Jiangsu Travel: Slowing Down to Savor Taizhou's Leisurely Life
Taizhou, a historic and cultural city with over two thousand years of history, is known as 'an ancient prefecture of the Han and Tang dynasties, and a celebrated land in Huaihai.' Here, you'll find captivating morning tea culture, endless Huaiyang delicacies, and boundless ancient charm and natural beauty of a water city.
As evening falls, the city comes alive with lights and bustling crowds, shining in a dazzling display that showcases its enchanting guise as 'a water paradise, a city for night cruising.' We made a special trip to Taizhou to experience this uniquely slow-paced water town life, to feel the vibrant everyday charm that is so different.
Morning tea culture isn't exclusive to Guangdong; Taizhou's morning tea has long been renowned.
Here, eating morning tea is also called 'pi bao shui' (literally 'skin wrapping water'), and intrigued by this unique name, I had long wanted to experience Taizhou's morning tea culture. Unlike Guangzhou, where morning tea can stretch well into noon, here you must rise early to enjoy it; by five or six in the morning, teahouses are already bustling with activity. Hailing District, the main urban area and the site of Taizhou's ancient city, is dotted with hundreds of teahouses large and small, including many century-old establishments. The Huibinlou where we stayed is a prime spot for morning tea.
Taizhou's morning tea isn't as dainty as its Cantonese counterpart; every dish is hearty and generous, with a wide variety. Crab roe soup dumplings, blanched shredded dry tofu, and fish soup noodles are the 'three treasures' of Taizhou morning tea, seen on almost every table.
We ordered crab roe buns, thousand-layer steamed cake, fish soup wontons, and blanched shredded dry tofu. Gathered together, savoring these delicious morning tea treats while listening to the shouts of the servers, our morning energy was fully awakened. Truly, it's the taste of everyday life that comforts the soul.
After eating our fill, my companions suggested heading to the Binjiang Leisure Water Street in Jingjiang New City. This is a comprehensive ecological modern commercial district composed of 13 standalone buildings of varied architectural styles, uniquely designed and gracefully arranged. With abundant landscaping and tempting cuisine, it has become a new spot for locals to relax, exercise, and shop.
Strolling along the water street and enjoying its unique garden scenery, we were pleasantly surprised to find a hidden gem of a trendy café—Scientist Coffee. Eager to update our neglected social media feeds, we immediately headed over for photos. The café's decor features a simple upscale palette and a consistently minimalist style; the air was thick with the aroma of coffee and the sweetness of pastries. We ordered a signature hot mocha and a lychee Earl Grey black tea, both unexpectedly delicious.
Sipping our drinks while watching the passing crowd, we felt a long-missed sense of comfort and relaxation. It's a wonderful place to catch up with friends over afternoon tea.
Xinghua has been a land of fish and rice since ancient times. Its fertile soil nurtured hardworking people, producing a place of outstanding talents and rich cultural heritage. In the afternoon, we arrived in Xinghua and decided to explore its history at the local museum.
The Xinghua Museum is a three-story building in the antique style, with whitewashed walls, black-tiled roofs, and horse-head gables, exuding an ancient charm. It also houses the Zheng Banqiao Memorial Hall. To my surprise, the museum's original site was once a prison. Even more delightful, this modest museum conceals a distinctive private garden within.
Upon entering, you first come to the Xinghua History Exhibition Hall, where various aspects of Xinghua are displayed. In the showcases, ritual vessels from the Confucian temple of Xinghua are shown, preserved intact through the Ming and Qing dynasties, complete in set and variety—a vital testament to ancient Confucian culture and education in China. Then, moving into the Zheng Banqiao Memorial Hall, a clay statue greets you along with the inscription: 'A peerless talent master of three arts—Zheng Banqiao.'
The hall holds 33 original calligraphy and painting works by Zheng Banqiao. Having experienced many hardships, tasted life's bittersweet flavors, and seen through the fickleness of the world, Zheng infused all his life's experiences into his art, which is well worth savoring. Leaving the memorial hall, we thought our museum tour was over. Little did we know, behind a high wall, we stepped into a small, exquisite garden.
Linked by winding corridors, with bamboo and trees lush and graceful, the garden was so serene, elegant, and rustically charming that I felt as if I had stepped out of the museum entirely—a delightful surprise, like emerging from a hidden passage into a new world. It turned out to be Li Garden, the former private garden of Li Xiaobo, a wealthy Yangzhou merchant during the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty, and a fine example of late Qing Yangzhou garden architecture. Heading south from Li Garden along a quiet path, we reached the renovated Xinghua County Office, the old yamen. This office gained fame because the Song Dynasty official Fan Zhongyan once served as its magistrate, during which he oversaw the construction of a dam. In the compound, you can still see the Plum Ridge and Plum Pavilion he built.
The exhibition area is divided into four sections: 'The Refined Culture of Wen Zheng,' 'Emphasizing Education to Revitalize the City,' 'Incorruptible Governance for the People,' and 'The Enduring Legacy of Fan.' Through murals, gold foil paintings, porcelain plates, long lacquer-carved scrolls, calligraphic handscrolls, reproductions of paintings and calligraphy, album leaf rubbings, wooden folding screens, rare books, and photographs, it showcases Fan Zhongyan's glorious life's work. This free museum, blending a prison site, a private garden, the old county office, and a memorial hall, offered many surprises. If you have time, do make sure to visit.
