Seven-Day Self-Drive: Shanghai–Tiantai–Linhai–Taizhou–Shitang–Xinchang–Shanghai
Seven-Day Self-Drive: Shanghai–Tiantai–Linhai–Taizhou–Shitang–Xinchang–Shanghai
(September 6–12)
Packing list:
- ID card, mobile phone, charger, keys, common medicine, bank card, mosquito repellent.
- Several changes of clothes (socks, underwear), four season-appropriate outfits, one warm set for backup (jacket).
- Plenty of water, fruit, snacks for the journey; ample tea/wine, coffee; a small amount of staple food for emergencies (biscuits, instant noodles).
- Towel, toothbrush; disinfecting wipes, a few tissues; electric kettle, travel mug; some disposable tableware, food bags, garbage bags; a little shampoo, soap, laundry powder.
- Umbrella – for rain; sunscreen – for sun; flip-flops – for wet conditions; running shoes – for grip; collapsible car-wash bucket, car-wash cloth.
- Everywhere we go, conditions are good – no need to bring too much. Hotels are fine; toilet paper and toiletries can be left behind.
Itinerary Overview: (September 6–12)
- Before departure: To gain time on the first day, we stayed overnight at Fenhu.
- Day 1 (Sunday): Drive Fenhu–Tiantai (3 hrs); check into hotel at Guoqing Temple Scenic Area; sightseeing in Tiantai (4 hrs).
- Day 2 (Monday): Sightseeing Tiantai scenic area (4 hrs); drive Tiantai–Linhai (1 hr); check into downtown Linhai hotel.
- Day 3 (Tuesday): Sightseeing Linhai (5 hrs); continue at Linhai hotel.
- Day 4 (Wednesday): Drive Linhai–Taizhou–Shitang (3 hrs); check into seaside guesthouse in Shitang.
- Day 5 (Thursday): Watch sunrise at Shitang; visit Shitang’s small islands and coastal greenway (6 hrs); continue at seaside guesthouse.
- Day 6 (Friday): Drive Shitang–Taizhou–Xinchang (3 hrs); check into Xinchang hotel.
- Day 7 (Saturday): Sightseeing Xinchang (3 hrs); drive Xinchang–Shanghai (3 hrs); end of trip.
- Originally planned but cancelled: those interested can add A. Changyu Dongtian; B. Shenxianju; C. Guacang Mountain.
The key areas of this trip – Linhai, Jiaojiang, Wenling – all belong to Taizhou. A local folk rhyme about Taizhou seafood goes: “In the first month, snow-seasoned plum fish (a kind of croaker); second month, peach-blossom mullet; third month pomfret, fourth month Chinese herring; fifth month 呼鱼, sixth month 弹涂 (mudskipper); eighth month, white crab platter; ninth month, yellow croaker piled high; tenth month, paddy crabs sipping old wine; eleventh month, lake crucian carp; twelfth month, beltfish braised with radish – eat till you can’t stop.” Taizhou is full of snacks: Wenling has qiāngāo (rice cake stuffed with goodies), doumian sui (bean noodle crumbles), yìnggāo (hard cake), táng guī (sweet turtle cake); Linhai has dànqīng yángwěi (egg-white puff), radish cake, fermented rice balls, mǎtí sū (water chestnut pastry), slow-cooked tofu, banging-clapper wontons, yànggāo, jiǔzhǎn gāo, brown sugar steamed buns, sheep hoof pastry, tofu balls.
Day 1 (Sunday): Fenhu–Tiantai, Guoqing Temple, Tiantai Shiliang Scenic Area
- 06:30 Depart Fenhu; 11:00 Arrive Tiantai, visit Guoqing Temple, then Shiliang Scenic Area.
- Today’s drive: Fenhu–Tiantai 3 hours.
- Today’s touring: Guoqing Temple ~2 hours, Shiliang Scenic Area ~4 hours.
- Today’s food: Lunch at a local restaurant, dinner at the hotel.
- Today’s accommodation: Lujing Tiantai Resort Hotel at Guoqing Temple Scenic Area (highly recommended).
