A Cross-Province Annual Family Trip through Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong (Part 1) — The Zhejiang Leg: Heading South from Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Jinhua, Lishui to Wenzhou

【A Foreword】

This is a thirteen-day annual comprehensive family trip (first half with two people, second half with four) spanning three provinces—Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong—and 12 cities. It includes a mix of popular tourist cities, lesser-known villages, and islands, with both cursory glances and in-depth experiences, rich in content and broadly covered, and narrated as objectively as possible. Fearing that my writing might be chaotic and tiring for readers, I’ve split it into three parts by province.

Because the project was huge, the upfront preparation took up a lot of my husband’s time and energy. We factored in weather, sights, accommodation, food, and sports venues to craft a detailed plan, so meticulously thought out it was almost "outrageous." But it’s better to have a plan than to scramble! Throughout the trip, some arrangements lived up to expectations, some were surprising, some left us wanting more, and there were also pitfalls. In the following travelogue, I won’t dwell on the well-known spots everyone knows by heart; instead, I’ll focus on the memorable points for your reference.

【Travel isn’t just about scenery and food—there’s also sports!!!!】

Since last year, no matter the length of the trip, we’ve tentatively started incorporating sports into our travels and gradually increased their share. We’ve deeply felt the immense benefits: first, it maintains our long-established exercise habits; second, working out lets you eat better and with more freedom; third, measuring a new city with your own footsteps allows you to see sights tourists miss and feel the daily life of locals. So, sports will become an indispensable part of this and future travelogues.

【Zhejiang Leg Itinerary】

DAY1: Direct flight from Beijing to Hangzhou; visited Baoshi Hill, Baoshu Tower, Lingyin Temple.

DAY2: Drove from Hangzhou to Shaoxing; Anchang Ancient Town, Lu Xun’s Former Residence, Cangqiao Straight Street.

DAY3: Drove from Shaoxing to Jinhua; Zhuge Bagua Village, Shuanglong Cave scenic area, then continued driving to Lishui; Jinyun Heyang Ancient Town.

DAY4: Lishui; Guyan Huaxiang, then continued driving to Wenzhou; Yandang Mountain scenic area.

DAY5: Sightseeing within Wenzhou city.

DAY6: High-speed train from Wenzhou to Ningde Xiapu.

For this journey, aside from the flights to start and return and the high-speed train from Zhejiang to Fujian, we rented a car for the entire trip. It’s worth mentioning that eHi Car Rental now offers free one-way car return service across provinces in some parts of the country. For example, we rented cars twice on this trip: once from Hangzhou and returned in Wenzhou, and once from Xiapu in Fujian and returned in Guangzhou, with no one-way drop-off fee. For travelers like us who visit many cities with short stays, this is great news. Although the high-speed rail network is well-developed now, having to return the car to the same city after visiting 12 cities in 13 days would have been extremely inconvenient with 12 back-and-forths. This policy saved us a lot of precious time. However, the condition and appearance of the cars could only be described as appalling; considering the advantage, we tolerated this drawback!

【Hangzhou—Destined to Become a Nostalgic Memory】

Hangzhou, the most mainstream tourist city on this trip, holds a special meaning for me. As a child, every winter and summer break, my parents would send me to my grandmother’s home in Hangzhou. Baochu Tower, the Children’s Palace, Liu Gongyuan (Six Parks), Pinghai Street... they carry too many childhood memories, so this revisit was also a trip down memory lane. (Uh… I heard that as you get older, you get nostalgic…)

In my youthful memories, Hangzhou was graceful and serene. Its beauty came from the harmonious interplay of mountains and water, the willows and peach trees swaying along the lake, the shimmering water at sunset, and the refreshing feeling of walking amidst flowers, trees, and birdsong. Now, that feeling is increasingly hard to recapture. Hangzhou has practically become an internet-famous tourist city, with endless Instagrammable spots and restaurants with long queues everywhere. Don’t even mention “Remnant Snow on the Broken Bridge” (before any snow can accumulate, it’s trampled into black slush) or “Orioles Singing in the Willows” (you can’t hear any natural sounds over the cacophony of crowds). It’s all jostling crowds and shoulder-to-shoulder tourists; the clamor has long overshadowed the tranquility.

