January 2023 – A Spring Festival Journey Through Taizhou and Hangzhou (Liangzhu), Zhejiang

This year’s Chinese New Year came especially early. The pandemic had ended, and everyone had already recovered. I signed up my child for the Chunshan Fang Winter Camp after the holiday, a five-day learning experience in Liangzhu. Last year we visited Taizhou and were impressed, so we decided to go again this year. We took our child on a Zhejiang Taizhou road trip to celebrate the Spring Festival and travel during the holiday.

Day 1: Little New Year’s Eve. On January 20th, we set off for Jiaojiang District in Taizhou. The roads were clear with hardly any trucks, and we got there smoothly. We’d booked dinner at Xin Rong Ji in Taizhou. Seeing we still had time, we went straight to the 349 Submarine by the Jiaojiang riverbank. A real decommissioned submarine, and on Little New Year’s Eve there were very few people. Tickets were 20 yuan, and you could go inside. Submarine 349 is modeled after the Soviet Type 633, so it’s usually called the Type 33 in China, a Romeo-class in the West. Inside, it’s incredibly cramped — you get a sense of the hardship for submariners. Equipment is packed into every corner; quite an eye-opener. We’d booked the Naisi Boya Hotel — good location, easy parking. After the submarine, we went straight to the hotel for a rest. Dinner at Xin Rong Ji: the food was still good, but the ambiance and service were a notch below their Linhai flagship.

Day 2: New Year’s Eve. The weather was so-so. We drove to Kuocang Mountain, where you can drive all the way to the summit to see the Millennium Dawn Monument. There were very few people out on New Year’s Eve. Down the mountain, we spotted a fireworks seller and bought a big stash at good prices. The 26-kilometer mountain road up was free of traffic — probably jammed in peak season. We went straight to the summit, Mixilang, at 1382.4 meters, one of the highest peaks in southeastern Zhejiang. Kuocang Mountain lies in central-southern Zhejiang, bordering Yandang to the south, Tiantai to the north, Xiandu to the west, and the sea to the east; it’s the watershed between the Ling and Ou river systems. At the top, thick fog and snowy scenery obscured the wind turbines and distant views, but my child had a great time playing in the snow. We checked out the 21st Century First Dawn Monument and took photos. At noon, we headed down to visit Taozhu Ancient City, a nationally protected site. No entrance fee on New Year’s Eve and very few visitors. We grabbed a snack at the city gate, then went in to explore. Taozhu City was originally built in 1387 (Ming Dynasty) to defend against Japanese pirates. It’s the best-preserved garrison city in Zhejiang and valuable for studying Ming military systems. The ancient town isn’t large, and locals were preparing for the New Year. Strolling along the stone city walls was wonderful. From the corner towers, you could see the spectacular Taozhu Thirteen Islets — really beautiful. You could easily spend a day here, but we hadn’t planned for that. The Thirteen Islets are formed by the Tao River cutting the fields into thirteen water-bound islets of various sizes, covering over 600 mu. Half land, half water, a typical wetland. It used to be planted with peach trees, reputedly China’s most beautiful pastoral scenery. There’s also a volcanic site nearby, well worth a visit. Back to the hotel before dark, we ordered takeout and were happy. Fireworks were supposedly banned in Jiaojiang, but everywhere people were setting them off before nightfall. We abandoned the idea of going to a designated area in Luqiao District, and instead had a great time firing off a bunch of fireworks right outside the hotel with my child.

Day 3: Chinese New Year’s Day. Early morning we set off for Changyu Dongtian in Wenling. The scenic area was fairly busy, mostly local Taizhou plates. Seems people here don’t like staying cooped up. We went straight to the Shuangmen Cave area, the highlight of Changyu Dongtian. Walking in slowly, it’s a landscape left by manual quarrying since the Southern and Northern Dynasties, over 1500 years of history. First, Guanxi Cave: narrow entrance, but inside it’s vast. Signs say there are 348 cavities totaling 53,800 square meters. The path layout is sensible. Inside, a Maitreya Buddha in the center, and a side path to boating. They say you climb the “Dragon Scales” to reach an underground river with small boats you paddle by hand or foot, each holding two people. We skipped the boating and took the concert hall route, a bit of a climb. The cave is very impressive, up and down steps, some quite steep, with good interpretive signs. After Guanxi Cave, across the way and down steps is the Panda House, but too many people so we passed. Walked to Shuiyun Cave, another quarry-scape with 52 cavities, 6 open-to-the-sky ones and 8 water caves, about 15,000 sqm, truly majestic. Now a museum with detailed info. Unlike Guanxi’s twisting route, here it’s just steps upward, tiring but grander, absolutely worth it. Leaving Shuiyun Cave, we came to Shuangmen Grottoes, a Taoist stone carving site, but it felt mediocre. Exiting the scenic area not too late, but due to huge crowds we gave up Fangshan Mountain and went back downtown to see the Zhejiang east coast seawall (Qianli Haitang). Downtown was pleasantly quiet. The ferry to Dacheng Island wasn’t running during Spring Festival, so we missed that. Had a delicious meal at Jinwei.

