7 Days in Anshan

Settle in downtown, then the palace built around the world's largest jade Buddha — front Sakyamuni, rear Guanyin, carved from one 260-tonne boulder — and an evening lake loop of 219 Park next door.

1. anshan yufuyuan
2. anshan 219 park

A full day in the granite peaks half an hour southeast of downtown — cable car up, Buddhist monasteries like Longquan Temple, the Taoist Wuliang Guan and the natural stone Maitreya Buddha. Real walking shoes.

1. anshan qianshan

The famous spa south of town at an unhurried pace — hot pools and thermal mud packs, bathhouses reaching back to the last emperor's era, back downtown for dinner.

1. anshan tanggangzi hot springs

The works museum of New China's first great steel mill, then the city museum's jade and steel collections — the two stories that built this city.

1. anshan angang steel museum
2. anshan city museum

An honest neighbor-city day — half an hour north by HSR to the early-Qing imperial palace, Marshal Zhang's mansion nearby and the old-town streets, back in Anshan by evening.

1. shenyang imperial palace

Climb the Martyrs' Hill steps for the city panorama, then drift through 219 Park's lake paths — nanguo pears in season from the fruit stalls.

1. anshan lieshishan park
2. anshan 219 park

A market breakfast and a last downtown stroll, then the train from Anshan station.

1. anshan city markets