My husband had never been to the famous Lingyin Temple, so I accompanied him to experience its flourishing incense.

When I was little, I’d climb Baoshi Hill occasionally to play hide-and-seek. Now, we got stuck on the hill; the narrow path between rocks, just wide enough for one person, now required sidling past to avoid blocking the long queue of people jammed between the crevices. A massive boulder at the top offers the best view of West Lake, and people of all ages clamber up regardless of danger, leading to scared climbers too timid to descend, bottlenecking everyone behind. Meanwhile, those climbing up seized the narrow channel one after another—chaos reigned...

The later at night, the more excitement! The bustling night markets around West Lake, tourists moving like a parade, police directing traffic on the Broken Bridge to keep order.

Hangzhou cuisine restaurants around the West Lake scenic area are all internet-famous, with hours-long waits. I really don’t want to waste precious travel time on pointless queues, and I’ve found that the more hyped a place is, the more disappointing it tends to be. We just picked a random home-style eatery for our only proper meal of the day; arriving at 5 PM, we got the last table—instantly a mood killer.

The ingredients were the most ordinary, and the cooking was the most homely; the only reason for the queue should be the low prices.

After eating, we stepped out to see hordes of people waiting in line.

I know, the Hangzhou of my memory will never appear again. There’s no more low or peak season; it’s a tourist paradise all year round. Hangzhou now belongs to the whole nation.

Venting done! Travel isn’t always hiccups and complaints; with some effort, surprises can still be found!

Escaping the front line of the West Lake scenic area, we decisively ditched super famous noodle shops like “Juying Noodle House.” The thought of lining up for hours just for a bowl of “Pian’er Chuan” gave me a headache. We cycled to find “Qiaohuzi” (Bearded Man) Noodle Shop, tucked in a residential community, also specializing in local Hangzhou noodles. Converted from a two-bedroom apartment, you pass through a storage room to enter a room with a few square tables. The landlady received us like a neighbor dropping by. One bowl of the famed Pian’er Chuan, two bowls of signature Ban Chuan, each served with a marinated tofu knot and a braised egg, with free noodle refills. We were the first lunchtime customers; soon both rooms filled up with tourists, residents, and nearby office workers. Men, women, young, and old—a bowl of Pian’er Chuan fills you up and satisfies. At 16 yuan per meal in Hangzhou, it’s truly economical and hearty!

Still, while soaking in the homey vibe, be mentally prepared for the slow food delivery in a family-run kitchen: noodles are cooked to order, toppings freshly stir-fried; their home-style equipment struggles with mass production during peak hours.

Here’s the entire menu; you basically can’t go wrong.

Customer messages.

The classic signature “Pian’er Chuan”—just look at the ingredients and appearance. Do you still want to waste hours queuing at a hyped-up shop?

Pork shreds Ban Chuan—this type of mixed noodles comes with a bowl of seaweed soup.

Eel Ban Chuan—lighter in flavor, perfect for those who prefer less seasoning, like me!

Night view of West Lake; the photos turned out pretty well, but I won’t tell you that there were actually crowds everywhere, people, people, people... I put these night scene photos to introduce the upcoming sports segment, the most delightful part of my Hangzhou trip this time.

The next morning, we woke at 5:30, walked five minutes from the hotel to the edge of West Lake (we deliberately chose this hotel for the morning run, solely for its location—and that turned out to be the hotel’s only advantage...)

After warming up, we set off from Six Parks at 6:00 to run around the entire West Lake. You used to be unable to circle the lake completely due to obstacles and dead ends requiring detours, but once the path was connected, running the loop became a dream of mine, and this time my husband finally joined me. The experience proved my anticipation was worth it: you’ll find the calm, broad Broken Bridge, lakeside trees providing ample shade, distant ink-wash mountains in varying shades, Leifeng Pagoda and Chenghuang Pavilion bathed in splendid morning glow, tranquil Nanshan Road under sycamore trees—all the sights I ran through gradually filled my mind with memories. This is how I love Hangzhou most, and I’m so grateful to still witness it in its finest form!

