Live Your Best Lives
National Geographic China calls Songyang "the last secret place in Jiangnan." It boasts the Damu Mountain Tea Garden, China's largest cycling park; the historic Ming and Qing Dynasty streets boast delicious food featured on the "Tip of the Tongue" menu; and the thrilling Shuangtong Mountain Scenic Area boasts thrilling high-altitude rides. In summer, Songyang boasts enormous high-altitude bayberries, which are a must-see. The mountains of Songyang are shrouded in mist for approximately 200 days each year. In short, Songyang is a city worth exploring.
Songyangcheck the details
Songyang County, located in the mountainous southwestern Zhejiang province, boasts a history of over 1,800 years and is the oldest established county in Lishui City. The county boasts "eight mountains, one river, and one part farmland." The central Songgu Plain is the largest mountain plain in southwestern Zhejiang and is known as the "granary of Chuzhou." Songyang is a provincial-level historical and cultural city, having historically served as the economic and cultural center of Chuzhou. It boasts numerous cultural relics and historical sites, including the Yanqing Temple Pagoda, known as the "First Pagoda in Zhejiang," and the Songyang Gaoqiang Opera, a national intangible cultural heritage and a "living fossil of opera." Other historical sites include the Shicang Ancient Residential Complex, the Huang Family Courtyard, the Ming and Qing Dynasty neighborhoods, and the Brothers Jinshi Memorial Archway.
Recommended month: All seasons
5688 recommendations, 4748 visits
There is a Wujing Village 2 kilometers northwest of Songyang County. In the village, there is a group of horse-head walls of varying heights standing tall. That is the Songyang Huang Family Courtyard, a unique wood carving art hall.
The Huang family worked hard to become a prominent family in the local area. During the Tongzhi period, they built the "Plum and Orchid Pavilion" and the "Bamboo and Chrysanthemum Pavilion", during the Guangxu period, they built the "Wu Fu Ji Building", and in 1918, they invested 55,000 silver dollars to build a luxurious "Bai Shou Hall".
The Huang Family Courtyard's Grand Longevity Hall is truly magnificent, boasting three entrances and seven bays, 27.6 meters wide and 33.8 meters deep, supported by 172 pillars. The Hall's exquisitely carved beams and painted rafters are all themed around the character for "longevity," each one unique and each executed with the same brushstroke.
The main part of the backyard is the Plum, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum Hall. The carvings on the windows are even more detailed and exquisite, with all kinds of flying in the sky, swimming in the water and walking on the ground, which are lifelike and vivid.
Tips:
Address: Wujing Village, Wangsong Township, 2 km northwest of Songyang County, Lishui City
Opening hours: Winter 8:30-17:00; Summer 8:30-18:00
Tickets: 30
Yangjiatang is probably well-known to photography enthusiasts. Yangjiatang Village is located in Sandu Township, Songyang County. It is nestled in a circular valley, with mountains on both sides surrounding the village. The Feng Shui layout is quite obvious.
Known as the "Golden Potala Palace", the recommended time to take photos is in the morning or afternoon, preferably when there is sunlight. On weekdays, there are still many people taking photos here.
Tips:
Address: Yangjiatang Village, Songyang County, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province
Songyang's Pioneer Bookstore, also known as Chenjiapu Common People's Bookstore, is located on the edge of a cliff. Chenjiapu Village, a pristine gem among Songyang's ancient villages, boasts 600 years of history and is a prime example of cliff-dwelling villages. A bookstore opening here is sure to attract visitors!
Every day, many people come here to buy and read books in this bookstore on the cliff. The bookstore has a rich content and many surroundings. There are check-in spots everywhere, and any photo you take is a blockbuster!
Recommended seats:
① Take a picture of the glass staircase from the bottom up, and give a side profile, it’s absolutely beautiful!
② Sit on the steps with a book in hand and take any photos you want to create a great film!
③ Various coffee tables, order a cup of coffee and sit down to take photos!
④Remember to take photos at the two balconies of the bookstore!
⑤ Various windowsills with a vase of flowers are also places to produce great photos!
⑥Give me back a lot of camera positions, everyone can discover them by yourselves!
Tips:
Address: Chenjiapu Village, Songyang County, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province. It is recommended to drive there!
The Songyang County Museum was founded on April 21, 1986, in the former Tanglan Public Office, a Qing Dynasty building. The museum's collection includes artifacts from the Neolithic Age, the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing, and modern times, primarily pottery and porcelain.
The museum has two floors with different styles. The first floor exhibits cultural relics, and the second floor is an introduction to famous people in Songyang. The second floor is relatively small, and it takes about an hour to stroll around and take photos. Moreover, the cultural relics in the museum are all authentic, so please do not use the flash when taking photos!
Tips:
Address: No. 1, Wujiashanjiao, Xiping Street, Songyang County, Lishui City
Songyang Shipping Museum has a huge hall with various shipping facilities and some documents. There is a ship on the second floor where you can go up to take pictures, and there is also a sharing space.
