7 Days in Taizhou

Begin at the prefecture wall, begun in the Eastern Jin and standing at about 5,000 metres, up the 198-step stair to the ridge and back into Ziyang street's wells and noodle shops.

1. taizhou jiangnan great wall
2. taizhou ziyang street

North along the coast to the Taozhu fortress of 1387, a Ming coastal garrison whose walls still ring the village, with the volcanic sea-cliff geopark beside it — columned rock above fishing boats.

1. taizhou taozhu fortress

The 598 temple and its hillside pagoda, ancient courtyard trees and quiet lanes; Chicheng hill at dusk for the reddish crag caves over the town.

1. taizhou guoqing temple
2. taizhou chicheng mountain

The stone-beam gorge in the morning and the 1,098-metre Huading high point in the afternoon — rhododendron slopes in late spring, tea terraces all year.

1. taizhou shiliang waterfall
2. taizhou huading peak

The Xianju cliffs by cable car and plank path in the morning, then the Pantan lantern streets in the soft light — the boneless lamps that joined the national heritage list in 2006 are still bent by hand in workshops.

1. taizhou shenxianju
2. taizhou pantan old town

Changyu's quarry caverns — about 1,500 years of stone cutting that left concert-hall vaults in the hill — then the coast road to Shitang for the harbour stacked with stone-roof houses.

1. taizhou changyu dongtian
2. taizhou shitang fishing town

The morning ferry from Haimen port runs about 90 minutes out to Dachen island for the Jiaowu rock cliffs and harbourside lanes; back by the afternoon crossing, a last walk down Haimen old street, then the station. Gaoqian's courtyards and the Yandang direction live in the longer plans.

1. taizhou dachen island
2. taizhou haimen old street