7 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

About 50 km north, the grand temple's walled compound takes a slow morning; the Water Curtain waterfall 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 or back in Nanyue town.

1. hengyang nanyue hengshan

Dawn on Zhurong Peak, 1,300.2 metres, the roof of the range; 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

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 90 km south by HSR, the papermaker Cai Lun's memorial grounds lead to the bamboo sea beyond — about 100 square kilometres of groves over the Leiyang hills.

1. hengyang cai lun memorial
2. hengyang cai lun bamboo sea

West into Hengyang county, the thatched hall where Wang Fuzhi (1619-1692) wrote his late years sits in farm fields; a market supper and the HSR from Hengyang East close the week.

1. hengyang xiangxi caotang
2. hengyang city markets