Experience Slow Living in China's First Slow City, also a Filming Location for 'In the Name of the People'

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This year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday gave us four days off, and I'd long been thinking about finding a place near Shanghai to unwind. I've visited Zhejiang many times, but never Jiangsu, so this time I set my sights on Nanjing.

One weekend I came across an article about how much fun Gaochun International Slow City is, and it featured the lotus flowers I most wanted to photograph. I bought my train ticket and off I went.

High-speed train from Shanghai to Nanjing South Station, then the subway to Gaochun.

DAY1: Gucheng Lake Water Slow City (water activities, thousand-mu lotus pond) – Gucheng Lake Happy Fishing Hotel – Gaochun Old Street (Old Street Post Office) – Liuzhou Hui City Boutique Hotel

DAY2: Zhensong Resort Hotel – Gaochun International Slow City Yaxi (Tree Canopy Walk – Rainbow Slide – Tree Canopy Drift) – Youzi Mountain Characteristic Countryside: Longshang Village (Tourist Center – Café – Design Studio) – Ten-Li Ancient Shipboard Confucian Integrity Culture Plank Road – Qingcha Space Tea Culture Experience Hall; Xiaomaoshanjiao: Huazhushe·Zhengfu Caotang

Gucheng Lake Water Slow City address:

No. 9 Yinghu Road, Gaochun District, Nanjing

Opening hours: Monday–Sunday 8:30–17:30 (March 1–October 30)

Monday–Sunday 8:30–17:00 (November 1–end of February)

Yaxi International Slow City address:

No. 6 Shengtai Road, Yaxi Town, Gaochun District, Nanjing

Opening hours: Monday–Friday 8:30–17:00

Saturday–Sunday 8:30–17:30

Gucheng Lake Water Slow City

How long had it been since I'd gone out to enjoy myself? The anticipation in my heart matched the length of that break. I arranged to meet several friends I hadn't seen in ages, each traveling from their own city to Gaochun.

Once at Gucheng Lake Water Slow City, we headed straight for the main attraction: the thousand-mu lotus pond. There are an incredible 99 varieties of lotus here, giving you a feast for the eyes. Besides admiring the flowers, we also took a bamboo raft ride through the Hundred Lotus Garden. Each raft seats eight people, and a full loop around the garden takes an hour. You can even ask the boatman to steer closer to the lotus so you can appreciate them up close.

Both sightseeing cars and a little train are available. Kids love the train, and riding it in the slow city is a wonderful experience.

The boats in the park come in many styles. In addition to our bamboo raft, there are black-awning boats and Instagram-worthy glass boats that make for great photos.

Now is the perfect season for lotus blooms. The pink flowers, so delicate and enchanting, and I even saw white lotus for the first time – a real eye-opener.

As we glided along, ripples spread across the water, and the lotus flowers and leaves swayed in the breeze, like a graceful ink-and-wash painting come to life.

Many visitors came as families, everyone eager to breathe fresh air after being cooped up for so long. Besides locals, plenty of tourists came from around Nanjing, with self-driving being the most convenient way to reach Gaochun. The sun was strong, so they used lotus leaves as makeshift umbrellas – a clever idea that really helps you feel cooler.

Inside the Hundred Lotus Garden, there's also a water challenge course with a 50-meter-long water slide and various floating mats and inflatable rings. Kids have an absolute blast there. Once summer hits, all children want is water play, and after enjoying the lotus, the water course is a must.

Their carefree smiles are infectious. As the children played in the water, parents sat in the shade watching, officially kicking off their summer holidays.

No trip to Gaochun is complete without tasting the local cuisine. At Gucheng Lake Happy Fishing Hotel, dishes like shrimp paste steamed with clams, blooming prosperity (hua kai fu gui), farmhouse crispy rice crust, and sweet-and-sour lotus root tips were all tied to the lotus theme.

The sweet-and-sour lotus root tips were even crunchier and more tender than slices, I thought.

Have you ever eaten something wrapped in a lotus flower? It carries a unique fragrance from the petals – highly recommended.

Since it was Dragon Boat Festival, we were also treated to zongzi (sticky rice dumplings). It was my first time celebrating the festival with friends, and we thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

Given the name "Happy Fishing Hotel," it's no surprise that fishing is part of the experience. After lunch, we watched an exciting fishing competition. The anglers were unbelievably fast – catching a fish about every two seconds on average. It was astonishing.

It seems every city has an old street, and Gaochun is no exception. But Gaochun Old Street was much less crowded than others, making our stroll all the more pleasant. Dating back to the Ming Dynasty, it was the main commercial street of Chunxi Ancient Town. Over 500 years of development during the Ming and Qing dynasties created an 800-meter-long commercial strip. The historic area includes sights like Guanwang Temple, Gaochun Folk Custom Museum, Yang Hall, the Headquarters of the First Detachment of the New Fourth Army, Gaochun Folk Performance Hall, the site of the New Fourth Army's Gaochun office, the Qianlong Ancient Well, and the ruins of the Jesus Church – nine spots in all.