Today’s drive is long, so we made an early start. We left Fenhu early, about a 3-hour drive to Tiantai via Jiaxing, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Shangyu, Shengzhou, and Xinchang. At 11:00 we reached Tiantai and headed straight to the Lujing Tiantai Resort Hotel to check in. The timing coincided with the opening hours of Guoqing Temple’s vegetarian canteen, so we rushed over hoping to sample the famous monk’s meal – but the canteen was temporarily closed to outsiders due to the pandemic. Lunch would have to wait; we first explored Guoqing Temple. The history, influence and beauty of this temple need no introduction. After walking through the scenic area, we followed the footpath out past streams, wheat fields, the Sui Dynasty pagoda, farmhouses… the mind was utterly serene.
A short walk down to the right from the scenic area exit is the visitor centre; opposite it there’s only one larger restaurant, which was so-so. In the afternoon we visited Shiliang Scenic Area – a life where tickets are bought on Ctrip and directions come from navigation apps had begun. Tiantai has six major scenic areas, two of them 5A-rated: Guoqing Temple and Shiliang. The Shiliang Flying Waterfall is the highlight of the “Poetry Road” in eastern Zhejiang. In a deep green valley, a single stone bridge spans the sky, a waterfall thunders down “stirring wind and thunder day and night”; it’s hailed as “the number one wonder under heaven.” Nearby, the ancient Fangguang Temple is an arhat shrine; the Middle Fangguang Temple is a Zen centre. The walking trails inside the Scenic Area roughly form a “入” shape with three entrances. The south upper entrance has more restaurants and farmhouses, and is closest to the main waterfall – most visitors choose that way. The west entrance is near Little Bronze Kettle Drip, about 2 km from the south gate. Ideally you’d enter from one of those two main gates, but our navigation directed us to the third entrance – the east gate. That turned out fine: the east gate is right by the waterfall, in the most essential area. We saved our energy and skipped the drip. So I won’t parrot advice about the south and west gates.
After the day’s touring we drove back to the hotel. It sits right at the scenic area entrance – the best resort hotel here. When you first step in you might catch a faint whiff of plum rain, but then you’re deep in the woods; once settled, the furnishings and service are very good. Especially the restaurant: it’s a bit pricier than eating out, but the chef’s skill justifies the cost. We chose to dine in; strongly recommended.
Day 2 (Monday): Qiongtai Immortal Valley, Tiantai–Linhai, Linhai
- 09:00 Leave the hotel (pack up first).
- Today’s drive: Tiantai–Linhai 1 hour.
- Today’s touring: Morning – Qiongtai Immortal Valley (~4 hours); afternoon – Linhai’s Ziyang Street.
- Today’s food: Simple lunch; dinner at White Pagoda Bridge Restaurant on Ziyang Street.
- Today’s accommodation: Linhai Yuanzhou International Hotel (highly recommended).
From today on, we could sleep in every day, enjoy a nice buffet breakfast, then set off. Though lunch might get squeezed…
Qiongtai Immortal Valley (4A) combines Guoqing Temple’s tranquillity, Chicheng Mountain’s grandeur and Hanshan Lake’s stillness. “Return from the Five Great Mountains, no need to see mountains; return from Qiongtai, no need to see valleys” – so goes the saying about Tiantai Mountain. The valley has two entrances: an upper east gate and a lower west gate, both with parking. But now they’re managed together – it’s best to leave your car at the Big Waterfall visitor centre car park. Shuttle buses take you to either entrance. If you’re less fit, enter at the west (upper) gate and exit at the east (lower) gate – coming down is much easier. Buy a shuttle ticket (10 yuan/person) at the centre to be taken to the east upper entrance; walk the whole route and exit at the west lower gate, then take a free bus back to the car park. With stops, allow about 3 unhurried hours. Lunch could be found in Tiantai town, but we were lazy and still digesting breakfast, so we just had some fruit and pastries and drove straight to Linhai.
