5 Days in Ningde

An arrival day in the prefecture seat — the lakeside park of Donghu, the old quarter's lanes and a first table of coastal dishes before the boat and train legs to come.

1. ningde jiaocheng old town

A boat out into the bay, where rafts of the large yellow croaker, farmed here since the mid-1980s, stand in village-sized rows, with island temples and a seafood lunch afloat.

1. ningde sandu ao

A 30-minute rail hop north to Xiapu County, one of the country's most-photographed tidal coasts, worked to 2 tides a day — morning light at Beiqi, afternoon on the flats of Xiaohao and sunset over the oyster racks at Dongbi; the tide slips about 50 minutes later each day, so work the day around the tide tables.

1. ningde xiapu tidal flats

North to the banyan groves and maple woods of Yangjia stream, then the hillside platform at Huazhu in Sansha, where the islands of Yushan line the horizon; the S-bend of Shajiang closes the day when kelp season is on.

1. ningde yangjia stream
2. ningde huazhu viewpoint

The rail stop at Taimushan puts the granite domes — main peak Fuding at 917.3 m, part of the UNESCO geopark listed in 2010 — within a short ride; a pot of Fuding white tea at the bottom, then the evening train out.

1. ningde taimu mountain