Spring Road Trip to Langxi: Who Doesn't Love Colorful Flowers?
The seeds sown in September sprouted this March.
My feeling about Langxi is that once you've been there, you want to go again. Last September, I came here for three days and saw many tea fields. At night, I waited for the stars at Nanyi Lake. I missed the sunrise at Stone Buddha Mountain, and the golden tea at Dafo Mountain Yangxin Valley in the evening left a deep impression on me. At that time, a friend mentioned the Xinhe Thousand-Mu Cherry Blossoms, so the seed for coming here in spring to see the cherry blossoms was planted. Quietly, I waited for five or six months, and this trip made it sprout. In March, Langxi did not disappoint me. After continuous rain, a few blue sunny days arrived, and I happened to arrange my trip during these days. Though two days were short, I still saw much of Langxi's spring beauty.
About Langxi, I have something to say.
Special fate allows you to meet at special times, whether with people or with scenery. I have placed my encounters with Langxi in words and pictures. I hope my photos can narrate your beauty, and my words can witness your uniqueness. In short, I have a desire to look at Langxi more carefully. Although I have already been here twice, and although Langxi is not large, each visit brings different discoveries. For example, the first time, the tea fields stretching from the ground didn't seem special, but the bird's-eye view revealed the unique features of each patch, each one different. For example, this time, the messenger of spring painted the land with various colors, giving the places I had once visited a fresh new look. So, Langxi is actually not far; as long as you miss it, you will always gain something different whenever you come.
This trip itinerary
For visiting Langxi, I recommend driving yourself. It gives you much more freedom without the constraints of public transportation. You can watch the sunrise early, chase the sunset in the evening, avoid peak traffic times according to your schedule, go wherever you want, and stop conveniently to take photos.
Departing from Hangzhou -- Langxi -- Wuyuan Mountain Scenic Resort -- Wuyuan Mountain Water Agricultural Park -- Gangnan Cherry Blossom Forest in Lingxi Town -- Meidi Flower World -- Dafo Mountain Yangxin Valley Cherry Blossom Avenue -- Panshanshan Rape Flowers in Dongwancun Village, Jianping Town -- Xinhe Tourist Resort in Shizi Town (Thousand-Mu Cherry Blossoms). The places are relatively scattered, but transportation is convenient, and the scenery is impressive. This is the benefit of self-driving: you can visit many places in two days. Some places may not be famous, but you'll have a deep impression after visiting. Below is a brief introduction to what we saw at each place.
Wuyuan Mountain Scenic Resort
The first stop on this trip to Langxi was Wuyuan Mountain Scenic Resort. This time, I truly saw its true face. Last time, I stayed here overnight and left early due to bad weather. My impression was just that it had a nice guesthouse. This time, I walked into the small woods inside and discovered it is very large.
Entering from the gate and walking along the path, you can see two roads leading up the slopes on both sides. The overall terrain is surrounded by mountains on three sides. On one side of the slope are tea fields, and on the other side are some trees. We took the tree side. There are many types of trees, and the depth created by the trees lining the path gave me a sense of exploration. There are also fruit trees and cherry trees on both sides. At this time, the cherry blossoms were already full on the trees, though the late-blooming cherry blossoms nearby had not yet opened. But the area is still large; it must be magnificent when in full bloom. Standing under the cherry trees, you can see layered tea fields on the opposite slope. This is the season for pre-Qingming tea, and occasionally you can see busy tea farmers picking tea. Besides the tea fields, red trees are very eye-catching.
In addition, scattered Bauhinia flowers are in full bloom, their purple color very conspicuous, visible from afar. Such a place is really suitable for a vacation. Immersed in nature, you can choose a flat spot, spread a small mat, set up a tent, and enjoy a slow-paced life. At this time, you can also see patches of golden rapeseed flowers, though not large in scale. The little dogs here are silly and circle around people, very enthusiastic.
I saw an early blooming late cherry blossom. This type of cherry blossom has many thick petals, giving a full feeling. Compared to white cherry blossoms, each has its own characteristics.
This path is great for photos. The deep road looks good in vertical composition; just walking along it feels very atmospheric.