The drive of just over an hour doesn’t require the expressway; the road by the river is pleasant. Along the way, plenty of tangerine trees and factory outlet shops, haha… We reached Linhai, checked into the Linhai Yuanzhou International Hotel, then strolled Ziyang Street. Dinner at White Pagoda Bridge Restaurant, then the night view of Ziyang Street and the old city wall. After two tiring days, a good rest tonight; tomorrow we’d sleep in and wander Ziyang Street again.
For dinner we chose White Pagoda Bridge Restaurant. At the intersection of Qinghefang, Ziyang Street and Huipu Road stands Linhai’s only remaining state-run collective restaurant – “White Pagoda Bridge Restaurant.” Home-style, generous portions, business is booming. White-cut chicken, fried wontons, sweet-and-sour ribs, baked flatbread, fermented rice wine, stir-fried meat slices, egg drop with fermented rice – all very popular, plus the Linhai specialty egg-white puff. Address: 376 Ziyang Street. Highly recommended: a long-standing local favourite, great value, several standout dishes.
White Pagoda Bridge gives you that “old-school taste.” For foodie friends after something more offbeat, the Wang Hui food stall opposite is also recommended. This unassuming street-side spot is easy to miss – small frontage, not much to look at. But slide the door open and you’ll see how busy it is. There’s no menu; the owner cooks, his wife chops and takes orders. Just follow her suggestions. Shrimp-skin luffa, beef tripe with scallion oil, braised beef offal, a red-braised fish maw special, and ice-cold beer – chatting and clinking glasses, absolutely lovely. Eating at a stall is all about the down-to-earth atmosphere. Address: opposite White Pagoda Bridge, Ruyang Street/Huipu Road intersection. But our bellies didn’t allow us to include this one…
As for the hotel, Linhai Yuanzhou International and Tiantai Lujing Resort belong to the same group; it’s among the best hotels in the area – recommended. Our party of five: both hotels were very accommodating with extra beds and extra breakfasts. It’s a pity we didn’t have time to eat a proper meal in the Yuanzhou hotel, since Linhai has so many good restaurants. In a city like this, spending power is relatively low. If you compare with Shanghai restaurant prices, the star-rated hotel dining here is quite acceptable – after all, the stars are there. Simply put, hotel food is a bit pricier than local eateries but still cheaper than in Shanghai; it’s more international and refined, with some local specialities (though not all – the missing ones wouldn’t meet universal promotion standards). Local restaurants are down-to-earth, fully local, and especially kind on the wallet.
Day 3 (Tuesday): Linhai
- 09:00 Sleep in, then wander around Linhai.
- Today’s touring: Taizhou Prefectural City Wall, Ziyang Street, Longxing Temple ~6 hours; eat and rest in Taizhou.
- Today’s food: Snacks and local specialities; lunch – graze on snacks; dinner – Rong Xiaoguan.
- Today’s accommodation: Continue at Linhai Yuanzhou International Hotel.
In Linhai, two completely different lives are separated by the well-preserved old city wall. Young people’s activities happen outside the wall in the new town, while inside the old city time still moves as slowly as ever. Whether inside or out, this is a city devoted to eating – over 140 kinds of snacks. It’s also the hometown of the mainland’s only three-Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant, Xinrongji… Every day in Linhai starts and ends with food.
The Taizhou Prefectural City Wall is the old town’s most important component, also known as the Southern Great Wall or Southern Badaling. It once defended against invaders and floods; now it’s Linhai’s most celebrated landmark. Originally there were seven gates: Chonghe (east), Xingshan and Zhenning (south), Jingyue (southeast), Fengtai (southwest), Guacang and Chaotian (west); Wangjiang Gate was added later. We set Lansheng Gate as our start and Xingshan Gate as the finish, walking the entire section. Longxing Temple lies beside Xingshan Gate, at the western foot of Jin Hill inside Linhai. Built in the first year of the Tang Shenlong era, its original name was “Shenlong Temple.” Not as famous as other ancient temples, but its quiet courtyard, shady trees, and coolness made for a very pleasant visit.