Walking along the bluestone pavement, I stepped into a unique bookstore with an antique charm. Picking up a book and leafing through it had a wonderfully calming effect.

Besides lotus, hairy crabs are also a specialty of Gucheng Lake. If you visit in June or July, don't miss them.

That evening we checked into Liuzhou Hui City Boutique Hotel, a newly opened stylish place. The rooms are spacious, even with a walk-in closet – a big hit with women. The Xiaomi hairdryer in the cabinet was impressively quiet.

The soft, elegant color scheme suited me perfectly.

The shower had a wet and dry separation.

Each room also came with a complimentary fruit plate.

Breakfast was good – clean, hygienic, and with all the variety you could want.

This is China's first "International Slow City," featuring both electric-sightseeing-car routes and walking trails. It boasts seasonal flower seas, thousand-mu red maple forests, folk culture, and a host of fun activities like jungle treks and tree canopy walks. It's won numerous awards, including the China Habitat Environment Example Prize, one of the first batch of national characteristic towns, and a provincial eco-tourism demonstration area.

Recommended activities: jungle trekking, tree canopy walk, rainbow slide, and tree canopy drift.

The jungle trek is a big hit with kids. Young and older children don safety helmets and traverse the course together. I spotted a particularly heartwarming pair of siblings, a brother gently guiding his little sister forward.

Jungle exploration helps build children's perseverance and team spirit.

While there are activities for kids, adults aren't left out. The tree canopy walk is highly recommended. It consists of glass walkways and aerial boardwalks, 8 to 12 meters above the ground. The glass section is much longer than at typical scenic spots – 130 meters in total – and incorporates a 5D glass-cracking effect. If you're not afraid of heights, it's great fun.

Strolling among the treetops, all you see is lush green, with waterways visible in the distance.

After the glass walkway, we went for something more thrilling: the rainbow slide. You sit on a tire and slide down on your own. It looks a bit scary, but just hold on tight and go. The farther you go, the faster you get, but it's thrilling without real danger. I did it twice.

I hadn't planned to try the tree canopy drift because I didn't have a change of clothes and was worried about getting wet. But after hearing it wasn't too intense, my two friends and I climbed into a boat together. Unexpectedly, it got more and more exciting. The splashes weren't big until the final plunge into the river, when a wave soaked us all. Fortunately, it was summer and we dried off quickly. Still, it was a lot of fun. A little tip: it's best to go two per boat, so the momentum when hitting the river is less and you might not get drenched.

If you love an idyllic, off-the-beaten-path lifestyle, don't miss Youzi Mountain's characteristic countryside. Here you'll find "Wuwai Coffee" and "Buyu Design" – who would have thought you'd stumble upon such distinctive shops in the countryside?

The café is simply but artistically decorated.

A summer afternoon is the perfect time to sit here, order a coffee, and while away the time daydreaming.

The design studio also has some special artworks to browse.

A very famous TV drama filmed some scenes in Gaochun's Qingshan Tea Plantation – "In the Name of the People."

The main tea produced here is Biluochun.

Looking out over the hills of tea plants has a soothing effect. During the picking season, the whole mountain must be filled with the scent of tea.

Right next to the plantation is the Qingcha Space Tea Culture Experience Hall, a tea house open to outsiders. The owner let us sample several teas. Gaochun's teas are light and fragrant, with a smooth taste; we quickly finished a whole pot. You might not know that in the summer, hot water actually cools you down more effectively than ice water. Tea is also good for your health, so drinking more tea is beneficial.

The tea house is a wonderful place to escape the summer heat, with its clear, comforting liquor.

After staying in a hotel, it's also worth trying a local guesthouse. Here is one at Xiaomaoshanjiao – Huazhushe·Zhengfu Caotang.

Stepping into the garden, you could easily forget you were in Gaochun, thanks to the refined Suzhou-style landscaping.

I sat to one side, quietly taking in the quintessential summer scene. This elegant way of life is exactly what I yearn for.

This place is perfect for gathering with a few friends or several families with children – so intimate that you feel like one big family.

If you want to return to nature and become a forest fairy, then head over to Zhensong Resort Hotel. This is a Nordic-style wild-luxury forest cabin resort, Nanjing's most distinctive forest cabin experience. There are houses among the trees, and trees within the houses, designed and built by Canadian wood experts. The hotel offers three room types: Wood, Forest, and Deep Forest.

Pause your steps, savor the details of life. Why not be a snail for once, embrace a slow-paced life, and return to the embrace of nature.