There is also a small cherry blossom forest on the mountain. Though not many, it's suitable for taking photos up close.
At that time, this little dog was also very cooperative. When the girl crouched to take photos of flowers on the ground, the little dog jumped around beside her.
Soon another little dog came, and the two played together, making you want to take a few pictures to record the moment.
Gradually clear Wuyuan Mountain Water Agricultural Park. I have passed this place three times, and this time I got to know it in depth. The area is large, a place for study tours, fruit picking, and vacations. This season, blueberry flowers are blooming, so we contacted the staff to take close-up photos of blueberry flowers. To be honest, blueberry flowers only look good up close. They are not showy in color, only pink and white, bell-shaped, in clusters. I flew the drone to see the fields of blueberry flowers, but only saw bare ground; it's not really a sea of flowers. However, the value and price of blueberries are decent. Besides blueberry flowers, rapeseed flowers are everywhere, along with water and small woods, making it very suitable for photography. At least the weather was great that day.
A blooming cherry blossom forest, delicate and exquisite. I have a good impression of this place. Without a local friend leading, it would be hard to discover such a place as a tourist. I took a screenshot of the map to mark the location, hoping interested people can come next year to enjoy the cherry blossoms.
Although the number of cherry trees here is not large, they are mostly arranged in rows, and the overall height is not high. Walking into them is just right for photos, which is much better than many places where cherry trees are too tall. Most visitors here are locals. If you fly a drone, be careful of the power lines; there are quite a few.
People walk into the cherry blossom forest, find a good branch as a foreground, and take beautiful photos.
Meidi Flower World is a flower cultivation base. If you like growing flowers, you might bring a few pots home. The prices are really not high, without the markup of flower shops. A quick stroll shows a large area, with rows of greenhouses full of pothos, reportedly already pre-ordered and in short supply. I also like plants and recently bought many succulents, but compared to the succulents here, mine are far inferior. When I left, I took a pot of succulent called "Bear's Paw." Next time, if I have a chance, I might bring some other plants in the trunk.
Entering through the gate, the first thing you see is this shopping center, filled with various flowers. There are many types of succulents alone, each type in dozens or hundreds of pots, creating a great visual, and each pot is thriving. These are all available for direct sale. You can also have a florist repot them into your favorite container and pack them for you. Each type is relatively cheap compared to online or flower shops.
As a flower world, the environment is naturally very nice. Greenery and blooming flowers are everywhere. Walking further in, you see their greenhouses, where cultivated flowers like pothos are grown. Looking inside, all you see is this plant, said to be in such high demand that they are all pre-ordered.
This small pot is the Bear's Paw I took home; it's much larger than the tiny one I have at home. If you are a plant lover and happen to visit Langxi, you might come here to bring some flowers back. The value for money is much better than at flower and bird markets. The place is easy to find; just navigate to Langxi Meidi Flower World. Transportation is also convenient.
I have a deep impression of the golden tea at Dafo Mountain Yangxin Valley, especially when the sunset shines on it, covering the entire tea field in a golden layer. With a gust of wind, waves ripple through the tea sea—a truly magnificent sight. At this time of year, the golden tea seems to be still growing, mostly green leaves. Fortunately, I found a cherry blossom forest on the road to the scenic area.
This is a relatively inner road, ending at Dafo Mountain Yangxin Valley. There are not many cars on the road normally. We parked our car by the roadside and started creating with this cherry blossom forest. From the ground, it looked ordinary, as the road is narrow and doesn't have the three bright lines in the middle like a网红 road. But at this time, one side of the road is full of cherry blossoms, while the other side has some bare trees—a seasonal contrast between lively flowers and somewhat withered woods.
I like this curve. With a bit of imagination, it really forms a neat heart shape, made of pink cherry blossoms. Driving on this road feels like going around a heart.
The cherry blossom forest is beautiful. The only pity is that the fields on the side are not full of yellow rapeseed flowers. A local friend said that in some years, these fields were full of rapeseed flowers, but this year it's not the case, so there is no golden color.
