10 Days in Lu'an

The Wanxi martyrs cemetery and Dabie-mountain history hall — Jinzhai county alone sent 59 founding generals — then a pot of single-leaf Guapian tea.

1. liuan wanxi martyrs cemetery
2. liuan wanxi museum

West of town — the 1.5-km rift gorge, Dushan's November 1929 buildings, and Hengpaitou, the 1958 headworks of the Pishihang scheme that waters more than ten million mu.

1. liuan wanxi rift valley
2. liuan dushan revolution sites
3. liuan hengpaitou

About 160 km and 2.5 hours to the Jinzhai side — the 1,729-m second peak of the Dabie range; overnight at the mountain gate to start day two fresh.

1. liuan tiantangzhai

A second day inside the park — the Baima Grand Canyon below the peak and the higher falls chain; afternoon drive back toward Lu'an or stay again in Jinzhai town.

1. liuan tiantangzhai

The stepped memorial square and county museum, then the Meishan dam finished in the mid-1950s across the Shi river; late-afternoon return to Lu'an.

1. liuan jinzhai red army square
2. liuan meishan reservoir

An hour west — the 74-m multiple-arch dam completed in 1954, hailed as the first great dam of new China, its crest walkable with a small exhibition hall below.

1. liuan foziling reservoir

A full mountain day on the 1,777-m highest point of the Dabie range above Huoshan's forests; steep trails and quick weather — start early, carry layers.

1. liuan baimajian

An hour east to Shucheng — about 50 sq km of drowned-green islands in the Longhekou reservoir; a boat loop and a slow lakeside afternoon.

1. liuan wanfo lake

A soft day in the Guapian hills toward the Xianghongdian reservoir — spring plucking runs from around Grain Rain in April — then back downtown for the Wanxi museum if day one skipped it.

1. liuan guapian tea

An honest neighbor-city day — Sanhe's water town belongs to Hefei, about 60 km east; pair it with the Anhui museum in the provincial capital, then return to Lu'an by high-speed rail in about half an hour.

1. hefei sanhe ancient town
2. hefei anhui museum