Lishui: Historic Lanes, Stone Pagodas and Nanming Lake

When planning a trip to Lishui, several clearly distinct themes come into focus: a historic street, inscribed stone pagodas, water experiences at Nanming Lake, and the Oujiang River setting of the 2024 marathon. If you’re looking for a hotel in Lishui, you can first decide whether culture, water-based activities or a sporting perspective on the Oujiang should shape your stay. The following sections cover different points in time.

Historic Street and Stone Pagodas

Liu Citangbei is the only surviving street from the Ming and Qing dynasties in Lishui’s urban area. Its gray-tiled buildings and old lanes preserve memories of 500 years of commercial life. This means the focus is not just on individual buildings, but on a historic streetscape. If you’re interested in old lanes and commercial history, you’ll find a clear thematic focus here.

The four surviving stone pagodas of Lingjiu Temple in the urban area provide a different historical perspective. All bear construction inscriptions: three were built in 1216, and the fourth in 1218. The dates distinguish the structures within the same group rather than assigning them a shared year of construction. While the historic character of Liu Citangbei is conveyed through its buildings and lanes, the focus of the pagodas is on individual temple structures, inscriptions and specific dates. This makes it possible to distinguish between two different ways of exploring Lishui’s history.

Nanming Lake: Environmental Classification and Water Experiences

A report from January 2025 classified the water quality of Nanming Lake as meeting China’s Class III surface water standard throughout the year. This is an environmental classification and answers a different question from that of recreational activities. If the current classification matters for your trip, check it again.

For water-based activities, the Nanming Lake Water Sports Center is the specific point of reference. A report from January 2025 named kayaking and flying a water-propelled jet device as water experiences available there. For 2024, the center was selected as one of Zhejiang’s ten best waterside water sports and outdoor sports centers. This award relates to 2024. If one of these activities is important to your trip, check current availability before your visit.

The Oujiang and the 2024 Marathon

The 2024 Lishui Marathon route ran for approximately 19 kilometers along the Oujiang River corridor. Most of it followed both riverbanks; greenways made up as much as 60 percent of the route. These are different details about the same edition: the first gives the approximate distance, while the others describe the route’s location and the share of the course on greenways. This connection to the river is specifically tied to the 2024 marathon route, distinguishing it from the water experiences at Nanming Lake.

Choose Your Travel Focus

Liu Citangbei and the pagodas offer different historical perspectives; at Nanming Lake, the focus is on a reported environmental classification and the water activities mentioned. The connection to the Oujiang belongs to the specific 2024 marathon edition. You can then compare hotel offers in Lishui based on your own travel needs.

Discover more destinations: Huzhou, Zhoushan, Hangzhou, Yiwu, Wenzhou, Jiaxing, Shaoxing, Quzhou

For the main travel overview: Zhejiang.