Before we knew it, evening had arrived. To catch the part of the trip I was most looking forward to—'a night cruise in Taizhou'—we hurried back to Taizhou and went straight to the Fengcheng River Scenic Area. Taizhou is often called 'a water paradise, a city of night cruises,' because the beauty of this water city is even more striking after dark. The Fengcheng River is Taizhou's mother river, linking most of the city's attractions like a necklace, connecting over 30 scenic spots along its banks.
To fully appreciate Taizhou, taking a painted boat for a night cruise on the Fengcheng River is a must. Aboard the boat, you can enjoy the waterscapes, roads, and bridges of this water town. As we glided under the bridges, each one, illuminated by lights, looked like a maiden fresh from a bath, gracefully stretching across the Fengcheng River.
The famous towers and gardens along the river receded in the rippling water. Along this ancient city river with a thousand-year history, we could gaze at the majestic night silhouette of the Wanghai Tower, witness the enchanting scenery of Sanshui Bay, admire the magnificent relief carvings of Yingchun Bridge, and experience the cozy charm of Taoyuan Garden at night. We also enjoyed a performance of the Kunqu opera 'The Peach Blossom Fan' on the shore, and we were mesmerized by the riverside views.
Taizhou's Qintong Ancient Town, though with a history extending over a thousand years, is not as famous as other ancient towns, which has helped preserve its Ming and Qing dynasty architecture and layout, as well as its original way of life. After a simple breakfast early in the morning, we arrived at Qintong Ancient Town to soak in the ancient elegance of old Taizhou from centuries past. In the morning light, the town exuded a quiet vitality; its blue bricks, black-tiled roofs, wooden houses, and leisurely strolling pedestrians formed a perfectly natural painting. The town is surrounded by water on all sides, with canals threading through it, embodying the unique and tender beauty of the south.
With small bridges over flowing streams, streets and rivers running side by side, long lanes forming a clear grid, and quaint old courtyards and compact residences, it resembles a dazzling pearl on the water, more like a graceful boat floating on the surface.
Beyond the eight scenic spots—such as 'Returning Fishermen at the Eastern View,' 'Library at the Southern Temple,' 'Courtyard Locust at the Western Garden,' 'Meditation Hall at the Northern Village,' 'Autumn Moon over the Wooden Bridge,' 'Spring Orioles among the Embankment Willows,' 'Clear Pond in Flower Shadows,' and 'Bamboo by the Meditation Abode'—the town also boasts many ancient and notable trees, including a Tang Dynasty locust, a Song Dynasty camellia, and a Ming Dynasty boxwood...
In particular, inside an old residence within the town stands a thousand-year-old camellia tree, described as 'a myriad blossoms on the treetop swallowing fire, the lingering snow burning red half the sky.' It serves as the golden calling card of the ancient town.
Up close, the ancient camellia stretches beyond the courtyard wall, blooming brilliantly, as if murmuring the town's nostalgic sentiment: 'For whom does the thousand-year-old camellia hide here?'
Ancient towns are always inseparable from delicious food, and Qintong's local cuisine is renowned far and wide. Shepherd's purse shumai, stewed shredded dry tofu, fish soup noodles, and Huangqiao sesame cakes are must-tries—these are the town's most characteristic dishes, sold at many snack stalls and all very tasty.
Fish balls, fish cakes, and dried pork slices are also local specialties; with such generous offerings, even those with small appetites may find themselves full after just a few stalls, for the hospitable townsfolk will eagerly invite you to try free samples.
With its traditional architectural style, unique cultural landscapes, and simple folk customs, it's a place you'll be reluctant to leave.
A poet once praised Qintong Ancient Town with the lines: 'Do not say the flowers south of the Yangtze are like brocade; Qintong's water country surpasses even that famed region.' Leaving the ancient town, we visited the Qin Lake National Wetland Park to appreciate this 'pearl of the water country.' When the vast, shimmering Qin Lake appeared before us, we were all deeply captivated by its beauty. The lake is not as boundless and profound as the sea, not as ceaselessly rushing as the Yangtze River, nor as lively and cheerful as a creek; it shares the charm common to all lakes, yet possesses a unique spiritual quality.
Inside the wetland park, a network of waterways weaves through lush cattails, the air is fresh, and the natural wetland ecosystem supports a rich variety of aquatic, wetland, and terrestrial life, with many nationally protected animals making it their primary habitat. We took a boat into the lake; the expanse of water was vast, the lake crystal clear and sweet. The azure lake, interlacing rivers, scattered islets and sandbanks, along with the unique wetland ecology and the folk culture of the Lixiahe water region, all left a deep and lasting impression on me.
Surrounded by the enchanting scenery of the Qin Lake area, we sailed across its misty, boundless waters, where clusters of waves seemed like welcoming crowds waving bouquets. With the clear singing of elderly women rowing the sampans filling the air, we breathed in the fresh air deeply, watched waterbirds frolic freely, far from the noise of the world, wholeheartedly enjoying an intimate connection with nature. It was refreshing and serene, akin to discovering a hidden utopia.
Taizhou has no hurried pace, no tense, fast rhythm. Compact and exquisite, as peaceful and composed as her name suggests, here there are countless ways to nourish the body, relax the mind, and experience the slow life. Water is the lifeblood flowing through this ancient city. From sea to mulberry fields, Taizhou's waters have shaped this unique water city, nurturing its gentle, serene, and graceful character.
If you ever get the chance, come to Taizhou! Take a boat on the water, listen to a melodious opera, and let this ancient city relax and cleanse your soul, experiencing the unique slow life of the water city.