The Broken Bridge in the morning light.

Stunned by the beauty of the sunrise...

Lush sycamore trees blocking out the sky.

Although I have a special affection for Hangzhou, after it became an internet sensation, I won’t visit often. But those most beautiful scenes from my childhood will forever be etched in my heart.

【Shaoxing, Ancient Towns, Alleyways, and Black-Awning Boats】

Shaoxing, although famous as Lu Xun’s hometown, is far less touristy than Hangzhou. The small city (mainly the old town) hasn’t been overly commercialized or hyped. The Jiangnan water town character is distinctive: small streets and lanes, little bridges over flowing streams, residents living leisurely by the water, exuding a rich, ancient water-town charm.

First, I highly recommend Anchang Ancient Town on the outskirts of Shaoxing—an even more authentic water-town ancient town.

The main area of the ancient town consists of a river flanked by residential houses and shops on both banks, connected by numerous small stone bridges.

We boarded a black-awning boat, one of the “Three Black Cultures” of Shaoxing. The boatman skillfully paddled using both hands and feet. Sitting in the boat, we quietly watched ripples spread out from the hull while shops on both banks slowly opened, and residents busied themselves with the day’s start…

After disembarking, we could immerse deeper into this beauty. Here, you won’t see the mass-produced souvenirs of internet-famous streets or hear vendor calls in some regional accent. Instead, you see local specialty cured goods everywhere—sauce-cured duck, sauce-cured fish, sauce-cured pork, sauce-cured quail… and you hear the sounds of shopkeepers communicating with tourists in a heavy Shaoxing accent, forming the uniquely harmonious scene of this thousand-year-old town.

A boatman still wearing a conical bamboo hat, as it’s not yet the season for the black felt hat.

Only in the homeland of yellow rice wine would you see such resourcefulness—even greenery is planted in yellow wine jars…

Lu Xun’s Hometown is in the old town of Shaoxing. Just pick up a free ticket at the tourist center to explore the Sanwei Study, Baicao Garden, and Lu Xun Memorial Hall. Because of its fame, it’s the most crowded spot in Shaoxing. Having been there before, I skipped it this time, not wanting to squeeze into those narrow spaces with the crowd again.

For some reason, Baicao Garden wasn’t open.

We couldn’t quite figure out which was the former residence and which was the ancestral home.

The black-awning boat ride at the entrance to the scenic area charges high prices and attracts many people. If you want to experience it, I strongly suggest going to Anchang Ancient Town.

Our hotel was the Xianheng Hotel right on the same street as Lu Xun’s Former Residence. Excellent location, striking Chinese-style architecture, and a themed garden featuring small bridges, flowing water, and black-awning boats—very representative.

We didn’t plan a run in Shaoxing; instead, we did strength training at the hotel gym in the afternoon. So besides location, having a gym was also a key factor in choosing a hotel.

Cangqiao Straight Street is a representative street in Shaoxing, with water town scenery, local delicacies, a yellow wine museum, and the everyday bustle of life. If you’re short on time, strolling this street is enough to taste the essence of Shaoxing.

Our dinner—also our only proper meal in Shaoxing—was at the “Xunbaoji” restaurant on Cangqiao Straight Street. The Chinese-style decor, warm and attentive service, and distinctive Shaoxing dishes further enhanced my fondness for the city.

Signature dish: Drunken Crab and Drunken Shrimp—freshly cooked shrimp and crab marinated in yellow rice wine, with a sweet, slightly boozy flavor. The crabs, though small, were packed with roe; the shrimp were plump with a springy, firm texture.

Braised Duck in Soy Sauce: a specialty dish across Zhejiang.

A must-order in Shaoxing: Stinky Tofu.

It would be a pity not to try, but since we can’t hold our liquor well, we sampled the restaurant’s tasting portion of yellow wine—just the right amount!

A tin pot filled with yellow wine milk tea, leaving a subtle yellow wine aftertaste with every sip.

As night fell, the lights came on at just the right time, perfectly syncing with our itinerary. The same Cangqiao Straight Street instantly exuded a different charm.

We wandered aimlessly; small stalls and shops sold various desserts infused with yellow wine.

