14 Days in Lishui

The weir, begun around 505, has lifted Ou river water for about 1,500 years and made the first World Heritage Irrigation Structures list in 2014; the painting town keeps easels out to dusk.

1. lishui guyan huaxiang
2. lishui tongji weir

A slow second look — the weir-head village of Yantou with its Ming-Qing houses and old canal-side trees, then an evening of sail silhouettes along the Ou river downstream.

1. lishui tongji weir
2. lishui oujiang riverside

Seventy km east — carving on the first national intangible list since 2006, roughly 330,000 county natives in more than 120 countries, espresso everywhere, and the Shimen Gorge of young Liu Ji.

1. lishui qingtian stone carving
2. lishui shimen cave

An honest neighbor-city day — Yandang belongs to Wenzhou, about 150 km southeast; the Dalongqiu fall drops about 190 m and the Lingfeng rocks change shape after dark, so keep both a day and evening slot.

1. wenzhou yandang mountain

Ninety km northeast in Jinyun, the 5A area's 170.8-m Dinghu Peak and the Yellow Emperor shrine that answers Shaanxi in the south; then Heyang's thousand-year grey-tile courtyards.

1. lishui xiandu
2. lishui heyang old village

Seventy-five km southwest — up to 700 layers over 1,200 vertical metres, sunrise at Jiuqu Yunhuan, the Ming-silver White Silver Valley and Kenggen's stone hamlet.

1. lishui yunhe rice terraces

About 110 km south, China's only She autonomous county — the temple and the 1,500-year china fir of Yunzhong Daji, and Dajun's riverside old street.

1. lishui jingning she township
2. lishui yunzhong daji

About three hours west of Jingning on mountain roads, a county with more than a hundred covered lounge bridges; Rulong bridge carries its 1625 dated inscription.

1. lishui qingyuan lounge bridges

Two hours north of Qingyuan — the firing technique joined UNESCO's list in 2009 as its only ceramic entry; the museum's jade-green glazes pair with sword-forge workshops in town.

1. lishui longquan celadon

An hour into the hills south of Longquan city, the Dayao valley where imperial-grade celadon was fired; Ming-Qing dragon-kiln remains and a quiet village of workshop ruins.

1. lishui dayao kiln site

About two hours east — the Ming-Qing street with smithies and herb shops still trading, then Yangjiatang's rammed-earth terraces turning gold at dusk.

1. lishui songyang old street
2. lishui yangjiatang village

A slow mountain day among Songyang's hundred-plus villages — Chenjiapu's stone houses cling to the cliff at about 850 m, with a bookshop built into the old cultural hall.

1. lishui chenjiapu village

South to Suichang for Tang-dynasty mining, the pit train into the adits and the memorial to magistrate-poet Tang Xianzu (1593-1598), overlapping The Peony Pavilion of 1598.

1. lishui suichang gold mine
2. lishui tangxianzu memorial

An honest neighbor-city day to finish — Shuanglong Cave belongs to Jinhua, about 100 km north, the water-eroded cave famous from a classic school essay, then the high-speed rail home from Jinhua or back through Lishui.

1. jinhua shuanglong cave