Heading to Xinghua in Spring Just for That Splash of Yellow in One of the World’s Four Great Flower Seas

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It’s that time of year again when the rapeseed flowers turn golden! In Jiangsu, there’s always one thing you have to do in spring – go to Xinghua, Taizhou, to see the spectacular rapeseed flower sea of the thousand-duck fields. You might say rapeseed flowers are everywhere, but the raised-field rapeseed flower sea in Xinghua is truly one of a kind, and it’s a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System. That’s why it’s rightly regarded as one of the world’s four great flower seas.

I drove from Changzhou, covering 166 km in about two hours – a very easy highway journey. With spring scenery all along the way, I arrived in Xinghua.

It would be a real shame to just see the thousand-duck rapeseed flower sea and then leave. You simply must try Xinghua’s morning tea, because this area once belonged to Yangzhou years ago. Even though the administrative boundaries have changed, the locals’ love for morning tea lives on. If you want to enjoy the morning tea, you’ll need to stay overnight, so I chose a very distinctive rural guesthouse in Xinghua.

Apart from the Qianduo Scenic Area, Xinghua also has a natural scenic spot called Lizhong Water Forest Park that is quite special and a must-visit. Then there’s the Old Street to wander around – Xinghua’s history and culture are well worth exploring. So my two-day itinerary looked like this:

Day 1: Qianduo Scenic Area, Xinghua Museum, Jindongmen Historical Block, overnight at Zemu Yunju Guesthouse.

Day 2: Xinghua morning tea, Lizhong Water Forest Park, return trip.

This was my second visit to Qianduo Scenic Area, and I found the infrastructure had improved even more. The car park was larger, and the sightseeing routes were more thoughtfully laid out. The viewing paths were smooth and wide, too. After getting used to the congested city, a road trip to a place like this is pure bliss.

There are several ways to explore Qianduo Scenic Area. As soon as you enter, you’ll see many statues that capture local rural life – genuine snapshots of how Xinghua people live, and a vivid display of the unique cultural landscape shaped by the remarkable raised-field terrain.

After that, start your visit by climbing one of the two huge viewing towers to take panoramic photos. The towers have many levels, each with several small viewing windows. The design is very clever, allowing you to enjoy the view from different heights while avoiding crushing crowds in peak season.

The view from the tower is pretty good, isn’t it? If you, like me, enjoy flying a drone, Xinghua is the place to take it out and play. Looking down from above, the rapeseed flower sea looks like an enormous golden Eight Trigrams formation. The flying conditions are excellent here – apart from the viewing tower, there are no tall buildings or power lines, so no obstacles and no signal interference.

Once you’ve taken in the panorama from the tower, you can dive right into the rapeseed flowers. The creative photo opportunities are endless. The scenic area has thoughtfully placed a series of photo props, and the paths between the waterways are linked by wooden bridges, all perfect for some great shots. Filming a short video right among the rapeseed flowers is absolutely stunning. The flowers and the people admiring them – at that moment and place, they were the most beautiful sight.

After taking photos among the rapeseed flowers, the last activity in the scenic area is taking a boat ride. I often recommend Xinghua’s rapeseed flower sea to friends by saying: rapeseed flowers are everywhere, but the waterborne rapeseed experience is truly unique to Xinghua. Drifting through the maze of crisscrossing waterways, losing yourself in this natural golden “Eight Trigrams formation” – isn’t that an experience you should try?

Average spend: entrance ticket plus boat ticket 100 RMB per person.

Address: Dongwang Village, Ganggu Township, Xinghua, Jiangsu.

When visiting Xinghua, I also strongly recommend Lizhong Water Forest Park. It’s like a real-life “Alice in Wonderland,” full of surprises. I’ve always thought this scenic area is one of the most underrated in Xinghua, even in all of Jiangsu. It’s not widely known, but the experience is genuinely superb.

When I visited Lizhong, a light rain was falling. Don’t think this kind of weather will spoil your mood – far from it. The park is home to 100,000 tall, dense metasequoia trees, planted by educated youth in the 1980s. Now they form a towering canopy that blots out the sky. A rainy day only enhances the illusion of being in a primeval forest. The “water” forest also feels all the more authentic.

This scenic area is incredibly photogenic. You can always find a composition you like among the metasequoia trees. The rain-soaked trunks add a natural saturation to your photos, so you hardly need any post-processing. Besides the trees, the February orchids were also in full bloom, complementing the photos beautifully.

When you’re in Lizhong, you have to glide across the water. Here, the boats are bamboo rafts, and sitting on one feels wonderfully rustic. In Xinghua’s distinctive waterways, bird calls fill the air – this is also known as the “Bird Paradise of Central China.” There are tens of thousands of birds, including egrets and storks, and the bamboo rafts pass right through their core habitat. Listening to these birdsongs, even the biggest worries are healed by nature.

Besides the raft ride, the scenic area has built many wooden boardwalks that lead deep into the metasequoia forest. I came across a middle-aged couple who had found a bird egg, and they cheerfully showed us their “find.” In the spot with the densest February orchids, artificial mist is released at certain midday hours to create a magical forest atmosphere.

It was also peach blossom season, and unexpectedly, the scenic area has a Peach Blossom Island. I don’t know if Guo Jing and Huang Rong are there, but there are so many peach trees it really feels like the otherworldly hideaway in a martial arts novel. Even a down-to-earth guy like me couldn’t resist taking photos with those red blossoms.