Xingshan Gate, the end of our wall walk, is also the start of Ziyang Street. Through a thousand years, Ziyang Street has always been one of the main streets of the prefectural seat and the busiest commercial street in the old quarter. The street can be roughly split in two. The first half from Xingshan Gate is undeniably a bit too commercialised, but it still won’t let you down taste-wise. The second half feels more like a microcosm of old Linhai life. Linhai was once the political, economic and cultural centre of Taizhou, so as you go deeper you’ll see old supply cooperatives and small shops. Fire prevention saw the construction of five memorial arches in the Guangxu years – Wuzhen Fang, Fengxian Fang, Yingxian Fang, Qinghe Fang, Yongjing Fang – still standing. On the south side of Ziyang Street, at the entrance to an alley, you can frame a view of the three pagodas on Jin Hill in one shot.
Seaweed Cake – a Linhai speciality. Just strolling Ziyang Street you’ll smell roasting seaweed. Fresh from the oven, the pastry is crisp outside, sweet and savoury inside; every bite is happiness. The long-established Ziyang Jiujiu at 99 Ziyang Street, the century-old Wang Tianshun next door (currently closed for renovation), and Luo’s Seaweed Cake on the same street – their flavours are similar. Try one freshly baked before you decide to buy.
Ziyang Beef Mai-xia (wheat prawn) is an old shop between Ziyang Jiujiu and Wang Tianshun. Stepping inside feels like visiting a friend’s home. Linhai has no sea, and mai-xia is not really prawn. Address: 89 Ziyang Street.
Nuomi Youtiao Shop, just off Ziyang Street on Fuqian Street, specialises in traditional Linhai sweets and changes its menu with the seasons. Around Qingming they sell wufan ciba; after Chongyang they sell Chongyang cake… Address: corner of Fuqian Street and West Jinshan Road.
Huang’s Old Shop: among its glutinous rice treats, fried ciba (stir-fried glutinous rice cake) is unforgettable. It looks like fried rice cake but the texture is different. Address: 8 Jinzi Alley, Tianning Road.
Daren Dou Sui Mian (bean noodle crumble) – Linhai people’s favourite late-night snack. Dou suimian is actually sweet-potato noodles, seasoned in that unmistakable Jiangsu-Zhejiang style, with deep-fried meatballs and sheets of tofu skin (locals call them doujie), topped with pickled mustard and scallions. Savoury but not too heavy. Address: 108 West Jinshan Road, beside Linhai Middle School.
All these shops are dotted along this one long Ziyang Street. Except Daren Dou Sui Mian, which only opens at night (so it’s last), you can follow roughly the order above. A slow, full-day old-town tour is the best arrangement.
Today we strolled, ate, and napped in Linhai. Ancient Ziyang Street, the Prefectural City Wall, Longxing Temple… the old street isn’t long – a leisurely 15-minute walk – but to shop and graze, 15 minutes is nowhere near enough. Apart from the Ziyang Street eats, you can also head to Jiaojiang District – a snack hub – where Xinrongji at 411 Central Avenue (booking required) and Xiaobin Snacks are located.
After Ziyang Street, we visited a typical central food market and were deeply impressed by how clean Linhai is. This huge market, with an astonishing variety of goods and seafood, covers an area five times the size of a Linyi market, yet there wasn’t a hint of fishy smell, no waste water sloshing in the seafood area, and the pork showed no sign of water injection. Living in a small city like this – happiness index off the charts…
Walking on, we ended up at the nearby Rong Xiaoguan for dinner – it belongs to the Rong family of restaurants. Xinrongji has become widely known in recent years for its Michelin stars, but many don’t realise its flagship is in Linhai – Xinrongji Linghu, designed by the Aman architect. Whether it’s ambience, cuisine or service, Xinrongji Linghu is the ceiling of Linhai dining. A meal at the original Xinrongji is for some (not me) one of the main reasons to visit Linhai. The ingredients are authentic, and prices are much friendlier than in Shanghai. Signature dishes like East China Sea wild yellow croaker, golden crisp beltfish, and sunflower chicken need no mention. Because Linhai people love rice and noodles, sand conger eel noodles, five-grain rose buns, and wagyu tarts are also on every table. Address: 239 Linhai Avenue. We didn’t go to Xinrongji, only to the nearby Rong Xiaoguan. The food was good, but coming from Shanghai, these dishes were things we could taste at home. Like an internationally standardised beauty – pretty, yet a mountain village girl or a seaside girl from the mudflats should be what we travel for, right? So if you’re in Linhai only a short time, I personally wouldn’t go for the Rong group; you can find it all in Shanghai, maybe just a slight price difference, but you’d miss the true local flavour. Eating at Rong Xiaoguan felt like being at Joy Yue 8 – just that.