Joining the long queue for Shaoxing’s top-ranked stinky tofu fresh from the fryer.

A gentle breeze made aimless strolling especially pleasant. Goodnight, Shaoxing...

【Jinhua, a Reverie from Elementary School Textbooks】

Because of Mr. Ye Shengtao’s essay “A Visit to Jinhua’s Shuanglong Cave” in our elementary school textbook long, long ago, we added Jinhua—memorable only for its ham, otherwise—to our itinerary.

Since there’s little distinctive about it, we didn’t go into the city or stay overnight; we headed straight for Shuanglong Cave Scenic Area and Zhuge Bagua Village.

I’m sorry to start by complaining, but Zhuge Bagua Village, praised online as beautiful as a painting, turned out to be the biggest letdown of the trip.

First, the ticket price is high. An ancient village, no matter how unique, is still a village; at 90 yuan, it was the most expensive ticket of our entire trip. Second, you can’t get an overhead view of the village’s layout. The village is designed around the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) concept, with a pond at its core: half water, half land, shaped like the Taiji diagram in the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams, with eight lanes radiating outward to eight earthworks outside the village. These lanes further branch into narrow, interconnected alleys, with residences scattered like stars. Outsiders entering these lanes often find it easy to get in but hard to get out, even losing their sense of direction. I’m sure you, like me, were full of curiosity and expectation after reading the description. But there’s no high point in the village to take in the full Bagua spectacle; “unable to see the true face of Mount Lu, only because you’re in the midst of it.” Finally, the village’s signposts map out a complete visiting route, so you can’t truly experience the fun of spinning in circles inside a “Bagua maze.” What we saw was just a cluster of traditional Huizhou-style ancient dwellings—nothing to do with the Eight Trigrams, nothing to do with a maze. We finished in an hour, including photo-taking.

I can only show you the guide map and photos for a panoramic view.

With our skill level, we can only offer partial detailed shots; please use your imagination for the full picture.

The core spot—Bell Pond, half water, half land. Can you see it? Make do with this.

This was the highest point we could reach in the village, but alas… we could see nothing…

From the perspective of Huizhou-style ancient dwellings, it’s still quite nice; I forced myself to adjust my mindset… but the ticket price was way too steep…

Many years ago, I visited Shuanglong Cave, and I vaguely recall there were only Shuanglong Cave and Binghu Cave. But when I revisited with my husband this time, the area had transformed into a full scenic zone, sprouting many caves I’d never heard of before—this cave, that cave, all sorts—requiring shuttle buses to traverse, so the area had greatly expanded. Since we weren’t staying overnight in Jinhua, we didn’t have time to tour the whole area. We decided not to buy shuttle bus tickets and would see which other caves we could manage on top of Shuanglong and Binghu, depending on our energy and time.

For our generation, Mr. Ye Shengtao’s travelogue is deeply ingrained (I’m not sure if it’s still in today’s elementary textbooks). Especially his description of having to lie flat in a small boat, pulled by a rope from the opposite side, passing under a rock that nearly touched your nose, and then the sudden expanse revealed—it’s so immersive that it sparked curiosity for years on end!

Let’s call it a dock.

My husband and I are already lying flat.

Manual rope-pulling has long been replaced by electric controls; the passage is so short you barely feel the rock’s pressure before “daylight breaks”—the whole thing lasts 18 seconds. But this experience is still unique and well worth trying.

The rest of the scenery is the usual cave stuff—imaginative formations, symbolic shapes—so use all your brain cells to imagine.

Connected to Shuanglong Cave is Binghu Cave, which boasts the cave with the highest waterfall drop.

Beyond these two caves, with our good stamina, we hastily visited “Taoyuan Cave” and “Erxian Cave” in the shortest time. They were similar, just larger, and with few visitors; we practically had Erxian Cave to ourselves, giving us an illusion of tomb raiding.

You can choose your own itinerary based on your time and energy.

This day was the most tightly packed in terms of sightseeing. We overnighted in Lishui, and before arriving, we made a quick stop at Jinyun, which was blowing up online, to try the famous Jinyun Baked Flatbread and see the Huizhou-style Heyang Ancient Village.