Day 4: Second day of New Year. My wife wasn’t feeling well, so we abandoned Fangshan again. Got her some medicine, checked out, and planned to wander the city. First to Haimen Old Street. It started raining. The street isn’t big and wasn’t crowded. It preserves architectural styles from different periods over a century. They say old Haimen folks who made money in Shanghai returned and built European-style buildings modeled after old Shanghai, and the bustling commerce earned it the name “Little Shanghai.” So the north end has European buildings, the south end Ming-Qing then Republican-era, and even Cultural Revolution additions, giving it distinct character. At one end is the Jiaojiang Museum, small but we looked in, some history on the Ouyue Basin and Zhang’an ancient city. Then we drove to the Taizhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Hall, part of the city’s civic square area with museum and science center clusters. Parking was okay, lots of locals with kids. My wife napped in the car while I took the child to the exhibition hall, quite fun. Next to Taizhou Museum nearby — beautiful building, decent exhibits, a quick tour to learn Taizhou’s history. My wife’s friend came from Shanghai to join us, and we booked Xin Rong Ji again for dinner. Food was great, a bit pricey, service still a bit rough. After dinner, we drove to Shitang for two days, about an hour-plus. We stayed at Brandon-Haishi Shanshe B&B, decent conditions, a bit overpriced for the holiday. It’s on the back hill just below Shuguang Park. After settling in, the kids had a blast setting off all the fireworks we had, including four leftover “Gatling” ones from last year, really fun.

Day 5: Third day of New Year. Great weather! The B&B’s backyard had a view of the sunrise, but clouds blocked it. The area is full of traditional stone houses, very charming. After breakfast, we walked ten minutes to Shuguang Park on the hilltop, the first place in mainland China to see the new millennium’s first rays. Beautiful scenery, took photos, the observatory nearby had little content. We’d planned to go sea fishing, but huge waves had kept all boats docked — what a pity! We drove down, but due to holiday crowds, the road up was already under traffic control. We saw the Instagram-famous Xiaoruo Village (Colorful Village) was packed, so we went straight to Golden Beach. Strange place: when the tide is high, huge waves crash onto the seawall and there’s no beach; it appears only at low tide. The core area needed tickets, so we just watched the waves. Staff told us to stay back, as the surf could sweep away the ticket booth. Opposite Golden Beach is the Duijie Viewing Platform. We drove up, climbed to the top, and overlooked the stunning coast. Great spot. Then back to town for lunch at a local seafood restaurant, a bit crowded but good. After eating, we went to Pearl Beach on the coastal greenway. A tourist tram runs between points; Pearl Beach is small, all pebbles, my child had a great time. On the way back, we bought more fireworks. After dinner made by the B&B owner, we enjoyed another fireworks session.

Day 6: Fourth day of New Year. Left Shitang early. The colorful village was still jammed with cars, so we skipped it and headed straight to Putigu Hotel in Liangzhu to prep for the winter camp. Smooth drive, under 5 hours. Hangzhou downtown was packed, but Liangzhu was peaceful. Another friend joined us in the evening; with 9 people, three kids attending the camp. We had dinner at Dongdafang in Pingyao town center — we’d been there last year, still satisfying. After dinner, set off fireworks outside the restaurant, kids happy, then back to rest.

Day 7: Fifth day of New Year. My child’s outdoor camp started early morning. My wife was keen on the parents’ class with Teacher Shen up the mountain. We asked a friend to help with the kid’s lunch. We drove 50 kilometers to Dalu Temple — last year’s camp was a mountain camp. Arrived smoothly. While my wife attended the class, I decided to climb Yaotou Mountain. It was sunny, beautiful scenery, tea plantations gorgeous. Snow from earlier days still lay thicker as I climbed; eventually it was pure snow hiking. After 1 hour 10 minutes, I reached the summit of Yaotou Mountain, at 1095 meters, Hangzhou’s highest peak. Gorgeous views all round, and not a soul on the trail. Took photos, then headed down. Descending was harder with the slippery snow. Found two bamboo sticks as poles. Met a few groups hiking up. Back to Dalu Temple over an hour later, met my wife. She drove us down the 8-kilometer mountain road; the afternoon plan was to see Liangzhu sites. First, Shiwu Site, part of the outer Liangzhu water conservancy system — the Valley Mouth High Dam area. No tickets, no tourists, just a caretaker uncle. A nice chat, looked at the site, surroundings lovely. He said there had been development plans, but after becoming a World Heritage Site, restrictions were many. I thought it was fine; standing on the bank you see the dam remains with natural mountains on both sides, a 5000-year-old artificial structure still holding water. Nearby were Qiuwu and Mifenglong sites. The uncle gave me the key to Qiuwu. We walked a few hundred meters, unlocked the gate, and looked — another integration of natural hill and man-made dam. Mifenglong was along National Highway 235, no water, just a glance. Leaving these three small heritage spots, soon we reached Laohuling Site. Liangzhu was offering free admission until the end of March. We made a reservation, walked the boardwalk. The Laohuling dam is part of the same high dam system. The protective shed spans the narrowest point between two hills. Inside, detailed explanations of the 5000-year-old dam-building techniques using “grass-wrapped mud” and “mud-wrapped grass.” Apparently, the outer waterworks were built before the inner city — impressive. Leaving Laohuling, no restaurant was open, so we went to Pingyao Old Street, which was packed. Ate something casual, snapped a photo. Walked to Nanshan Cliff Carvings not far away, passing by the huge Pingyao Middle School. The carvings site, once a quarry, features Buddhist and Taoist shallow-relief niches carved by monks of the Baiyun Sect in the Yuan Dynasty, stretching over 360 meters. Over half were destroyed in 1978, with 13 figures remaining. Except one Taoist, all Buddhist, reflecting coexistence. Worth a visit. Dinner was at Jinshanghua, a surprisingly excellent restaurant, super busy; three families had a wonderful meal.

