2025 Couple's Self-Drive Casual Trip, Stop 25: Xiapu Dongbi Village, Liuyun Temple, Lishui Guyan Painting Village

It's really cold. Luckily, I asked for an extra blanket last night and slept comfortably.

At 6:50, it was already bright. Lying in bed and looking out the window, although the sky was overcast, visibility was still good. Fishing boats and colorful aquaculture buoys dotted the sea, looking quite nice.

At 7:45, I went downstairs for breakfast. The homestay had a small elevator, making it easy to go up and down. It's rare to see a homestay with an elevator. When I reached the first floor, I had to go down another level to get to the dining area. Under the dining room stairs, there was a huge rock—probably unavoidable when building the house.

The cook prepared seafood noodles for us on the spot. So breakfast was noodles. To be honest, they were fresh but had a strong fishy smell, which I wasn't used to. The cook said the shrimp were live, and I believe it, because the shrimp meat was firm and sweet.

I had a cup of instant coffee in the room. At 9:20, I went downstairs to stroll around Dongbi Village. The homestays on both sides were of decent quality, especially those facing the sea—almost every one had windows overlooking the ocean. On the mountain side, there were more restaurants.

The temperature had risen a bit today, so I didn't need to wear a down jacket outside.

There was a free parking lot here. In the morning, I heard geese honking, and now there were chickens crowing.

The buildings in Dongbi Village were mainly white, nestled against the mountain with a sea view—the scenery was beautiful.

Dongbi Village was very quiet, probably due to the weather, with few visitors. Some homestays were still under construction. Because of its orientation, Dongbi Village only sees sunsets. Of course, even without a sunset, it's nice to just gaze at the sea and daydream.

I felt that the food options in Dongbi Village were still quite limited, mostly seafood, with little else to offer. I really wished there were a bakery to buy some bread or cake—but there wasn't.

At 11:00, the sky cleared up! We arrived at Liuyun Temple, where there was a stele saying it's known as 'Little Putuo of China'.

At 11:52, we had basically finished visiting. We didn't climb to the highest point, but we had paid respects at the main halls. Liuyun Temple is built against the mountain and by the sea, with pavilions, towers, and winding paths leading to secluded spots. Several stone walls had carved Buddha statues with kind faces and dignified postures. Perhaps because parking was inconvenient or it wasn't a tourist hotspot, there weren't many visitors.

At 12:42, on the way back to the homestay, we saw Wangji Seafood and ordered a few dishes for a simple lunch, spending 97 yuan total.

On the way back, the sun finally came out.

We took a nap in the room. At 3:00 PM, the sun was blazing outside, so we brewed some tea in the room and slowly waited for sunset. This was the first time we saw a sunset after staying in Dongbi Village for two days.

After photographing the sunset, we went to the same small restaurant for dinner.

For dinner, we had garlic spare ribs and stir-fried pork with chili, costing 90 yuan. The taste was average, so I won't go into detail.

Our daughter wanted to travel with us during the Qingming holiday. We originally planned to go to Jinhua, so we told her to fly from Dalian to Hangzhou, then take a high-speed train for a little over an hour to Jinhua. But when she checked, suitable trains on that day were sold out! We finally decided to go only to Lishui, skipping Jinhua. After finishing Lishui, we would head straight to Hangzhou to meet our daughter, then visit a few places she likes in Hangzhou. To be safe, we booked the round-trip tickets from Dalian to Hangzhou right away.

I woke up around 5:00 AM. The window was open, so I heard roosters crowing and was woken up, but I didn't mind. I dozed in bed until 7:30.

In the morning, I went downstairs for breakfast, expecting noodles again, but today's breakfast wasn't a bowl of noodles—it was what I had imagined: an egg, steamed bun, rice porridge, pickled vegetables, and milk that seemed to be made from powdered milk and was very thin.

The old man cooking played videos loudly on his phone—it was really noisy. Nowadays, homestays are no longer synonymous with good value. Some are even more expensive than four- or five-star hotels, relying on prime location and scenery, but service and facilities still have much room for improvement. However, this is also a period of wild growth for homestays; we shouldn't be too critical. Since we chose it, it's good enough.

