14 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

A mid-trip pause — market lanes, laundry, a long lunch, and notes on what the second week should revisit.

1. fuzhou jx city markets

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

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

A city day for the two figures who anchor it — the Wang Anshi Memorial's garden courtyards for the reformer (1021-1086), then the Nixiantai terrace, first raised in 1057 with an essay by Zeng Gong, for the river view at dusk.

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

A return to Wenchangli for the halls and lanes skipped on day 1, a slow dinner under the eaves, and the Peony Pavilion stage show if the first night sold out.

1. fuzhou jx wenchangli

Back up to Jinxi county for the village corners missed the first time — the study rooms and the well lanes read slowly — then home for a market dinner.

1. fuzhou jx zhuqiao village
2. fuzhou jx city markets

A last lakeside loop in the morning and a farewell pass through the memorial's Four Dreams galleries — snacks for the train, an early night.

1. fuzhou jx menghu lake
2. fuzhou jx tang xianzu memorial

A market breakfast and a last walk along the Fu River, then trains on the Nanchang-Fuzhou railway, running since 2013.

1. fuzhou jx city markets