14 Days in Tianmu Mountain

Plan on 90 km and about two hours from Hangzhou — metro line 16 (2020) to Lin'an, then roughly 25 km by bus or taxi. Evening light on the temple, founded in 1665 and rebuilt after the 1941 bombing. Note the better-known Tianmu Lake sits in Liyang, Jiangsu, about 180 km north — a different destination.

1. tianmu shan chanyuan temple

The signed stone path gains about 700 m over 4 km from the temple forecourt (around 330 m) to Kaishan Old Hall near 1,100 m, under ancient Chinese firs; the reserve dates to 1956 and entered the UNESCO Man-and-Biosphere network in 1996.

1. tianmu shan big tree kingdom
2. tianmu shan kaishan old hall

Above the old hall the trail pushes to the 1,506-metre west summit; the east peak measures 1,478 m. On the descent, look for the multi-trunk ancient ginkgo billed as over 12,000 years old, and the signboard story of the Tianmu oak, whose wild stand once fell to five trees.

1. tianmu shan west peak
2. tianmu shan ancient ginkgo

The east scenic area pairs a cableway option with stone paths past the Zhaoming halls, which recall the 6th-century crown prince said to have studied here, and the East Falls below the 1,478-metre east peak. Dress modestly inside the halls.

1. tianmu shan east tianmu

Morning in the boulder gorge, then an easy afternoon threading village lanes, tea plots and persimmon trees around the mountain's townships.

1. tianmu shan grand canyon
2. tianmu shan village lanes

A slow day between hikes — terraced tea plots around the townships, growers' tasting sheds, and a naming story worth knowing, since Japanese tea people came to call black-glazed bowls tenmoku after this mountain, where monks drank their tea.

1. tianmu shan tea fields

An honest long-drive day — Daming Shan lies some 60 km southwest in the same Lin'an district, near 1,490 m at the top, with old tungsten-mine tunnels cut into the ridge and, in most winters, a small ski field from December to February. Stay west for the night.

1. tianmu shan damingshan

The gorge runs along a tributary of the Changhua stream, and Heqiao's riverside old street makes a slow afternoon; roll on to the hot-spring village for the night.

1. tianmu shan west zhejiang canyon
2. tianmu shan heqiao old town

After two ridge days, a village hot-spring soak at Tuanku in the far southwest, then an easy transfer back east to the mountain townships.

1. tianmu shan tuankou hot springs

A full day in the Taihu source canyon — boardwalks, shallow pools, and the stream that starts the Tiao river's run to Lake Tai.

1. tianmu shan taihu source

Short transfer, long afternoon — terraces, old ginkgos and a guesthouse night in Zhinan near 600 m; morning mist over the fields is the payoff. Colour usually holds from late October into November.

1. tianmu shan zhinan village

Morning on the 42-km greenway or a boat between the pond cypresses at Qingshan Lake, then Qian Liu's mausoleum (852-932), founder of the Wuyue kingdom (907-978), in downtown Lin'an.

1. tianmu shan qingshan lake
2. tianmu shan qianliu mausoleum

A labelled neighbour-city day — Anji county under Huzhou lies about 60 km and 1.5 hours north across the ridge, with bamboo-sea lookouts and the county bamboo museum; Huzhou keeps its own city page. Overnight on the Anji side or return east.

1. tianmu shan anji bamboo sea

Closing neighbour day about 90 km east — walk or cycle the causeways of West Lake, or duck into a Longjing tea house; Hangzhou has its own city page for a longer stay, with evening rail and flight connections onward.

1. tianmu shan hangzhou west lake