10 Days in Qingyang

Land or roll in, find a noodle counter in the market streets and get your bearings; the grottoes and county towns sit within two hours.

1. qingyang city markets

Twenty-five kilometres southwest, carving began in 509; 295 niches, some 2,100 figures and the seven seated Buddhas of Cave 165 above the river confluence.

1. qingyang north grottoes

A gully-walking day on the city's edge, with the local history rooms in the afternoon for context on the loess agriculture.

1. qingyang xiaokongtong

Fifty kilometres north, tradition sets the Zhou forebear Buzhu here about 4,000 years ago; the terraced courts climb the hill above the county town.

1. qingyang zhou mausoleum

Noodles, liquor counters and river walks in the rebuilt streets, plus the county museum's rooms on the valley's early farming.

1. qingyang yaowangdong town

The craft entered the national intangible-heritage list in 2006 and the Duanwu market has run since 2002; workshop visits include stitching demonstrations.

1. qingyang sachet workshops

Two hours northeast in Huachi County, the memorial presents the November 1934 Shaan-Gan soviet government with factual exhibits and the hillside tower.

1. qingyang nanliang memorial

Two hours further north, the county's shadow plays — national intangible heritage since 2006 — run behind lit screens with Daoqing singing; stay the night.

1. qingyang huanxian shadow puppetry

In Huanxian's far north, the November 1936 battle memorial records the campaign's final engagement with factual displays; the loess roads out here are slow, so start early.

1. qingyang shancheng battle site

Drive back south to Xifeng, about three hours from the far side of Huanxian; a last sachet or dried-noodle purchase, then the train or flight out.

1. qingyang city markets