Shicang has rich cultural resources and profound historical and cultural heritage. During the Qianlong and Daoguang periods of the Qing Dynasty, Shicang formed an extremely active land market and rural society, and produced a large number of contract documents.
In Shicang, when transferring rights, whether it is as large as thousands of acres of mountain fields, more than ten acres of paddy fields, or as small as a shed or even a tree, the parties involved will enter into a contract regardless of whether they are related by blood.
The ancient contracts from the Ming and Qing dynasties collected in the home of Que Longxing, a villager of Shicang Village 7, is currently the largest collection of Hakka contract documents in China. Thus, the Contract Museum was born.
Caizhai Village is a traditional mountain village built on both sides of the river with a history of 200 years. The village is famous in the county for its tofu products.
A factory-style workshop was built on a slope by the river at the entrance of the village. Everything from soaking and grinding tofu to shaping and making it into various soy products can be done here.
In fact, it can be said that this is a workshop where you can experience the production of soy products. Visitors can grind their own soy milk, fry their own tofu, etc. Catering is also provided here, and you can eat the stir-fried dishes you made yourself.
Ruoliao primeval forest, the scenic area is mainly divided into three blocks:
1. The Ruoliaoshan area is mainly composed of virgin forests, strange peaks and rocks. Ruoliaoshan is 1,502 meters above sea level and is the highest peak in Songyang. It is a place to watch the sunrise and the sea of clouds. Every May, thousands of acres of colorful Hericium erinaceus flowers compete with each other for beauty, forming a "Ten Miles of Flower Sea" with Hericium erinaceus overlapping brocades. It is a wonder of the world and has been rated as one of the "Top Ten Scenic Spots in Zhejiang Green Valley".
2. Ruoliao Valley (mainly featuring clear pools and waterfalls), one of the "Ten Great Green Valleys of Zhejiang Province", has streams and waterfalls scattered throughout. Among them, the "Yin Yang Double Waterfall" (Dragon Waterfall and Fairy Waterfall) is the most unique.
3. Andaihou Village, a red ancient village located at the southern foot of the scenic area, boasts stunning scenery and strategic terrain amidst overlapping mountains. It was once a guerrilla base in southwestern Zhejiang, with more than 10 sites still preserved today. It is a provincial-level patriotic education base.
The ancient method of papermaking sounds like a handmade job. In fact, it was brought here by people who moved to Likeng Village, Anmin Township, Songyang during the late Kangxi period. It has been passed down for more than 400 years without interruption and is one of the intangible cultural heritage projects in Songyang.
The local mountain kiwi bark is used, the skin is dried, soaked for three to two months and then beaten, then pickled with lime, repeatedly pounded, steamed in a large pot, and then subjected to a series of processes such as "molding", squeezing, pounding, and rinsing, and mixed with "paper-making medicine" (glue extracted from wild kiwi vines) before it becomes "pulp" for papermaking.
I highly recommend everyone to try this and experience the fun of making your own paper. The teacher also taught us how to make flower paper. First, we scooped out a layer of paper pulp, then placed petals of various colors on top, arranged them into the desired shape, and then covered them with another layer of paper pulp. After drying, it became a piece of paper that could be written on.
Let me introduce to you the homestay I stayed in these few days. If you have certain quality requirements for accommodation, you may want to come here and experience it.
📍Location: Next to the Shicang Contract Museum in Dadongba Town, Songyang
Mingkeli Shicang is located in the Shicang ancient residence in Dadongba Town, Songyang County. It is a Zhejiang Provincial Historical and Cultural Protection Area with complete preserved ancient residential buildings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Mingkeli is located among the residents.
The homestay provides butler service, and there is a dedicated person to take the luggage. They are simple and kind. After checking in, the butler will take the guests to the guest room. When you open the curtains, you can see the blue sky, white clouds, green water and green mountains, which is very pleasing to the eyes.
📍Location: Pingtian Village, Sidu Township, Songyang County
The B&B is located over 610 meters above sea level, shrouded in mist for nearly 200 days a year. It features a restaurant, a café, and several intangible cultural heritage exhibition rooms. You don't have to worry about traffic jams here, as the village is built into the hillside and is all terraced. Sleeping at night is incredibly quiet, with no car horns to be heard. Opening the window, you can gaze upon the sea of clouds, a truly delightful sight.
A homestay surrounded by roses (Chinese roses), with a swimming pool in the yard. In the hot summer, you must go swimming!
There are three floors in total. The rooms are quite large and the windows are very large. Although it is not far from the city, it is very quiet and comfortable to live in.
It is a village converted into a homestay, and there are also indigenous people living there, so after checking in, the housekeeper will take you into the village and to your room. The environment is very good, with a large platform, which is a very good choice for taking pictures and resting.
📍Location: No. 38, Baifeng Village, Dadongba Town, Songyang
There is a small stream in front of the B&B with a small wooden bridge on the stream. The environment is very good. There is a rafting scenic area next to it. If you like rafting, you can go and have fun.
