Walk through centuries at the Han Dynasty archaeological sites
Xuzhou's claim on China's deep past runs through its tombs and burial grounds, where the material world of ancient princes has been preserved in stone and clay. The Guishan Han Dynasty Tombs hold the remains of Liu Zhu, the sixth ruler of the Chu principality, and his wife—enter the chambers carved into the rock and feel the weight of twenty centuries. For a more expansive encounter with Han burial practice, visit the Mausoleum of the Chu Prince, believed to be the final resting place of Liu Wu. Here, three pavilions display terracotta warriors—three-foot-tall statues in various states of excavation—giving you Xuzhou's own window into the life-sized armies of Xi'an, but on a more intimate scale. The site also sells replicas if you want to take the history home.
- Guishan Han Dynasty Tombs: No. 3 Xiangwang Road North, Gulou District. ¥80 covers all attractions within the Guishan Scenic Area. Take bus no. 37 to the stop of the same name. Open 08:30–17:30.
- Mausoleum of the Chu Prince: 1 Bingmayong Road, Yunlong District. ¥90 covers all attractions within the Han Culture Scenic Area. Take buses 49, 65, 65w, 71, 71w, 97, 97w, 605, 608 or 608w to the stop of the same name.
Understand the city's modern history at the Huaihai Campaign Memorial Museum
Step into the grounds of this sprawling park memorial dedicated to one of the decisive military campaigns of the Chinese Civil War. The Huaihai Campaign Memorial Museum tells the story of a pivotal moment in modern Chinese history through exhibits housed in a setting that balances education with reflection. The site is free to enter and gives visitors a clear sense of how Xuzhou's strategic position—at the junction of four provinces—has shaped the nation's turning points.
- Huaihai Campaign Memorial Museum: 2 Jiefang Road South, Quanshan District. Free. Tuesday–Sunday, 09:00–17:00. Multiple bus routes serve the Memorial Tower stop (纪念塔), including nos. 11, 11w, 19, 20, 35, 35w, 51w, 61, 61w, 64, 64w, 65, 65w, 83, 83w, 118, 199, 601, 601w, 603, 603w, 604, 701, 838.
Explore the Xuzhou Museum and old downtown neighbourhoods
The Xuzhou Museum, on Heping Road in Yunlong District, walks you through the city's history and culture with free admission. But the real texture of Xuzhou emerges when you leave the museum and wander the old downtown—narrow alleys connecting hundred-year-old wet markets, one-room restaurants without printed menus where the owner will tell you what's ready, street vendors selling tobacco and prescription medicines unavailable in the West, and small traveling musicians performing on traditional instruments. Then stroll along the New Yellow River, a diverted portion created when Nationalist forces bombed dykes in 1938. Fortune tellers work the riverside, and the food stalls offer genuine local eating without pretense. This is Xuzhou unpolished: where migrant workers camp beside farmers' temporary stalls, where the city's real life unfolds in alleys most visitors never see.
- Xuzhou Museum: 118 Heping Road, Yunlong District. Free. Tuesday–Sunday, 09:00–17:00. Nearest bus stops: Yunlong Park South Gate (云龙公园南门), Yunlong Mountain (云龙山), Xuzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (中医院). Over two dozen bus routes serve these stops.
Climb Hubu Hill for views and mingles history with Ming and Qing courtyard houses
From the top of Hubu Hill, you gain a fine view across the city. The hill itself is a repository of layered history. The Ximatai—the "horse-training terrace"—stands here, a mostly modern reconstruction (built in the 1980s) of a site that commemorates the warlord Xiang Yu, who is believed to have supervised horsemanship training here during the 3rd century BC. The setting matters more than the original structures, which survived only fragments by the 1950s. Nearby, the Xuzhou Folk Museum occupies two restored courtyard houses—the Zhai Family Compound and the Yu Family Compound—with exhibitions on Ming and Qing domestic life and material culture. The museum's operators also maintain and open other historic houses in the area, all publicly accessible.
- Ximatai: 1 Xiangwang Road, Hubu Hill, Yunlong District. ¥30. Daily, 08:30–17:00. Take buses 19, 20, 39, 51w, 62, 65, 65w, 105, 105w, 611, 612, 夜14 or 游1 to Ximatai stop.
- Xuzhou Folk Museum: 2 Cuijia Lane, Hubu Hill, Yunlong District. ¥25. Daily, 09:00–16:30. Same bus routes to Ximatai stop.
Spend time by water at Yunlong Lake and the Botanical Gardens
Yunlong Lake dominates Xuzhou's southwest, a large scenic expanse where you can walk the perimeter or rest by the water (free entry). On Huxin Island in the lake's centre, the Xuzhou Aquarium displays hundreds of aquatic species from around the world—one of Asia's largest collections. The nearby Xuzhou Botanical Gardens, established in 2012 on the grounds of a former nursery, spreads across 400,000 square metres of planted species, manmade streams, and waterfalls. Neither site demands hours, but both offer respite from the dense downtown core and a chance to see how Xuzhou invests in green space and leisure.
- Yunlong Lake: Quanshan District. Free. Buses 11, 34, 35, 38, 47, 48, 49, 51, 55, 59, 68, 69, 82, 601, 游2, 游3 serve the lake.
- Xuzhou Aquarium: Huxin Island, Yunlong Lake, Quanshan District. ¥60. Daily, 09:00–17:00 (08:30–17:30 on public holidays). Nearest bus stops: Jinfu Jiayuan (金府家园), Sports Centre (体育中心), Fangnan Xiaoqu West Gate (纺南小区西门).
- Xuzhou Botanical Gardens: 3 Pingshan Road, Gulou District. ¥20. Daily, 09:00–16:30. Take buses 6 or 6w to Botanical Gardens stop.
Xuzhou rewards the visitor who arrives with curiosity rather than a checklist. The Han Dynasty tombs anchor you to the city's ancient significance; the old downtown and riverside walks show you the everyday texture of a Chinese industrial city in transition. Start planning a trip that moves between archaeological gravitas and street-level authenticity.