Because of Rong Xiaoguan, we missed Laobian Restaurant at 72 East Qingnian Road in Huangyan – a real regret. Laobian is a classic Taizhou place tucked in an alley. Besides special seafood, sweet-and-sour ribs, home-style tofu, pigeon and walnut soup, duck dumpling soup, black-ink cuttlefish, fermented green-bean wine, red bean milk custard, secret chicken feet, golden conch… every dish is pure Huangyan. Jian Tiao Seafood near the hotel is also popular. What a pity we only stayed two days. A special note: in these cosy little cities, whether Linhai or Taizhou, good restaurants close after meal times – the chef clocks off and won’t accept customers. So never show up late; you’ll get turned away. Along the trip we missed out twice because of this – “no room for late arrivals”…
Day 4 (Wednesday): Linhai–Taizhou (1 hr), Taizhou, Taizhou–Shitang (2 hrs)
- 09:00 Sleep in, depart for Taizhou, then drive to Shitang.
- Today’s drive: Linhai–Taizhou 1 hour, Taizhou–Shitang 2 hours.
- Today’s touring: ~3 hours sightseeing. The plan to eat through Taizhou failed!
- Today’s food: Lunch at Haimen Old Street Diyilou – saw but couldn’t eat; dinner – seafood.
- Today’s accommodation: Aegean Sea Guesthouse.
The original plan was perfect, but we slept in, had a buffet breakfast, then took our time driving by the river, stopped at a few factory stores, bought silk pyjamas, leather shoes, etc. So when we arrived at Haimen Old Street Diyilou, we were told “dinner, please come early” – it was barely 1 pm. The street didn’t have much to see, so we ducked into a small noodle shop nearby, thinking we’d eat little and wait for dinner. To our surprise, the noodles were good – the freshness came from tiny local shrimps, not seasoning. So we ended up full again. With no other customers, it felt like home; we chatted with the owner lounging on his deckchair, about seafood prices, and his wife patiently brought out ingredients to teach us how to tell things apart, like an old neighbour. There was no way we could manage dinner, so we drove straight to Shitang instead of waiting for Diyilou to open.
As we’d chosen a seaside guesthouse, we planned to check in then go find a restaurant. But the last kilometre of the access road was tricky, so once we were in we didn’t want to head out again, worried about driving back at night. It was off-season, so the guesthouse needed advance notice for meals. We had initially told the housekeeper we wouldn’t need dinner. Luckily, the boss lady asked the housekeeper to see what the kitchen could rustle up. They put together four dishes and a soup – actually, quite decent: fish, crab, meat, vegetables. The housekeeper kept apologising that only 3 crabs were left from yesterday and they weren’t alive, yet we all agreed the crabs were delicious – big, fleshy, we couldn’t tell live from dead. See what country bumpkins we are… It showed the owner’s honesty. Haha! After dinner, we immediately booked tomorrow night’s dinner: crab a must, plus fish, shrimp, cuttlefish, baby clams… and we especially requested those tiny shrimps the lunchtime owner had mentioned, which weren’t on the menu – we asked them not to forget when shopping. Shows how little locals think of those lowly shrimps, but they’re so tasty. Simply blanched, the umami nearly knocked our eyebrows off.
Day 5 (Thursday): Watch sunrise; Shitang’s small islands and villages; Shitang Peninsula Coastal Greenway
- 09:00 Leave the guesthouse, wander around Shitang villages.
- Today’s touring: Shitang island villages ~4 hours; Xiaoqing Village, the Greenway.
- Today’s food: Seafood.
- Today’s accommodation: Shitang Aegean Sea Guesthouse.
