Live Your Best Lives
Maybe you have never been to Jinhua
, but you must have heard of this
city which occupies the top position in Zhejiang Province due to its geographical location!
Here you can find Hengdian, the production base of the famous Jinhua ham, a costume drama
, and Yiwu, the "center of the universe" that sells small commodities to the world.
📍Hengdian @Leader Barbie
📍Yiwu @Leader Qiluo
But today, we won’t talk about that! I want to share a little-known hidden gem of a small town – Jinhua Pujiang. If you don’t know much about this city, follow this guide to find out! I just visited it last weekend and the firsthand information is absolutely fresh✅
This county-level city under the jurisdiction of Jinhua is very friendly to people living in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai areas. It takes half an hour by high-speed rail from Hangzhou and 2 hours by car. Cross-city travel is even easier than commuting to work~
📣*As of December 31, 2025, those arriving in Pujiang within three days with their high-speed rail ticket + ID card can enjoy free admission to Xianhua Mountain, Jiangnan First House, and Shenlixia Scenic Area
Depart from Hangzhou West and arrive in half an hour🚄
This small city boasts 1,800 years of history. The Puyang River, which flows through it, gives it its name. Puyang River may not be large, but thanks to a single grain of rice, it has pushed Chinese agricultural civilization back 10,000 years. Yuan Longping even inscribed the inscription, "Ten Thousand Years of Shangshan, the World's Origin of Rice."
Source: Zhejiang Culture and Tourism Video Account
Here, you'll find the picturesque Xianhua Mountain, known as "the first fairy mountain in Jiangnan," and the Shenli Gorge,
with its emerald waves and bizarre rocks. You'll also find Zheng Yimen and the Zheng Ancestral Hall, known as "the first family in Jiangnan," with a plaque personally bestowed by Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. The Zheng family, which lived here, flourished, with over 3,000 people sharing a common pot at its peak, and 173 officials serving in government . You'll also
find Luoyuan Village, China's first colorful village;
Denggao Village, the birthplace of Ma Liang's magic brush;
and Panzhoujia Village, where one-piece noodles promise longevity and good fortune.
📍Xian Huashan@Leader Bugs
📍Panzhou Village @Team Leader Chen Peiqi
But what I want to recommend today is a tour that connects three ancient sites: an ancient temple, an ancient pagoda, and an ancient village. It's a day trip that's easy to do.
Visit the small, beautiful, and fascinating Longtan Ancient Temple, check out the Longde Temple Pagoda, which resembles the Black Myth, and then head to Songxi Ancient Village to explore the hidden stream and enjoy the cool breeze. It's fun and refreshing, and you'll be immersed in the cultural history while feeling relaxed.
🎟Tickets: Free🚗It
is recommended to drive by yourself. Open from 7:00 to 17:00
This temple, which boasts numerous tags on Xiaohongshu, is a scene of contrasts. In the words of a fellow traveler, it's "quiet yet bustling, ancient yet innocent, otherworldly yet worldly." (@tourists 悲酥清风)
📸Everyone comes to check in【Let it go】
This is a paradise of maximalism. Cats and dogs, exotic flowers and plants, as well as old Ming and Qing Dynasty components that the master "collected" from various places fill the entire space. The unique mix-and-match style even has a Southeast Asian flavor.
It is said that this temple was first built in the Tang Dynasty and has been renovated and expanded throughout many dynasties. It is named after the natural Dragon Pond next to the temple. Legend has it that this is where the dragon descended. The spring water is crystal clear and never dries up.
As you stroll through the area, you will find new discoveries every time you turn around. The temples are scattered along the mountainside, abandoning the traditional symmetrical structure. There are Tang and Song dynasty eaves, Ming and Qing dynasty wood carvings, and brackets, door lintels, Buddha statues, and mythical beasts everywhere. It makes you want to shout, this place is still too complicated!
