NANJING
306 km (189 miles) NW of Shanghai. First the nation's capital in the early years of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644), then the capital of the Republic of China from 1911 to 1937, and now capital of Jiangsu Province. Located on the south bank of the Yangtze River, Nanjing is one of the most delightful Chinese cities. It was the Capital City of six to ten dynasties what gave him a brilliant cultural heritage. At the same time it offers modern conveniences and emerging cosmopolitan lifestyle of contemporary urban China.

YANGZHOU
Located at the junction of the Yangzi River and the Grand Canal, Yangzhou was known during the Sui and Tang dynasties as the economic and cultural center of southern China, home to scholars, painters, poets, literati, and merchants. It was also the playground of the rich and famous, starting with the 6th-century Sui Yangdi emperor, who visited courtesans here. The Qing Qianlong emperor visited six times. Today Yangzhou is a charming town with broad, tree-lined boulevards and a network of canals and lakes (the famous Slender West Lake). Yangzhou is known for its handicrafts, landmarks and cuisine. (e.g. the famous Yangzhou fried rice)

WUXI
Located in the southern part of Jiangsu Province, Wuxi is well known for its Taihu Lake, one of China's four largest freshwater lakes and its most fabled body of water. The Lake is also the source of many fantastically shaped limestone rocks that were submerged for years to achieve the desired effect, and that now decorate many a classical Chinese garden, such as gardens in Suzhou and the Forbidden City Imperial Garden and the Summer Palace in Beijing.

Notable people from Wuxi
Several famous Chinese authors claiming Wuxi as their home town. Among them, Xu Xiake (1587–1641), Ming Dynasty traveller and writer,and most recently, Qian Zhongshu, author of Fortress Besieged. Qian is one of the most famous Chinese scholars, writers and translators in the 20th century; and Ding Junhui (1987-), teenage Snooker sensation.

In modern times, Wuxi produced two most famous traditional Chinese erhu musicians: Hua Yanjun (1893-1950), also known as the Blind Man Abing, famous for his erhu and pipa music; and Liu Tianhua, famous erhu instrument composer, the first to compile folk music using staff.

YIXING
Located 60km southwest of Wuxi on the western shores of Taihu Lake, Yixing is famous for its "Yixing ware" pottery, specifically small teapots and decorative objects made from a distinctive dark red clay (often referred to as "purple sand" due to a high level of iron in the soil). All pottery tea pots you see in Beijing or Shanghai claim to be from Yixing.

One notable artist from Yixing is Xu Beihong, one of the most famous Chinese painters in the 20th century China, is famed for his painting of horses (Beijing has one museum dedicated to him).

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Suggested Itinerary One:
3 days to Nanjing, Yangzhou, Wuxi, and Yixing

Day 1: Arrive in Nanjing / Nanjing Day Tour
Beijing travelers:  take overnight train from Beijing to Nanjing (Beijing Railway Station 21:42 - 06:54) and transfer to the hotel and have breakfast.
Shanghai travelers: take morning bullet train D406 (07:48 - 10:11)
If you go from other locale, we will check the available flights from your locale to Nanjing.

We will spend one day in Nanjing, visiting the highlights of the ancient capital. We first drive to the Sun Yatsen's Mausoleum in the morning, then mount on the China Gate, gate towers and city walls of Nanjing.  After luch,  we first walk around the Republican-era Architecture area and meander in the hidden alleys to explore some Republican-Era Architecture of Nanjing, then we go to see the Nanjing Massacre Memorial and Museum (Optional, you can visit a Brocade Museum behind or the Ming Tombs). Dinner and free time. You can stroll around at the bank of or take "flower boat" along the Qinhuai River to appreciate beautiful night scene. Stay overnight in Nanjing.

Day 2: Yangzhou / Yixing
In the morning, we drive to Yangzhou, 100km (62 miles) northeast of Nanjing, and visit Yangzhou's premier attraction "The Slendar West Lake" and have a good photo shot on the Five Pavilion Bridge, which was built in 1757 by a salt merchant who, in anticipation of the Qianlong emperor's arrival. Then go to see the White Dagoba, a white Tibetan-style stupa which was built by another ingratiating salt merchant more than 200 years ago during Qianlong emporer's one of his six visits to the lake. After lunch, we visit the fascinating Western Han Dynasty Tomb Museum (worth visiting).  It is for the king of Guangling Kingdom, Liu Xu, the fifth son of the Han Wu Di emperor (140-86 B.C.). Sixty years in the making, Liu Xu's tomb is a grand five levels deep. After some free time in the city, we drive to Yixing in the evening and stay overnight.

Day 3: Yixing / Wuxi / Fly out (or leave Wuxi by train)
Yixing is a small town located 60km (37 miles) southwest of Wuxi on the western shores of Taihu Lake. Along the highway to the town, you will see a lot of stands selling "purple Sand" pottery wares - small teapots and decorative objects made from a distinctive dark red clay due to high level of iron in the soil. We will visit Yixing Ceramics Museum, a collection of Yixing pots, flasks, and urns from over 6,000 years ago, as well as the latest vases and teapots from contemporary masters.

We drive to Wuxi and visit Taihu Lake, its northern banks grazing the southwest edge of Wuxi. The China's most fabled body of freshwater covering 2,400 sq. km (950 sq. miles) with an average depth of only 2m (7 ft.).  The lake is dotted with islands, fishing trawlers, low cargo boats, and small sampans. Often shrouded in mist, Taihu is also the source of many fantastically shaped limestone rocks for classic Chinese gardens. We will land on the lake's most popular scenic spot - the peninsula Yuantouzhu (Turtle Head Isle), and then take 15-minute refreshing boat ride to the Three Hiil Isle (San Shan Dao), a hilly island connected by causeways to two flanking islets.

We will also vist Xihui Park,  dominated by two hills that have become symbols of Wuxi. The seven-story octagonal brick-and-wood Dragon Light Pagoda atop Mount. Xishan provides some good views of the Grand Canal snaking through the city. Then we visit famous Jichang Ming Dynasty garden at the foot of Hui Shan Mountain, laid out in classical southern style with walkways, rockeries, ponds, and pavilions. The garden is said to have so captivated the Qianlong emperor on one of his visits south that he commissioned a copy of it to be built in the the Summer Palace in Beijing. Just southwest of the garden is the Second Spring Under Heaven (Tianxia Di Er Quan), three wells containing the putative second-best water source in China for brewing tea. It is where the name of the masterpiece of Erhu music "Moon Reflection on The Second Stream" comes from.

Transfer to the airport or train station and fly out leave Wuxi by train.

Wuxi - Beijing by air: 19:50—21:50 (CA1898) 
Wuxi - Shanghai by train: 18:50 - 19:53 (D443) 

Suggested Itinerary Two:
2 days to Wuxi, Yixing and Yangzhou (without Nanjing) ; or 2 days to Nanjing and Yangzhou (skip Wuxi and Yixing).