If you have a brightly colored car and drive on this road, an aerial shot of the car would look great. We waited and waited on this road and finally saw a red Jeep. The curve, cherry blossoms, and the car were a perfect match.
Of course, not only aerial photography can capture the beauty here. The combination of road and cherry blossoms can also show beauty from different angles. After all, most people don't use drones. Having a suitable prop (like a red electric scooter) makes portrait shooting less awkward.
Occasionally, we captured a walking tractor rumbling down this road, which was somehow amusing.
It is very convenient to get here. Navigate to Dafo Mountain Yangxin Valley and you will pass this cherry blossom forest. The blooming time is late March each year. For shooting, it's best to wear bright-colored props and clothes to get good photos.
Panshanshan Rape Flowers in Dongwancun Village, Jianping Town
This is a very niche place, not a scenic spot, but the scenery at dusk is particularly beautiful. Below is an aerial shot of the area near Panshanshan. A river winds through, with patches of rapeseed flower fields in the distance and near, interspersed with green crops.
At this time, the atmosphere is quiet and peaceful. It is said that the village's environmental conditions were not good before, but after new rural construction, the roads were repaired and the environment improved. For me, coming here for the first time, I think it's quite nice. At least from an aerial perspective, I like this place. There are few people, so you can calmly shoot something with feeling.
This is my favorite rapeseed flower photo. The sun is about to set, and only part of the rapeseed flowers are still golden. The distant trees and nearby grass look a bit dark, probably not wanting to compete with the rapeseed flowers.
Xinhe Tourist Resort
Langxi flower-seeking trip (cherry blossoms). After continuous rain, it happened to be the time when the Xinhe Thousand-Mu Cherry Blossoms were in full bloom. Meeting a sunny spring day truly made the spring scenery boundless. Through the car window, I could see a pink-white expanse in the distance. Wondering how large it was, I found from the drone's perspective that even the cherry blossom forest was heart-shaped. I don't know if the owner intentionally designed it or if the cherry blossoms naturally grew that way. In terms of scale, it is certainly larger than Yuantouzhu, but without the backdrop of buildings, it seems a bit wild. However, it is still lively: the colors are vibrant—cherry blossom pink, rapeseed yellow, peach blossom red; the traffic is bustling—cars shuttling on the expressway, tourists crowding on country roads. Exploring this cherry blossom forest takes time. Aerial photography naturally shows its grandeur, but the details need to be discovered by walking into the dense forest paths.
This year, the timing was just right. The cherry blossoms in Xinhe had fully bloomed. In addition, there was a large area of peach blossoms and a large area of weeping crabapples blooming together. So if you come at this time, you can see them all at once. But to cover all these flower seas, you need time and energy.
This cherry blossom forest is said to cover thousands of mu, with tens of thousands of trees. From several angles, I took wide shots. The area is really large. From one angle, it looks like a "flower heart" (a heart made of flowers), surrounded by green pine forests. Apart from the pink-white cherry blossoms, the green forests, yellow rapeseed flowers, and blue ponds make up this area.
The Xinhe cherry blossom forest is located next to the Lining Expressway. Driving on the expressway, you can see the blooming scenery in the distance. A friend of mine passed by last year, marked the location, and came here specifically this year to see the cherry blossoms. On both sides of the expressway, one side is cherry blossoms and the other is rapeseed flowers, a very pleasant sight.
Besides viewing the vast flower sea, there are a few roads within the flower sea that I think are great. For example, walking to the end of the flower sea and entering a small path reveals a nice little road, beautiful both from an aerial and ground perspective.
Sunlight shines through the gaps onto this path, giving a feeling of leading to a mysterious place. Along the path, there are benches for resting at intervals. Sitting in this corridor of romantic cherry blossoms, daily worries drift away with the wind.
Although it is called a scenic area, it is open to the public for free. The roads here are still relatively primitive dirt roads. Due to certain reasons, large-scale development cannot be carried out yet, so visiting here now is still very free. Many domestic scenic spots become scary once they get popular; they start charging fees.
From above, tourists walking on the red dirt road look very small.
