14 Days in Hengyang

The academy at the Xiang-Jiang confluence was founded in the early 800s, destroyed in the 1944 Battle of Hengyang and rebuilt in 2006; downtown Huiyan Peak, at 96.8 metres the southernmost of the 72 peaks, closes the evening.

1. hengyang shigu academy
2. hengyang huiyan peak

The island in the Xiang carries the Qing-era academy honoring philosopher Wang Fuzhi (1619-1692); back on the bank, the market lanes feed the afternoon.

1. hengyang dongzhou island
2. hengyang city markets

About 50 km north, the grand temple's walled compound takes a slow morning; the Water Curtain pool below the temple town fills the afternoon. Overnight in Nanyue.

1. hengyang nanyue grand temple
2. hengyang water curtain cave

The bus-and-cableway route climbs via the mid-slope compound of Mojingtai; the forested terraces between 600 and 1,000 metres set the pace. Overnight on the upper mountain.

1. hengyang nanyue hengshan

Dawn on Zhurong Peak, 1,300.2 metres; the 1943 Zhonglie shrine on the way down records by name the war years' fallen — a factual, unhurried visit. Back to the city by evening.

1. hengyang nanyue hengshan
2. hengyang nanyue zhonglie shrine

A second, gentler day in the temple town — the waterfall pool again in better light, the grand temple's side courtyards, and the pilgrim lanes' vegetarian kitchens.

1. hengyang water curtain cave
2. hengyang nanyue grand temple

West into Hengyang county, the thatched hall where Wang Fuzhi (1619-1692) wrote his late years sits in farm fields; the county town's noodle shops make lunch.

1. hengyang xiangxi caotang

About 90 km south by HSR, the papermaker Cai Lun's memorial grounds sit in his home county — he presented improved paper to the court in 105 and died in 121.

1. hengyang cai lun memorial

A second Leiyang day, stated plainly — about 100 square kilometres of groves fold over the hills above the Lei water; walkways and lookouts make an honest green day.

1. hengyang cai lun bamboo sea

In Hengnan county, the river islets pull wintering birds from about October into March; outside the window, the river bends and fish villages still make the ride worthwhile.

1. hengyang jiangkou bird islet

A plainly marked neighbor day — Zhuzhou, the industrial city to the north, is about 20 minutes by HSR from Hengyang East; its Shennong square and riverside belt fill a day, evening train back.

1. zhuzhou

The second plainly marked neighbor day — southwest to Yongzhou, about an hour by rail, for the shrine to Tang essayist Liu Zongyuan (773-819) and the old Lingling quarter; evening train returns.

1. yongzhou liuzi temple

The city museum's galleries trace Hengyang's long past, while the 1944 battle itself is told at the dedicated war museum; a slow riverfront evening and an early night follow.

1. hengyang city museum
2. hengyang city markets

A market breakfast, a last walk on the Xiang embankment, then the HSR from Hengyang East — Changsha about 40 minutes, Guangzhou around two hours.

1. hengyang city markets