Even though we had just been to Zhuge Bagua Village earlier that day and the styles were similar, I’d still tell you: Heyang is definitely a village not to be missed. It has even more attractive Huizhou-style architecture, freshly baked Jinyun flatbread on the spot, and a simple, honest local atmosphere. Best of all, it’s free to visit. Everything makes it worthwhile.

Look at this architecture and its reflection—isn’t it charming?

White walls gilded by the sunset.

The village assembly hall, brimming with retro vibes.

The mandatory oversized-backpack silhouette photo that appears everywhere.

Freshly made Jinyun Baked Flatbread—so fragrant, even though I’d never had it before!

We arrived in Lishui before dinner. This small prefecture-level city surprised me one after another, becoming one of my favorite cities on the entire trip for three reasons.

Surprise one: an unprecedentedly large night market. I never expected to encounter such a massive night market after so long. It spanned two streets, brilliantly lit, with a vast array of goods—food, clothing, toys, everything. Strolling through it felt like returning to my school days.

Regardless of the quality of the goods, just walking among them lifted my spirits immensely.

Surprise two: the Oujiang River scenery. Lishui has transformed the banks of the Oujiang River into a waterside fitness and leisure belt, perfectly blending modern architecture with ancient city gates, towers, and walls. Whether by day or night, it stands out, becoming a shining business card for Lishui. The two of us deeply felt the delight brought by this thoughtful design.

At night, the Oujiang River banks were illuminated by various landscape lights. The banks have two levels: the upper level is a fitness path for cycling and running, and the lower level is a waterside promenade for sightseeing and strolling.

The next morning was our run time, and jogging along such an extravagantly spacious riverbank injected powerful motivation into an otherwise boring run.

An ancient city gate we passed while running.

Surprise three: the hotel breakfast. We chose the Hilton Lishui primarily for its central location, about one kilometer from the Oujiang River—a suitable distance for a morning run. The rooms and facilities were decent, but the next day’s breakfast gave us a huge surprise. The dining area was on the top floor with floor-to-ceiling glass windows all around, offering a 360-degree panoramic view. What we hadn’t expected was that it was a revolving restaurant, and it started rotating during breakfast. To receive such treatment for a complimentary breakfast was truly beyond expectation.

We could take in the entire cityscape of Lishui. Having a hearty breakfast in such a wonderful restaurant after exercising was simply sublime.

On our way to Wenzhou, we made a detour to visit Lishui’s premier scenic spot—Guyan Huaxiang (Ancient Weir Painting Village). It’s a place with history and scenery. While not stunning, it deserves a name in Lishui!

The scenic area is like a microcosm of Jiangnan’s landscapes—elegant mountains and waters, light breezes and clouds, morning mist drifting hazily, early autumn greens and golds daubing the canvas, hence the name “Painting Village.” Tongji Weir, an ancient water conservancy project, has few remnants left, but after renovation, you can still see the general engineering, leaving visitors in awe of ancestral wisdom.

【Wenzhou, Is This the Renowned Yandang Mountain?】

The last stop in Zhejiang was Wenzhou, chosen for its only natural scenic spot, Yandang Mountain, famed for its exquisite peaks and superb views. (I visited years ago, but I can’t recall any memorable details, which says a lot…) Still, my husband was determined to see this famous mountain.

Yandang Mountain consists of numerous large and small scenic spots; unless you have plenty of time, it’s pretty much impossible to visit them all. Most tourists pick the better-known ones and spend one to two days. Based on our time, we initially planned to visit Dalongqiu (Big Dragon Waterfall), Lingfeng, Sanzhepu (Three Fold Waterfall), and Fangdong (Square Cave) over two half-days. But the local guesthouse owner informed us that Dalongqiu and Sanzhepu, both waterfalls, were in the dry season and essentially not worth seeing, so we dropped them without hesitation. Fangdong and Lingfeng became our only two choices, one of which turned out to be the second biggest disappointment of the trip.

The highlight of Fangdong is the walkway carved into the cliffside and the iron-chain bridge connecting mountains. The entire hike had highlights and fun, never felt tedious or strenuous, and was a delightful surprise within Yandang Mountain.

