14 Days in Zhuzhou

Zhuzhou sits at the Xiangjiang's elbow, a quarter of an hour south of Changsha by HSR. Walk the Shennong City park's column plaza and statue, then see the city museum's bronzes and lacquer finds before an early night.

1. zhuzhou shennong city park
2. zhuzhou city museum

A riverside morning — bridge views and the long walkway — then the terraced paths of Shifeng Park north of the center. River lights come on after dinner; keep the night short for tomorrow's park day.

1. zhuzhou xiangjiang riverfront
2. zhuzhou shifeng park

The Fantawild park opened in 2011 in the Yunlong district and fills a day of rides and shows. Go on a weekday to shorten queues, and rest up for the southern leg.

1. zhuzhou fantawild

About 200 km south in Yanling County (renamed from Lingxian in 1994), the tomb-temple complex of Yandi stands at Luyuanbei by the Mishui river. Rebuilt in the late 1980s and rated 5A in 2020, it holds the memorial ceremony listed in China's first national intangible-heritage batch in 2006; the county also holds Hunan's highest summit, Lingfeng at 2,115.2 m. Overnight in Yanling's county town.

1. zhuzhou yandi mausoleum

About 45 km east of the county town, the national forest park chains waterfalls — Pearl-Curtain Falls among them — through old-growth valley air, with wooden walkways keeping the walking easy. Overnight near the valley gate.

1. zhuzhou shennonggu forest park

On the road back north, Chaling's Song-era wall was begun in 1231 and still rings the old county town along the Mishui; Yunyang Mountain's stone paths and cliff pavilions rise just south of the center.

1. zhuzhou chaling city wall
2. zhuzhou yunyang mountain

Jiuxian Lake fills a late-1950s reservoir arm inside the Jiubujiang national geopark — boat crossings between forested headlands and tofu-country lunches ashore. The drive back toward Zhuzhou takes about two hours.

1. zhuzhou jiuxian lake

A rest day in the arcades — Zhuzhou trades apparel across central China from dozens of wholesale markets in the Lusong district; even non-shoppers find the energy worth a morning, and tailors run same-week alterations.

1. zhuzhou lusong apparel markets

About 40 km east, Liling fires the underglaze five-color porcelain that won gold at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition; the Ceramic Valley's vase-shaped halls hold galleries, kilns and shops, and evenings light the towers along the water.

1. zhuzhou cigu ceramic valley

A second Liling day at a slower pace — the hillside Lujiang Academy where Zuo Zongtang once taught, the riverside old town below, and a workshop stop to pack a piece of porcelain safely for the road.

1. zhuzhou lujiang academy

A side day north in neighboring Changsha — 15 minutes away by HSR — for Yuelu Mountain's academy paths and Orange Isle in mid-river, where Mao Zedong wrote his 1925 poem. Return on the evening train.

1. changsha yuelu mountain
2. changsha orange isle

South into neighboring Hengyang for Nanyue Hengshan; the bus-and-cableway route tops out at Zhufeng Peak, 1,300.2 m, with temple courtyards along the pilgrim path. Back to Zhuzhou by night.

1. hengyang nanyue hengshan

A slow day for laundry and packing, then a farewell evening in the Shennong City park, where the lit column plaza draws dancers and chess players until late.

1. zhuzhou shennong city park

One last riverside walk in the morning air, a bakery stop in the Lusong arcades for the train, then the HSR from Zhuzhou West — Changsha South in about 15 minutes for onward connections.

1. zhuzhou xiangjiang riverfront