14 Days in Bozhou

An easy landing day — find a noodle shop, then a first evening loop of the Beiguan merchant lanes while the shopfront lamps are on.

1. bozhou beiguan old street

The old-town passage network is recorded at over 6,000 m, parts about 1,800 years old; walk the restored loop slowly — ceilings run low, so watch your head.

1. bozhou caocao underground tunnel

The merchants' stage begun in 1656, its façade covered in brick and wood carving, protected since 1988; linger on the carving detail, then an evening by the Guo River.

1. bozhou huaxilou
2. bozhou guohe riverfront

Go before nine — more than 2,000 varieties change hands in the wholesale hours, and the annual fair has run here since 1985. Breakfast from the market-canteen stalls.

1. bozhou herbal market

The halls and herb garden of Huazu An in the morning, the city museum's local-history rooms after lunch, and an early night.

1. bozhou huazu temple
2. bozhou city museum

An honest cross-city day — HSR north about half an hour to Shangqiu, a neighboring city in Henan some 90 km away, for the walled town laid out in 1511 and a Northern Song great academy.

1. shangqiu ancient city
2. shangqiu yingtian academy

A day without tickets — morning tea in a Beiguan teahouse, park paths after lunch, and a market-district dinner.

1. bozhou beiguan old street
2. bozhou caocao park

Two and a half hours south by road into neighboring Fuyang's Yingshang county for the 5A lake park of Balihe; start at dawn and book the return bus or car ahead.

1. fuyang balihe scenic area

A rest day after two long trips — a riverside walk, afternoon tea, and an early visit to a foot-bath shop; Bozhou's herbal-trade streets run a quiet pace on slow afternoons.

1. bozhou guohe riverfront

Return to the trading complex with fresh eyes — follow one herb from the wholesale floor to a dispensary in town, and ask the licensed stalls about grading.

1. bozhou herbal market

A second underground loop at opening time, when the passages are quiet, then the museum galleries you skipped and the courtyard exhibition.

1. bozhou caocao underground tunnel
2. bozhou city museum

Morning sketching or photo time around the carved stage, an afternoon of courtyard-hunting in Beiguan, and a long dinner — the lanes read differently at dusk.

1. bozhou beiguan old street
2. bozhou huaxilou

A last market breakfast and a small purchase from the retail hall, then riverside hours with the luggage mostly packed.

1. bozhou guohe riverfront
2. bozhou herbal market

A short museum stop if the bags are stored, then Bozhou South — the December 2019 HSR section runs to Hefei in under two hours, with onward trains nationwide.

1. bozhou city museum