It somewhat resembled the Hanging Temple.

They say Lingfeng is the soul of Yandang Mountain, especially the night tour, which is considered unparalleled. So my husband splurged on both day and night tickets to fully explore it.

5 PM marks the dividing line between day and night admission. We rushed into the scenic area just before five and made a beeline for the only temple built inside a mountain crevice—Guanyin Temple—my sole memory from my previous Yandang visit. The temple closes at 5:30, so we jogged all the way up, snapped a photo, and then ran back down. Rushed as it was, it was the only spot we felt worth the ticket price.

Guanyin Temple is hidden in that mountain crevice.

The view looking down from the temple.

It was already dark by the time we descended.

Once night touring time began, crowds of tour groups swarmed in. Actually, the entire Lingfeng Scenic Area is about the size of a street-corner park, with a central roundabout, and not a single light inside. Dozens of tour groups packed the entire area. Picture this: hundreds of people in a pitch-black park, circling a roundabout, while dozens of guides wave laser pointers and repeat the exact same spiel over and over. As a free visitor, you don’t need to hire a guide; their scripts intertwine and pour into your ears whether you want to listen or not. After being subjected to dozens of repetitions, congratulations—you can immediately assume the role and become a qualified Lingfeng guide yourself.

The commentary was the same old stuff: this looks like a whale, the right side is its mouth, the left is its tail, above is the water it spouts… blah blah…

This is the same peak housing Guanyin Temple seen during the day, the icon and symbol of the entire Yandang Mountain. By day, it resembles palms pressed together in prayer; by night, it becomes an embracing couple.

The admission policy for this dinky area is as follows: enter before 5 PM, buy a daytime ticket; leave after 5 PM, you must purchase a nighttime ticket. Each costs 45 yuan, totaling 90 yuan per person. Thankfully, we benefited from the scenic area’s perennial “Couples’ Festival” promotion: by showing a marriage certificate (a photo sufficed) and ID, we got half-price, spending 90 yuan for two. My husband was so exasperated by this rip-off that he resolutely announced the end of our Yandang Mountain tour!

There weren’t many sights within Wenzhou city, so our schedule was relaxed, and we had time for another run along the Oujiang River.

Wuma Street is Wenzhou’s most famous pedestrian street.

Wenzhou doesn’t have particularly stunning dishes; compared to proper meals, its snacks were more appealing.

Where there’s a “Tall Man,” there must be a “Short Man” counterpart, hence the “Short Man Cake Shop.”

Similar to Shanghai’s ci fan (sticky rice roll), but I’m not sure why it’s so famous in Wenzhou. Not only do visitors flock to it, but it’s also a popular breakfast choice for locals.

Our Zhejiang trip has now come to a perfect close. We’ll take the high-speed train into Fujian Province. Please look forward to the middle installment of my 2020 annual family trip—the Fujian leg.

~Perhaps you’ll find my travelogue lacking in tempting food descriptions… That’s because my husband and I are fitness-minded, somewhat picky about diet, and usually stick to two meals a day. Apart from the hotel breakfast, there’s only one proper meal; no extra meals, no snacks. So the food coverage will be a bit thin.

~Perhaps you’ll find my travelogue missing check-ins at internet-famous shops… After many attempts, hyped-up places have become synonymous with disappointments and overpromised letdowns in my mind. I really can’t bear to waste precious travel time queuing at various ultimately disappointing spots. One lazy morning, one wait in line, and half a precious day is gone. Yet, with the same time, I could run around West Lake, enjoy a sumptuous breakfast, and already switch to another city—full and rich, not wasting a single minute. That, to me, is the meaning of travel.

~Perhaps you’ll find my travelogue lacking detailed descriptions of famous sights, or missing them altogether… Famous spots never lack introductions and praises; they don’t need my embellishment. My travelogue, however, is written after reflection and analysis, aiming to convey the most authentic information to you, moving beyond a mere diary of events and superficial talk.

I still remember vowing in my last Ningbo travelogue to set aside personal biases and objectively narrate what I saw and heard. Writing this piece slaps me right in the face—it’s filled with strong personal preferences, but these are all my genuine feelings. Please understand.