10 Days in Chuzhou

The 317-m Langya ridge holds the pavilion raised in 1046, the one Ouyang Xiu made famous in his 400-plus-character essay; the temple path keeps most of the climb in shade.

1. chuzhou langya mountain
2. chuzhou zuiweng pavilion

An hour west, 32 pairs of spirit-way statuary line the tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang's parents, then comes the village where 18 households signed the 1978 contract that opened rural reform.

1. chuzhou ming imperial tomb
2. chuzhou xiaogang village

South of Fengyang town the Jiushan karst cave opens about 1.5 km of floodlit passages, and the Langxiang valley labyrinth sits roughly 5 km on within the same forest park.

1. chuzhou jiushan cave
2. chuzhou langxiang valley

Ouyang Xiu raised the Fengle Pavilion in 1046 as well; the lake by the northwest wall is the Xijian of Wei Yingwu's 8th-century verse about the rising tide and the unmanned ferry.

1. chuzhou fengle pavilion
2. chuzhou xijian lake

A slow day — market breakfast, tea houses and an early night before the Nanjing overnight.

1. chuzhou city markets

High-speed rail covers the 60-odd km in under 30 minutes; the Ming wall's southern gates and the museum's jades fill the afternoon, overnight by Confucius Temple.

1. nanjing

Morning in the 1912 quarter and the Yangtze riverside, then the half-hour train back to Chuzhou for a lakeside dinner.

1. nanjing

The rail swings inland about an hour to Hefei for the provincial museum's Warring States cauldron and Lord Bao's garden; return by evening.

1. hefei

The memorial honors Quanjiao's 1701-born author of the 55-chapter Scholars; the old town lanes and a market lunch carry the afternoon.

1. chuzhou wu jingzi memorial
2. chuzhou city markets

The pass built under the 10th-century Southern Tang guards the old road west; a slow lake loop and an early train close the run.

1. chuzhou qingliu pass
2. chuzhou xijian lake