7 Days in Shiyan

Settle into the city that grew around the Second Automobile Works from 1969; the museum covers the truck-era story and the water-diversion archaeology, then a short forest walk on Niutou Hill.

1. shiyan shiyan museum
2. shiyan niutoushan forest park

The HSR link (opened 2019) reaches the mountain in under half an hour; building ran from 1412 under the Yongle Emperor and the 1994 UNESCO listing covers the complex — Purple Cloud Palace of 1413 and the Nanyan halls on their ledge.

1. shiyan wudang mountain
2. shiyan nanyan palace

A full mountain day to Tianzhu Peak at 1,612 m and the gilded bronze Golden Hall, cast in 1416 and hauled up piece by piece; overnight at the mountain town.

1. shiyan wudang golden summit

An easy water day on the reservoir arm below the mountain — boat landings and shoreline paths at Taiji Lake — then back to Shiyan for truck-city noodle suppers in the market streets.

1. shiyan taiji lake
2. shiyan city markets

About 100 km north-east, the dam first finished in 1973 and raised to a 176.6-m crest heads the Middle Route, whose 1,432-km main canal began sending water toward Beijing and Tianjin in December 2014; shoreline stop after the crest walk.

1. shiyan danjiangkou dam
2. shiyan danjiangkou reservoir

South about 100 km to Fang county, a karst cave marketed on the local "wild man" (yeren) — take it as the folklore it is, no track confirmed despite decades of searching; the county town also recalls the Tang prince exiled here from 684 to 698.

1. shiyan fangxian yeren cave

The Xuetangliangzi skulls found in 1989, 1990 and 2022 are dated to about a million years ago; Qinglongshan's egg-fossil clusters surfaced from 1995. Evening HSR from Shiyan East.

1. shiyan yunxian man site
2. shiyan qinglongshan dinosaur eggs