5 Days in Ziyang

From Ziyang North, start at the riverside park honoring three ancient Ziyang notables, then the roughly 22-metre Tang-carved Buddha at Banyueshan, half an hour south of town. Evening on the Tuojiang embankment.

1. ziyang sanxian culture park
2. ziyang banyueshan buddha
3. ziyang tuojiang riverside

Base yourself in Anyue town, about 1.5 hours by road from Ziyang. Morning on Yunju Hill for the twelve Song bodhisattvas and Chen Tuan's tomb, then the hundred-odd niches and 3,000-odd figures of Qianfozhai on its wooded ridge. Anyue grows about 80 percent of China's lemons — the markets are full of them.

1. ziyang yuanjue cave
2. ziyang qianfozhai grottoes

A relaxed morning north of town at the Tang grotto where a 23-metre reclining Buddha lies along the cliff, with sutra caves nearby holding over 400,000 carved characters. Afternoon back in Anyue for the old streets and a lemon-tea break.

1. ziyang wofoyuan grottoes

An hour southeast to Shiyang town. The Northern Song Purple Bamboo Guanyin, about 3 metres tall and praised as the Venus of the East, shares the day with Huayan Cave, roughly 6 metres high and 10 metres wide, its three principal figures about 5 metres tall. Overnight back in Anyue or push on toward Lezhi.

1. ziyang piludong grottoes
2. ziyang huayan cave

About an hour's drive north into Lezhi county. The Qing-era courtyard at Laodong town where Chen Yi was born in 1901 pairs with the memorial hall and the Chen family ancestral shrine in the same scenic area. Afternoon road back to Ziyang North for the half-hour train toward Chengdu.

1. ziyang chenyi former residence
2. ziyang chenyi memorial hall