10 Days in Fuzhou, Jiangxi

The Wenchangli quarter by the old east gate keeps the lanes where Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) grew up, with the Qing-era Yulong Wanshou Palace hall at its centre; an evening stage show drawn from the Peony Pavilion plays here. The memorial, opened in 1995, lays out the Four Dreams of Linchuan, including the 1598 Peony Pavilion.

1. fuzhou jx wenchangli
2. fuzhou jx tang xianzu memorial

Start early — Le'an county is about two hours west by road. Liukeng, the Dong clan village dubbed the First Village of a Thousand Years, keeps hundreds of Ming-Qing houses around flagstone lanes, and its building groups were listed as a national key heritage site in 2001.

1. fuzhou jx liukeng village

East into Zixi county, near the Fujian border, about an hour and a half by road. The Dajue mountain park pairs a cliff-side temple hall with gorge walkways and a summer rafting run on the stream below; allow most of the day and pack a picnic.

1. fuzhou jx dajue mountain

A slow loop of the lakeside park on the city's edge, benches, tea and an early night before the county block starts.

1. fuzhou jx menghu lake

North to Jinxi county, about an hour by road. Zhuqiao keeps its grey-brick Jiangxi-style courtyards, ancestral halls and study rooms in working order, and the county fed the Ming-Qing woodblock-printing trade centred at Xuwan; a quiet, half-day loop with a country lunch.

1. fuzhou jx zhuqiao village

South to Nancheng county, about an hour by road. Magu Mountain is the hill where Yan Zhenqing wrote his Magu Shan Xiantan Ji calligraphy record in 771; stele reproductions and hillside paths make a half-day, with the county town's noodles for lunch.

1. fuzhou jx magu mountain

An honest neighbour day — Yingtan is about an hour north by rail. Longhushan, entered on the World Heritage list in 2010 as part of the China Danxia series, raises red cliffs over the Luxi river; bamboo rafts drift beneath them, and the Tianshi Mansion in Shangqing town is open for visits as an active Taoist site. Back to Fuzhou by evening.

1. yingtan

Markets, laundry and a long lunch — the second neighbour day comes tomorrow.

1. fuzhou jx city markets

An honest neighbour day — about an hour north by rail on the Nanchang-Fuzhou line, running since 2013. The Pavilion of Prince Teng was first raised in 653, and Wang Bo wrote his famous preface there in 675; the current rebuild dates to 1989. The Gan River promenade rounds out the day.

1. nanchang

The Nixiantai terrace above the Fu River, first raised in 1057 with an essay by Zeng Gong to its name, makes an easy morning; the Wang Anshi Memorial nearby honours the Linchuan-born reformer (1021-1086). Then onward trains from Fuzhou station.

1. fuzhou jx nixiantai
2. fuzhou jx wang anshi memorial