Shanghai-Xuancheng: An Impromptu Three-Day, Two-Night Relaxation Trip
On Sunday night, on a whim, I told my husband I wanted to go out and travel. Because Li Bai wrote many poems about Xuancheng, and a novel my husband had read was set in Xuancheng, he was very interested, so we quickly decided to go to Xuancheng. We planned to visit Jingting Mountain the next day, and decide where to go on the second day when the time came.
On the first day of departure, we got up late. We woke up a little after eight, dawdled, and didn't set off until around 9:30. But because it was Monday, there were very few cars on the road. Around 11:30 we arrived at the Huzhou Service Area, which had a lot of food options, including KFC and coffee. On the way, I booked a room at the Peninsula Light Luxury Hotel for that night. The hotel room was spacious, clean, and bright. We arrived at the hotel a little after two, and after quickly joining a conference call, it was already 3:30. It seemed many restaurants close after the meal rush here, so finding food was a bit difficult. At that point, I regretted not eating something at the Huzhou Service Area to tide us over. We randomly found a Huainan Beef Soup place nearby and each had a bowl of noodles. Then we took a taxi to Jingting Mountain. By the time we bought tickets at the entrance, it was already 4:00. We bought tickets for the electric cart, which took us five minutes to reach the Shitao Memorial Hall. From there, we had to climb on foot.
Jingting Mountain is not big—essentially it has a "Y"-shaped route. The vertical stem at the bottom contains the main attractions; the upper left branch leads to Tianji Pavilion for sunset views, and the upper right branch leads to the peak of Jingting Mountain for sunrise. Both spots offer panoramic views of Xuancheng. Since the sun was still strong, we first went to the Jingting Summit, then walked to Tianji Pavilion to watch the sunset, and then descended via the middle path, passing Scenic Spots such as Xiangsi Spring and the Statue of Princess Yuzhen. For someone like me who doesn't usually exercise, it took a full half hour to climb from the Shitao Memorial Hall to Jingting Summit, and another 15 minutes to walk from Jingting Summit to Tianji Pavilion. From Shitao Memorial Hall, descending to the foot of the mountain took 30 minutes. So for those with some stamina, it's actually possible to hike up.
After returning to the hotel, we spent five minutes discussing the next day's route. We decided to skip the Chuanzang Line and chose Jixi Longchuan over Zhaji and Taohua Tan. So we played on our phones and went to sleep.
Day 2: We slept in, got up, ate the hotel breakfast, and didn't leave until almost 10:00. After driving five minutes, we felt it was a pity to skip a famous spot like Taohua Tan, so on a whim we changed the plan to Xuan Paper Museum + Taohua Tan + Zhaji. Truly, plans change, haha. Around 11:00 we arrived at the Xuan Paper Museum. The building was beautiful and very photogenic! But the ticket price was a bit steep, about 50 yuan per person. The exhibits were a bit sparse and not rich enough; I hope they add more content about Xuan paper culture in the future.
Not very hungry, we headed straight to Taohua Tan. Around 3:00 we arrived at Taohua Tan, but couldn't find the ticket entrance. We drove around twice and still couldn't find it, and we were getting a bit impatient. When we finally found it, we peeked in from the gate and saw that the scenic area looked very new, and the staff seemed indifferent. So we decided not to go in, took a photo at the entrance, and left.
Around 4:00 we arrived at Zhaji. Again, it was hard to find the ticket entrance. The local tourism authorities really should put up clear and visible signs. Since it was off-season and a weekday, many innkeepers were soliciting at the gate. One of them led us to Tongmao Inn. Although the room was a bit small, it was very conveniently located. After dropping off our things, we wandered around the village. Small bridges, flowing water, white walls and black tiles, and the long list of ancestors in the Zhai Ancestral Hall made us exclaim that this place truly produces outstanding people. In the evening, we found Yuekeju Restaurant near Caishen Bridge. We ordered steamed pork belly with rice flour (a bit greasy), braised bamboo shoots with pork, and fermented tofu. After eating, my companion went to a newly opened bar, where we chatted until 10:30. We felt a bit bad for keeping the owner up, so we reluctantly moved to the landmark spot—under the Big Camphor Tree—and chatted until the streetlights went out at around 11:30. Then we went back to the inn to sleep.
Day 3: We got up a little after eight and went to the Big Camphor Tree for breakfast. We ordered fermented tofu, soy milk with tofu pudding, meat pancakes, and bamboo shoot pancakes. They were quite tasty. Unlike yesterday's bright sunshine, today was drizzly. We leisurely explored all the places we hadn't visited the day before. We bought lychee wine, mulberry wine, and nut brittle, and prepared to head home. On the way, at the Nanxun Service Area, we had shredded pastry roujiamo (Chinese burger) and a vegetable pancake wrapped with meat, each 15 yuan, and they were pretty good. We arrived home around 5:30. My legs were sore, but I was very happy.
Tolls: 138 + 128 = 266
Tickets: Jingting Mountain 50 + electric cart 10 + Xuan Paper Museum 60 + Zhaji 65 = 370 for two
Meals: Day 1 lunch Huainan Beef Soup 24 + Day 1 dinner Xiaocaiyuan 147 + Day 2 lunch roadside noodle shop 31 + Day 2 dinner Yuekeju 174 + Day 3 breakfast 28 + Day 3 lunch 30 + Day 3 dinner Nanxun Service Area two zongzi 30 = 464
Accommodation: two nights total 300
Others: alcohol and coffee 90 + Xuan Paper Museum souvenirs 55 + osmanthus rice wine 15 + Mixue Bingcheng drink 13 + coffee 20 + nut brittle 20 + two bottles of fruit wine to go 110 + coffee 25 = 348
Total: 1748
Time to start planning the next trip~