After eating, I went up to the seventh-floor terrace to look around. The sun was bright, but when the wind blew, it was still a bit cold.

At 9:48, we set off for Lishui, 296 kilometers away, taking about 3 hours and 36 minutes. This was County Road 981, a level lower than Yunshuiyao.

At 10:05, we arrived at Sanzha Toll Station.

Huge rocks reflected light under the sun.

At 10:40, we passed through Fuding.

At 11:00, we arrived at Cangnan Service Area, a five-star service area.

At 1:00 PM, we arrived at Qingtian Service Area, where I switched to let my husband drive. I had been driving since 11:10, so about two hours.

Zhejiang is also mountainous; the terrain along the way was similar to Fujian, with many tunnels.

This time, I truly felt the pressure of holiday travel. High-speed train tickets from Hangzhou to Lishui were all sold out, not even standing tickets. Hotel prices in Hangzhou skyrocketed. The Lishui homestay we liked was still available the day before, but the next day almost all were booked. The InterContinental Hangzhou was 800-900 yuan yesterday, but today it jumped to 1,300-1,400, and an extra bed cost over 400.

At 1:35, we arrived at Bihu Toll Station, paying 145 yuan in tolls.

Approaching the Guyanyan Painting Village scenic area, the surroundings were farmland with rapeseed flowers and other crops. Far and near, there were many buildings, some still under construction.

The provincial road was in good condition, but there were frequent speed limits of 60 km/h, so we couldn't go fast. Around 2:00 PM, we arrived near Lishui Guzhangshu Homestay. I called the host, who quickly came to the road to guide us. Parking was casual; we parked on a small path, and the wheels almost got stuck in mud.

The homestay was inside the Guyan scenic area, next to Wenxing Pavilion. Nearby, ancient camphor trees towered with lush foliage—very beautiful. We entered the room at 2:10. It had wooden floors and a tatami mat in front of the window, perfect for drinking tea and admiring the old trees. The restroom was a bit dim, with dark-colored tiles and sink, feeling somewhat oppressive. The faucet provided hot water quickly with good pressure. The room had a slight musty smell, which is normal for Jiangnan. The door lock was the oldest type, with a wooden key tag bearing the homestay's name. The door couldn't lock unless you turn the key several times in the lock.

At 2:35, we went out for a stroll. First, we drove the car out and parked in the official parking lot, then walked slowly through the old town and back to the homestay.

There weren't many cars in the parking lot. On the way back, we saw rapeseed flowers and cherry blossoms that were fading.

At Tongji Weir, we sat in a wooden pavilion with no one else around, enjoying the mountains and water—truly pleasant.

These were noodles made with spinach juice; they looked healthy.

At 4:30, we headed back. The breakfast had long been digested, and we were a bit hungry, so we bought a bag of Jinyun small sesame cakes at a small shop—they were tasty.

Many shops were drying peach gum, crystal clear. There were also dried bamboo shoots and radish strips—a spring drying tradition, perhaps.

At 5:40, we went to a restaurant not far from the homestay and ordered chicken stewed with pork tripe, plus stir-fried fresh bamboo shoots with pickled mustard greens—enough for two.

The bamboo shoots were tender, the chicken was not dry, and it was fresh chicken. But the chicken soup was too salty; I wanted to drink more of it... Later, we added a lot of water, which diluted the salt but also thinned the flavor.

Walking along the river, a cool breeze blew. The sunset glow reflected on the river, bright as a mirror. A crescent moon hung in the sky, adding to the tranquility. At night, the ancient weir was off-limits, but we didn't know and walked a bit further. There were no lights on the road, and I felt a bit scared. My husband told me to walk in front while he covered the rear. Fortunately, we soon saw our homestay, and I sighed in relief.

Let's rest early. Tomorrow morning, we'll go to Pictorial Village, then drive to Hangzhou at noon to meet our daughter in the afternoon.