10 Days in Changzhou

The temple quarter dates to the Tang 630s with the 153.79-metre Tianning Pagoda finished in 2007; Hongmei Park keeps the 48-metre Wenbi Pagoda of the 480s, and canal-side Qingguo Lane is where Zhou Youguang, born here in 1906, grew up.

1. changzhou tianning temple
2. changzhou hongmei park
3. changzhou qingguo lane

Su Dongpo died here in 1101 and Dongpo Park marks his mooring spot; the restored Qianhou Bei'an houses sit nearby, and the Canal No.5 creative quarter recycles a 1930s textile mill into galleries and cafes along the Grand Canal.

1. changzhou dongpo park
2. changzhou qianhou beian
3. changzhou canal no5

The park opened in 2000 around a dinosaur museum; ride the headliners before 11am, read the fossil hall at midday, and keep the water rides for the warmest hours.

1. changzhou dinosaur park

South of town, Yancheng preserves a triple-walled, triple-moated city of about 2,700 years ago; the adjacent theme park stages the Spring-Autumn era, and the city museum holds the site's dugout canoe finds.

1. changzhou yancheng ruins
2. changzhou yancheng spring autumn park
3. changzhou museum

An 80-km run south (1.5 hours by car) to the lake backed by hills; a boat loop, the lakeshore walk and a casserole fish-head lunch fill the day — overnight in Liyang.

1. changzhou tianmu lake

Roughly 23 square kilometres of bamboo climb the Nanshan valley; the ground cable car saves the climb, and the adjacent hot spring suits the cool valley evening.

1. changzhou nanshan bamboo sea
2. changzhou yushui hot spring

A slow loop by car or e-bike on the No.1 Country Road, a 365-km network of signed back lanes linking tea farms, reservoirs and villages between the lake and the bamboo sea.

1. changzhou tianmu lake
2. changzhou nanshan bamboo sea

The Maoshan ridge in Jintan carries hilltop temples and long views; the adjacent Oriental Salt Lake resort (opened 2016) reworks local salt-boiling history into a village of pools and shows.

1. changzhou maoshan
2. changzhou dongfang yanhu city

An honestly labelled neighbouring-city day — trains take 25-30 minutes to Wuxi, where the Yuantouzhu headland juts into Taihu Lake; the cherry avenue is at its best in late March and early April.

1. changzhou wuxi yuantouzhu

The second honest neighbour day — an hour by rail north, Nanjing offers the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum's long stairway on Purple Mountain and the Confucius Temple quarter along the Qinhuai river; evening trains return to Changzhou or connect onward.

1. changzhou nanjing zhongshanling
2. changzhou nanjing fuzimiao