Day 8: Sixth day of New Year. After dropping off our child, we went to the nearby Yaoshan Heritage Park. Very few visitors, delightful. Walked the boardwalk to the famous altar. Yaoshan is a low hill where Liangzhu people built a square platform on the flattened summit: a central red earth square, surrounded by gray soil ditches and a gravel edge, with tombs around. Many jade artifacts were unearthed here, a major discovery and one of the top ten archaeological finds that year. Explored the hilltop viewing decks and observatory. Nice place. On the way back, we stopped by Wenjiashan Site right along the road — truly just a marker, nothing material. In the afternoon, we joined friends to visit the core area, Liangzhu Ancient City Heritage Park. Free entry with reservation, but quite a few people inside. We entered via the East Gate and rented an electric cart — comfortable but painfully slow at 7 km/h, and pricey at 50 yuan per half hour, with a fixed return spot. More of an experience. We toured the East City Wall site, climbed to Zhishan Viewing Platform. The Mojiaoshan palace area, the core of the site, is worth a thorough exploration. The Fanshan Royal Cemetery excavation area was stunning — Tomb No.12 yielded the “King of Cong” jade, with extremely high ranking. Detailed exhibition panels. We were pressed for time, so returned to the East Gate reluctantly. Dinner was at Wangfeijia Korean BBQ in AEON Mall — very busy, good meat.

Day 9: Seventh day of New Year. In the morning, went with friends to Liangzhu Museum, in the Liangzhu Cultural Village. Not my first visit, but now with the heritage site open, there’s more to see. Liangzhu is now defined as a royal city, first-tier; contemporary Shanghai’s Instagram-famous Guangfulin is only fourth-tier, a bit embarrassing. The museum provides a systematic introduction, with many excavated items, a fascinating comparison of jade from royalty, nobles, and commoners. The display from Fanshan Tomb 14 is also impressive. The only regret is not seeing those supreme treasures from Tomb 12 — the King of Cong is in the provincial museum. Lunch with friends and kids at Bingheji Japanese restaurant, also a Putigu property. Then friends rested, kids had class, and my wife and I went back to the heritage park for a second look. We walked straight from the hotel — right outside is the Meirendi Site. Hiked to the East Gate, this time exploring on foot along dirt paths to the Mojiaoshan platform. Wandered around the Big and Small Mojiao and Wugui hills, did an in-depth stroll, saw Jiangjiashan Cemetery, cut through fields to the Chizhong Temple granary, and finally to the deer enclosure. A thorough fill-in of what we’d missed before. Late in the day, dinner with friends at Jin Tailan Thai cuisine in Longfor Zijingtiandi — tasty.

Day 10: Eighth day of New Year. My wife and I planned to explore Liangzhu Cultural Village. First to the “Roof” (Liangzhu Cultural Art Center), visited the Xiao Bookstore inside — all influencers taking photos. The whole art center felt rather deserted; even the security guard said it’s just for photo ops. Second stop, Meilizhou Church — a modern building, again an Instagram spot. Street parking was tight, but we took our snaps. At noon, we had a reservation for the Hangzhou National Version Museum — notoriously hard to get, also a “check-in” spot. The museum is part of a national system with branches in Beijing Yanshan, Xi’an Qinling Guifengshan, Guangzhou Fenghuangshan, and Hangzhou Liangzhu, all built into mountainsides. They serve as a repository for backup versions, a gene bank of Chinese culture. Only the Hangzhou branch seems open to the public. Called Wenrun Ge, the exhibitions are mainly literary, we glanced through, then went to the back courtyard for those famous photo-ops — it was indeed crowded. The scenery was indeed stunning. In the afternoon, we accompanied our child for the camp activity; the kids had built a little wooden hut during the camp, somewhat reminiscent of Liangzhu style. Later, the hotel actually liked it and bought it from them. Afternoon activity was games and gift swaps, very happy. Dinner at Chuntian Huahua — surprisingly excellent, affordable and delicious. The owner had photos with all sorts of celebrities, clearly well-connected. Back at the hotel, we lit a bonfire, sang songs, had great fun.

Day 11: Ninth day of New Year. The final day of the trip. The kids went to the heritage park. We packed up, ready to go home. Lunch at Songjian in the art center, then a smooth three-hour drive home. The 1500-kilometer Spring Festival journey was joyful and fulfilling. Any regrets? We’ll come back for the sea fishing next time.