14 Days in Huainan

Land and ease in at the city's lakeside park — a first bowl of beef soup, an evening loop of the water, and the plan for Shou county ahead.

1. huainan longhu park

The 241-meter ridge carries the 383 AD Fei River battle, where the phrase "every bush and bird an enemy" was coined, and the palace of Prince Huainan, whose court compiled the 21-chapter Huainanzi — tofu, locals say by tradition, was born in these kitchens.

1. huainan bagong mountain
2. huainan huainanwang palace

The Song-era wall runs 7,147 meters around four gates and held back the 1991 flood; walk the rampart from the east gate and drop into the Yuan-era Confucius temple courtyards.

1. huainan shouzhou city wall
2. huainan shouxian confucius temple

The 2022 museum, first in the country named for Chu culture, displays the 1933 finds from the royal Li-sangudui tomb — the original 400-kilogram cast ding sits in Hefei — then the old-town lanes and well-water tofu.

1. huainan chu culture museum

Sun Shu'ao's reservoir, dug about 2,600 years ago as the Quebei and listed among the world irrigation-heritage sites in 2015, still spreads some 34 sq km of water south of the old wall.

1. huainan anfengtang

West past Bagongshan, Jiaogang's roughly 60,000 mu of reed and lotus water take a slow boat loop; reed-cutting lanes, lake fish lunch and an early night.

1. huainan jiaogang lake

A slow city day — beef soup streets, park benches and laundry, with the film-studio lane at Jiaogang as the alternate if rest fails.

1. huainan longhu park

East at Shangyao town, the Shouzhou kiln site fired the yellow glazes that the Tang-era Tea Classic recorded as "Shouzhou porcelain yellow"; the forest park next door cools the afternoon.

1. huainan shouzhou kiln site
2. huainan shangyao forest park

An honest neighbor day — about 40 minutes south by fast rail from Huainan South; the Anhui Museum keeps the great cast ding that left Shou county after the 1933 dig.

1. hefei anhui museum

A lakeside reset — the reed lanes at an easy pace and a long fish lunch before the second neighbor day.

1. huainan jiaogang lake

Another honest neighbor day, about an hour by rail north — the 7,300-year-old clay face from the Shuangdun site at Bengbu's museum, then Longzi Lake before the evening train.

1. bengbu museum
2. bengbu longzi lake

A second reset in town — noodles, park loops and packing for the farewell.

1. huainan longhu park

One last wall loop at dawn — 7,147 meters under your feet — then the beef-soup streets and a market stock-up close the prefecture.

1. huainan shouzhou city wall
2. huainan city markets

A final beef-soup breakfast and the train out — from Huainan South if the fast line serves your next stop.

1. huainan city markets