Address: East of Shunchuan Road, Lizhong Town, Xinghua, Jiangsu.

Average spend: entrance ticket plus bamboo raft 65 RMB per person (bookable on Ctrip).

In the afternoon of the first day, I strolled around Xinghua city center, mainly visiting the Xinghua Museum and Jindongmen Historical Block. There was so much to see along the way, but three things left a particularly deep impression, so let me focus on those.

First is the Xinghua Museum, where you can learn about the city’s development, how the raised fields were formed, the rise of the salt-boiling industry, and more. It also houses two memorial halls for notable Xinghua figures: Zheng Banqiao, one of the “Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou,” and Shi Nai’an, author of the classic novel *Water Margin*. Shi Nai’an’s hall is relatively small, briefly covering his life, and you can see it quickly. I wondered if Xinghua’s distinctive watery environment inspired the novel’s Liangshan Marsh.

The highlight of the museum is the Zheng Banqiao Memorial Hall. This exhibition explains the origins of his people-centered philosophy and its influence on later generations. There are also many precious calligraphy works and paintings left by Master Banqiao, and although many items are reproductions, they don’t diminish the viewing experience. I gained an appreciation for a man who was an upright official and a master of calligraphy and painting – “a triple-threat genius,” to put it perfectly.

Another memorable sight is the Four-Archway, not far from the museum. From a distance it looks like a larger-than-usual octagonal pavilion on the street, but it is in fact an archway. The Four-Archway is an iconic Xinghua landmark, built in the Ming Dynasty, and later damaged and restored.

When you step into the archway and look up, visitors often gasp in wonder, because layer upon layer, 47 horizontal plaques hang from the top, honoring over 90 notable Xinghua figures. Every plaque has a story. I’ve never seen so many honorific plaques gathered together in any other city.

The last place that stuck with me was Zhuangyuan Archway inside the Old Street. Walking along, the old street was still bustling, with many time-honored little shops still thronged with people.

Further along, in an open area, stands a tall, magnificent archway for the top scholar. It was erected in honor of Li Chunfang, a Ming Dynasty top scholar and prime minister from Xinghua. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, every archway had to be approved by the emperor before being built, making it the highest form of accolade. Archways are common in the old Huizhou region of southern Anhui, but I really didn’t expect to find one like this in Xinghua.

With just one short afternoon, can you fully digest Xinghua’s history and culture in a museum and a historical block? Definitely not. There’s much more to savour, but time constraints meant I had to leave it at that.

Now let’s talk about food in Xinghua. The morning tea is an absolute must. We were staying in the suburbs, so by the time we reached the city for morning tea the next day it was already around 8 a.m. The restaurant hall was completely packed – you’d think someone was hosting a banquet. It was hard to imagine a large banquet-style hotel selling morning tea like this; maybe it just shows how deeply rooted the local morning tea culture is.

Once we were in our private room, we ordered a feast: crab roe soup dumplings, red bean buns, braised shredded dried tofu, and more – all familiar to me! I’ve had morning tea in Yangzhou and Taizhou city more than once, and the basic style is the same. What felt different was that Xinghua’s morning tea is even more down-to-earth, even in a big hotel. Most patrons were local uncles and aunties, and the portions and flavours were close to everyday life.

Apart from morning tea, Xinghua’s daily cuisine highlights fresh local ingredients connected to the “water,” confirming Xinghua’s reputation as a “water city.” The most famous aquatic product is the autumn red-shell hairy crab, but the spring river snails, freshwater clams, and more are just as good, along with drunken prawns and fish prepared in various ways.

There’s too much delicious food, and I don’t want to make everyone’s mouth water! It also struck me that not only are these aquatic products tasty, but they’re also low in calories and unlikely to make you put on weight. No wonder all the young women I saw in Xinghua these past few days were so pretty. As for how good the food is and how good-looking the people are, you’ll have to come to Xinghua and judge for yourself!

When visiting the thousand-duck rapeseed flower sea in Xinghua, I recommend staying in a rural guesthouse nearby to truly soak up the local waterside country life. Last time I came, I stayed in Bishui Dongluo village, already well known in Xinghua. This time I chose the relatively less-known Zemu Yunju guesthouse in Liuze Township. I don’t know if it was a coincidence, but the moment I entered the guesthouse I saw a row of slender bamboo, the kind Master Banqiao loved most – it felt very familiar.

Zemu Yunju is the only guesthouse in the village. If your navigation can’t find it, just ask a villager – everyone knows it and will happily point you the right way. It offers several room types, with a minimalist, comfortable Japanese-inspired décor. The warm colours and ample space make it feel very cosy. A special feature is that the guesthouse has two small boats that can take guests on a trip around the village – something quite unique.

I also got up early, happily wandering around the village. The weather had that “sky-blue waiting for rain” feel. A beautiful village like this can easily make you lose track of time. If I didn’t have to work, I’d love to stay for ten days or half a month. I just want to say: Xinghua is worth it!

Travel Journal Contents

1. Qianduo Rapeseed Flower Sea

2. Lizhong Water Forest Park

3. Three Fragments of Xinghua’s Historical Memory

4. Xinghua Morning Tea and Local Delicacies

5. Staying in a Beautiful Xinghua Village

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