Flowers alone are not perfect. There are also several ponds of various sizes, making the flower sea less monotonous.
A clear boundary separates the cherry blossom forest from the pine forest.
The roads to get here are now very smooth. Last year, the roads were still dirt roads with newly built foundations, but now they are all asphalt roads. From the entrance to the cherry blossom forest area, it takes about ten to twenty minutes by car.
On the day we came, there were beautiful photos in the cherry blossom forest, all content from a cherry blossom photography exhibition. You could also see what the Xinhe cherry blossoms looked like in the past.
That day we were lucky to witness a solar halo in the cherry blossom forest, with rainbow colors visible around the ring.
During the flower-viewing season, you can always see different groups of people moving through the flower sea: families with children, cycling teams riding through the woods, and a few motorcyclists traveling together.
Where there are people, there are naturally small vendor stalls. At the entrance, both sides of the road are lined with vendors selling food, drinks, and cherry blossom photography props (flower umbrellas). Of course, if you visit here, it's necessary to bring your own food and water because it is not a developed scenic area, and some basic facilities are lacking.
Besides taking beautiful flower photos, having a model can also yield great portraits. It's easy to find a spot in the cherry blossom forest, but the cherry trees here are relatively tall, making it a bit difficult to get close to the flowers. You might need a ladder as a prop. You can also prepare some outdoor picnic props, such as a tablecloth, a bouquet of flowers, etc.
Xinhe cherry blossoms enter full bloom in late March each year. You can navigate directly to "Xinhe Thousand-Mu Cherry Blossoms" on the map. If you come a day early, you can stay at the Jindu Hotel in nearby Shizi Town. The hotel facilities are decent.
Summary of photography spots in Langxi
I picked a few photos here as a small photography summary. When traveling, of course you want to take beautiful photos. Good photos require good scenery, and some necessary props are indispensable. The rest is photography technique. Whether using a phone or a camera, I believe those who can shoot will handle it with ease. The places I visited on this trip—Dafo Mountain Yangxin Valley cherry blossoms, Gangnan cherry blossoms, and Xinhe cherry blossoms—are all suitable for shooting cherry blossoms. The cherry blossoms at Dafo Mountain Yangxin Valley are by the roadside. If you have a prop like a bicycle or scooter riding on the road, the photos turn out great. Gangnan cherry blossoms are relatively low, making them a good choice for portrait photography. Just wear suitable clothes (Hanfu, JK, etc. are all good options). Xinhe cherry blossoms are a bit tall, but there are many spots to choose from, such as a road, a tree, or by the pond. When shooting, pay attention to choosing a background that matches the feeling. Panshanshan in Dongwancun Village, Wuyuan Mountain Water Agricultural Park, and Xinhe cherry blossom forest are good places to shoot rapeseed flowers. Panshanshan is more suitable for aerial photography, especially at dusk, when the light and shadow of the rapeseed flowers are particularly beautiful. At Wuyuan Mountain Water Agricultural Park, both aerial and ground shots of rapeseed flowers work well. Find a spot near water to capture reflections. There are not many rapeseed flowers in Xinhe cherry blossom forest, but at the entrance, by choosing the right angle, you can capture cherry blossoms and rapeseed flowers together. The rapeseed flowers across the expressway are very suitable for aerial photography. This is roughly my photography approach this time. While it may not apply to everyone, I wish all travelers beautiful photos.
My name is Xi Xiaoyuan's Vision, an unknown photographer, always worrying about how to take good photos. I hope everyone supports me.
As for equipment, I mainly use a Canon 5D4 with a big triple lens, and drones are DJI Mavic Air 2 and Phantom 4 Pro. Post-processing software is Lightroom and Photoshop.
About food and accommodation, I think everyone has different habits. I don't have many requirements; outdoor camping and hotel stays are both fine, and for food, just more meat. For Langxi, menjiang (a local sauce) is a specialty; you might want to try it.
About Langxi, the grass-pulling is over. I walked out from the flowers and walked into the painting. There are many rich colors here, and the people here are lovely and friendly. I hope to have another chance to wander slowly here, like camping by the shore of Nanyi Lake.
