14 Days in Xiangyang

About 7.3 km of Ming-era wall survive around six gates, fronted by a moat that widens past 250 m — the small north gate (Linhan) looks straight onto the Han River. Walk the ramparts, then down North Street to the Zhaoming Tower.

1. xiangyang ancient city wall
2. xiangyang zhaoming tower
3. xiangyang beijie street

The whole day for the 5A scenic area where Zhuge Liang farmed and studied for about ten years before the 207 AD Longzhong Plan — the thatched cottage zones, memorial halls and forest paths take a slow pace.

1. xiangyang gulongzhong

Morning at the Eastern Han garden of Xijiachi, going on two millennia; afternoon on the Xianshan greenways south of the city, where a rebuilt Falling-Tears Stele records Jin-dynasty governor Yang Hu.

1. xiangyang xijiachi
2. xiangyang xianshan

The purpose-built film city served as a main set for the 2017 film Legend of the Demon Cat. Give it a full day — the streets read differently by day and by lantern light, and there is an evening show.

1. xiangyang tang city

A half-day out to the forested hill about 20 km southeast where the Tang poet Meng Haoran (689-740) lived as a hermit; return via a long lunch and a riverside stroll.

1. xiangyang lumen temple

Cross to Fancheng for Migong Temple, honoring the calligrapher Mi Fu (1051-1107), one of the Song dynasty's four masters. Then walk the embankment parks on the north bank as the ferries and barges go by.

1. xiangyang migong temple
2. xiangyang han riverfront

A rest-day rhythm — a beef-noodle breakfast (the local rite is noodles with a ladle of yellow rice wine), market lanes, tea, and the city wall again at dusk when it lights up.

1. xiangyang city markets

Twenty minutes north by HSR to Zaoyang — the Han-dynasty film city in the morning, then the Baishui Temple garden, which records the birthplace area of Emperor Guangwu, founder of the Eastern Han.

1. xiangyang han city
2. xiangyang baishui temple

Roughly a two-hour drive into Nanzhang county — hire a car, buses are thin. The fortress walls ride a bare ridge above a river bend, among the largest ancient mountain stockades in Hubei.

1. xiangyang chunqiu fortress

About two hours southwest to Baokang county for five linked gorges, waterfalls and plank paths — a walking day, so pack shoes with grip. Local buses are limited; a hired car is easier.

1. xiangyang wudao gorge

The OCT resort zone in the Dongjin new district brings a theme park with rides and water play — an easy day, and handy with children. Evening back by the old city for noodles.

1. xiangyang oct fantasy valley

A side day honestly outside Xiangyang — around 40 minutes by HSR from Xiangyang East to Wudangshan West in neighboring Shiyan, for the Taoist complexes on the mountain. One day is a taste only — the summit shrines deserve their own overnight.

1. shiyan wudang mountain

Under an hour east by HSR to Suizhou, where the 65-bell chime of Marquis Yi was unearthed at Leigudun in 1978 (the original set is displayed in Wuhan's provincial museum). Return for a last Han-river evening.

1. suizhou city museum

One last unhurried walk on the wall above the moat, a final bowl of beef noodles, then the HSR from Xiangyang East — lines opened in late 2019 put Wuhan about an hour away.

1. xiangyang ancient city wall