxing (just west of the Citadel - see below). Constructed over 13 years and completed in 1930, most of its construction material was imported from France, as was the bell. The church was for a long time the tallest building in Jiaxing. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), the church was attacked by Red Guards, who destroyed its roof and smashed doors, windows and statuary. Rooms were later built inside the ruins of the church. The ruins are still imposing, but the interior is not open to the public, but the city government plans to restore the church and build a new development centred around a new church square. The neighbourhood around the church has been demolished in preparation, so the church sits in a large rubble field.The church was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit in Jiaxing City in May 2000.In March 2005, it was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit in Zhejiang Province.In May 2013, it was listed in the seventh group of national key cultural relics protection units. In 2004, the "Landscape Environment Planning and Design of the Catholic Church Area in Jiaxing City" was issued, preparing to plan a church square with an area of 80 hectares.In July 2021, the government completed the renovation and lighting of the outside and opened a large lawn outside the church, which is open to the public and becomes a good place for people to rest and walk.

Jiaxing is one of the few cities in south-east China that retains any vestige of a citadel. It's at the center of the old city. The citadel was built in 231 AD, and remained the fortified administrative center of Jiaxing until 1912, when it became a barracks, and later a school and a hospital. Much of the citadel was demolished in the 20th century, and today only the imposing front gate on Fuqian Street and part of the wall survives. On June 25, 2021, Jiaxing held the opening ceremony of the Zicheng Site Park, and the renovated site park was officially opened. The newly renovated park, with its copper ribbon, ginkgo tree pool and light, forms a true millennium-spanning avenue where visitors can stroll through the city's history and culture. Nearby, on the street called Yaojia Dai, is the former residence of Shen Zengzhi, historian and poet.