7 Days in Bozhou

Go underground after check-in — the old-town passage network is recorded at over 6,000 m, parts about 1,800 years old, with a restored loop open to walk.

1. bozhou caocao underground tunnel

The merchants' stage begun in 1656, brick- and wood-carved across its façade and protected since 1988, then a slow loop of the Beiguan merchant lanes.

1. bozhou huaxilou
2. bozhou beiguan old street

More than 2,000 varieties change hands at the trading complex, whose annual fair has run since 1985; the halls and herb garden of Huazu An sit a short ride away.

1. bozhou herbal market
2. bozhou huazu temple

A low-key day — the city museum's local exhibits in the morning, park paths in the afternoon, and a market-district dinner.

1. bozhou city museum
2. bozhou caocao park

Half an hour north by HSR to Shangqiu, a neighboring city in Henan about 90 km away — the Ming walled town laid out in 1511 and a Northern Song great academy.

1. shangqiu ancient city
2. shangqiu yingtian academy

About two and a half hours south by road into neighboring Fuyang's Yingshang county — an honest cross-city day for the 5A lake park of Balihe, best in warm months.

1. fuyang balihe scenic area

One more wholesale morning among the herb sacks, a medicinal-cuisine lunch in town, then Bozhou South — the December 2019 HSR link runs to Hefei in under two hours.

1. bozhou herbal market