The alarm went off at 5:30 sharp. We scrambled up to watch the sunrise – today sunrise was at 5:37, on time. There were some clouds, partially blocking the view, but still a good experience. Lazy ones watched from the room’s balcony; the more enthusiastic ran to the guesthouse’s own viewing platform to savour it. Then it was back to bed.
You must watch a sunset – I mean sunrise – in Shitang, because this is the first place on the continent to greet the new millennium’s dawn. Shuguang Garden marks the spot where the first ray of the millennium touched. Even if the weather doesn’t cooperate, standing beside the Millennium Dawn Monument you can gaze over the stone houses built up the hillside and the fishing boats bobbing on the sea. It’s one of Wenling’s Ten Views – Houshan Stone Houses, the best-preserved ancient fishing-village architecture in China. Next to the monument is the Shitang Astronomical Observatory, a science education base of the National Astronomical Observatory, CAS. But all that said, we just watched the sunrise from the guesthouse, with our front-row balcony – why go to the garden? There’s even a glass bridge beside the guesthouse. I just stayed on the balcony, haha.
The internet lists three must-see villages in Wenling: Xiaoqing Village, Liqing Village, and Kengpan Village – three villages, three vibes, none to miss. Rainbow fairy-tale town Xiaoqing lies in Shitang Town, Wenling, surrounded by sea on three sides; its colourful houses and seaside beauty rival Santorini. Zhejiang’s Most Beautiful Village Kengpan in Wugen Town was founded nearly 800 years ago. Traditional stone houses and stucco sculpture have been upgraded with playful graffiti on old homes, and little fresh scenes pop up along alleys – hence the title. There’s the thousand-year camphor tree at the entrance, the “Flower Lane”, the cultural hall; stone wall charm, fun graffiti, ancient wells, and the renowned intangible heritage “stucco carving”… The hidden paradise Liqing Village in Shitang Town is wrapped by the sea on three sides, a centuries-old fishing village with a history of over 300 years. Most villagers are surnamed Chen, living by fishing, enjoying a tranquil life. Its highlight, besides fishing, is the densely packed century-old stone houses built up the slopes. Stone steps along Jinyaiwei Road, the old residence of Chen Helong… But… huh, after actually visiting, we felt it was so-so, nothing special. So we only went to Xiaoqing Village and skipped the other two. Better to stay at the guesthouse, listening to the sea and breezes. The dried fish and fish floss sold near Xiaoqing were delicious – fresh and cheap. The vendor claimed they were freshly made on her son’s boat. We just listened, true or not, and ate. We met eight Shanghai self-driving aunties and uncles who were buying loads and planning to continue south to Fujian – envious.
During Shitang, we stayed at Aegean Sea Guesthouse but you could adjust based on real experience. Aegean Sea is near Dongxia Beach, with wide sea views and a front-row seat by the water, a closer encounter with the sea – the downside is the last 50 metres must be walked. Dielai Sanshe · Sunrise Guesthouse is on the Greenway, more convenient traffic, a swimming pool, near Pearl Beach. Then there is the “Stone House Village” Shitang with nearly 20,000 stone houses; century-old houses facing the sea are iconic. Jingqinyuan Guesthouse in Wuao Village, transformed from stone houses, sits halfway up the hill with a platform offering distant views; it has unique architecture, retaining original stone buildings while adding a glass sightseeing platform, simple yet stylish. After a day out, sitting on the platform, enjoying the breeze and a bowl of the local dessert mountain jelly – especially relaxing, though it’s a bit further from the sea.
Lunch at Xin Chuji, a locals’ restaurant, good seafood; we were nearly the last diners, watching the staff sit down to their own lunch. What a happy bunch – a table groaning with seafood, staff meals like a feast, the boss not stingy at all. If I were ten years younger, I’d gladly serve tables here. In the afternoon we walked part of the Coastal Greenway. The Shitang Peninsula Greenway is the only coastal scenic path in Zhejiang combining walking, cycling and battery-car lanes – from Golden Beach past Pearl Beach to Diaobang Fishing Port, 8.5 km long, showcasing Shitang’s coastal scenery from every angle. Winding roads encourage slow walking; every stretch is different. But seeing as we were sleeping right by the sea, we weren’t particularly awed. After a quick battery-car tour with a brief stop, we resolutely went back to the guesthouse to just enjoy being there – after all, the guesthouse had a bar, KTV, tea room, open terrace…
Dinner was long pre-arranged; the chef cooked well and kept us company chatting – a satisfying meal. In the afternoon a group of youngsters came for barbecue and team-building; by dinner time only overnight guests remained. Because it was low season, we practically had the place to ourselves; the terrible elderly KTV hour began.
