14 Days in Xinxiang

Settle in — Xinxiang sits on the plain some 70-odd meters above sea level, a former provincial capital (Pingyuan Province, 1949-1952). An easy evening of market noodles and red-braised mutton sets the tone.

1. xinxiang city markets

About 1.5-2 hours to the trailhead in Huixian. The Guoliang tunnel runs 1,250 m through the cliff, carved 1972-1977 by 13 villagers over five years; entry about 80 yuan and the village sits near 1,700 m. Overnight in the village.

1. xinxiang guoliang tunnel
2. xinxiang wanxian mountain

The same 80-yuan Wanxianshan ticket covers the southern side — Danfen Gorge's boardwalks, Black Dragon Pool and a chain of falls down red-rock steps. Ride back to Xinxiang after the late light.

1. xinxiang wanxian mountain

A 5A gorge some 50 km out, entry about 80 yuan with the shuttle extra — stairways, red-rock pools and the tall Tianhe waterfall dropping well over 150 m. Non-slip shoes earn their keep on wet stone.

1. xinxiang baligou

Baoquan, an hour southwest in Huixian, trades cliff roads for water — spring-fed streams, boardwalks and pools; entry about 80 yuan with the shuttle extra, and late March-April adds a tulip sea on the terraces.

1. xinxiang baoquan

Guanshan national geopark, about an hour out in Huixian — a red-sandstone gorge with a string of pools and falls, entry about 60 yuan with the shuttle extra. The gorge walls keep it cooler on July afternoons.

1. xinxiang guanshan

At Huilong, the S-shaped tunnel road climbs to the Yunfeng Gallery lookouts and Laoyeding, the temple-topped summit at about 1,570 m known as the Iron Top; allow a full day with the park shuttle, and sleep back in Xinxiang.

1. xinxiang tianjie mountain

Jiulianshan, about 1.5 hours west in Huixian, is the gentler valley — stream crossings, hanging walks and the small Xilian temple high up; go early, wear shoes you can wet, and pair it with a low-key evening in town.

1. xinxiang jiulian mountain

East to Fengqiu county, about 60 km — the Chenqiao waystation where general Zhao Kuangyin was draped in the yellow robe in 960 and founded the Song dynasty; the old hall and the tethered-horse locust tree still stand by the Yellow River backwaters.

1. xinxiang chenqiaoyi

A slow Weihui day 20 km north — the temple to Shang-era Bigan in the morning (first built in 494, stele said to be carved by Confucius, entry about 40 yuan), then the Ming Wangjing Tower, the tall brick pavilion of Prince Lu's palace, above the old county town.

1. xinxiang bigan temple

Morning at the Ming tomb of Prince Lu on the northern city edge — a scale matched only by the Ming imperial tombs, entry about 40 yuan — then the folk-culture Jinghua Garden, 15 km south in Xiaoji town, free to enter.

1. xinxiang luwang mausoleum
2. xinxiang jinghuayuan

A neighbor-city day — Anyang is about 25 minutes north by HSR. Yinxu, the UNESCO-listed Shang capital where the oracle bones surfaced, pairs with the national writing museum; back in Xinxiang by evening for dinner.

1. anyang yinxu
2. anyang chinese writing museum

The provincial capital is 20-odd minutes south by HSR — the Henan Museum's bronzes and jades (free with ID, closed Mondays), an Erqi Square stroll, then the short ride home.

1. zhengzhou henan museum

A market breakfast of huimian noodles and a last stroll through the people's park quarter, then the HSR from Xinxiang East or trains from the old Xinxiang station for the road home.

1. xinxiang city markets