We’d originally planned to stay longer, but some felt they’d had enough fun and seafood, so we shortened the trip, dropping Changyu Dongtian and Shenxianju, adding Xinchang’s Grand Buddha Temple – the freedom of a road trip fully on display. Quickly booked the Courtyard by Marriott Xinchang.
Day 6 (Friday): Dongxia Beach, Xinchang
- 08:00 Sleep in, then Dongxia Beach.
- Today’s drive: Shitang–Taizhou 1 hr, Taizhou–Xinchang 2 hrs.
- Today’s touring: Shitang beach ~2 hours.
- Today’s food: Haimen Old Street Diyilou.
- Today’s accommodation: Courtyard by Marriott Xinchang.
In the morning the boss lady sent the housekeeper chap to take us down to Dongxia Beach. The beach entrance is right next to the guesthouse, but now it’s privatised; a ticket costs 30 yuan – feels steep if you’re not swimming. The housekeeper held a stamped slip; not sure if the boss lady would have to pay. One last look at the waves, reefs, sand – haha, I will come back…
Off we went. There was no reason not to eat at Haimen Old Street Diyilou, so we first drove to Taizhou for lunch. Before we even entered, through the lattice windows we heard familiar Shanghainese – indeed, hometown accents everywhere.
Haimen Old Street Diyilou is a long-established name. The seafood counter is clearly laid out; besides seafood, it has its own specialities like soy goose, red-braised pork, braised bamboo shoots, freshly made tofu-skin soymilk, and more. Address: 82 Renmin Road, next to Jiaojiang Cinema. Not finding any promising local restaurant in Xinchang, after eating our fill we unanimously decided to pack a few more dishes for dinner. As it turned out, the old name is well-deserved – really delicious, especially the red-braised pork for someone who’d been craving meat after days of seafood. In barely an hour, the pork had vanished… sob… Diyilou is recommended.
Stuffed, we headed straight to Xinchang, checking into the Courtyard by Marriott. Can’t afford Marriott, Courtyard is fine. Today we arrived in Xinchang, walked around the hotel area; it felt much like any average zone in Shanghai. There were a few Wanda-scale shopping centres nearby, chain bubble tea shops, Starbucks, claypot rice, sushi, Walmart – urban convenience and low housing prices are nice. The only challenge was finding a proper local speciality restaurant; luckily we had foresight.
Xinchang can’t compare with Taizhou (Tiantai, Linhai, Wenling are all part of Taizhou) when it comes to special flavours. So when you’re in Taizhou, seize every meal and enjoy it fully; dieting can wait until you’re home.
Day 7 (Saturday): Xinchang Grand Buddha Temple, Xinchang–Shanghai
- 09:00 Leave hotel, head to Xinchang Grand Buddha Temple Scenic Area.
- Today’s drive: Xinchang–Shanghai 3 hours.
- Today’s touring: Grand Buddha Temple ~4 hours.
- Today’s food: Tuzao Tou (Earth Stove).
- Today’s accommodation: /
Sleep in; the hotel buffet breakfast was decent. Naturally there were a few Shanghai big brothers, big sisters, or younger siblings, chatting with the hotel’s Shanghai chef over breakfast about housing prices, retirement, wellness… Everywhere we go, local faces; back home it’s all strangers. What’s the world coming to… Travel, they say, is going to places others have grown tired of and enjoying life.
Today we visited Xinchang Grand Buddha Temple – a standard scenic spot, more crowded than any other on our trip, just one more Jiangnan attraction. Not much else to say.
Lunch at Tuzao Tou restaurant; Xinchang cuisine was average. Then we drove back to Shanghai, and the trip ended here.