Golden lotus flowers bloomed on the ground in front of the Buddha, nine-tailed fox succulents hung in the air, kittens waiting to be adopted were extremely friendly, clinging to strangers' trouser legs and acting coquettishly, and big dogs appeared from time to time as if they were "no one else". The spiritual energy of all things can be seen everywhere.
There's no entrance fee, no donation boxes, and even vegetarian meals are provided on a casual basis. Unlike other temples, which have a solemn and dignified atmosphere, when I asked if I could take photos in these areas, the monk waved me off and said, "Feel free to take photos!" It truly was something special!
P.S. If you're planning on getting a kitten, you can ask the monk! Adopt instead of buying, and give your little one a home!
🎟Tickets: Free
🚗 Navigate to Tashan Park, open from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM
The Longde Temple Pagoda is located in the Tashan Park in the center of the old city. It has a lotus pond, a green space, and several amusement facilities. At first glance, this park looks ordinary, and the passers-by are all local residents, but it actually hides treasures.
📍Tashan Park
🍃There's even the much-desired "Matcha Lake"
The Longde Temple Pagoda, originally built in the third year of the Tiansheng reign of the Northern Song Dynasty, boasts a thousand-year history and has endured numerous fires and lightning strikes. During renovations in 1979, inscriptions on the pagoda bricks, including "Dazhong Xiangfu Bingchen" and "Huangsong Tianxi Yuannian," confirmed the pagoda's construction date. The game "Black Myth: Wukong" uses this pagoda as its backdrop, and it has become a popular check-in destination for players.
*You can bring a hiking pole to check in at the pagoda, ensuring you're a true "one-of-a-kind" player .
1:1 restoration✅
This brick-and-wood pavilion-style tower is open to visitors. While there are no stairs to reach the top, looking up from below reveals the play of light and shadow within the tower, creating a breathtaking geometric beauty. Don't miss the 800-year-old camphor tree and 900-year-old Castanopsis sclerophylla in Tashan Park, where they silently witness the passage of time.
🎟Tickets: Free
Summer is all about water fun! Songxi Ancient Village is most notable for its "bright and dark" water system. Over 50 residential buildings straddle the dark stream, with bridges flowing beneath and residents living on the water. A picture of a peaceful Jiangnan village unfolds.
The former is a stream visible on the ground, running through the entire village. Villagers fetch water and wash here, and red koi can be seen in the water at the entrance of the village. The latter is a long underground river hidden under residential houses and bridge arches, and its water quality is clearer than that of the Mingxi River.
💦Mingxi
💦Anxi Entrance/Exit
During the sweltering summer months, villagers would set up small tables at the entrance to play cards, then chill a watermelon in the water. It was such a relaxing experience! As this hidden gem of an ancient village gained wider recognition, many tourists from surrounding cities flocked to the area, bringing water guns and buckets for water fights or simply wading in the water to cool off.
Happy playing in the water!
Beyond its refreshing charm, Songxi Ancient Village is also a quaint place steeped in history. According to records, the village originated during the Zhou Dynasty. The ancestors of the Xu family first migrated there during the Song Dynasty, followed by the Shao and Wang families. This is a rare phenomenon, with 20 surnames living in the same village.
Guandi Temple at the entrance of the village
The huge Shao Clan Ancestral Hall has become a good place for local villagers to cool off and kill time. They sit around in groups of three or four and talk about family matters, as if they were back in their childhood.
This village also has a little Easter egg! The east and west doorways of the bridge pavilion at the village entrance are unique. Like the Longtan Ancient Temple, they break with the conventional symmetry of traditional Chinese architecture, with the east side oriented and the west side rounded.
The square door of the "Linshui Pavilion" symbolizes the villagers' travels and adherence to the rules; the round door of the "Qiyunchu" symbolizes the return of a wealthy family and the reunion of their families.
【Qiyunchu】is a round gate👆🏻
When it comes to Pujiang food, food connoisseurs will undoubtedly think of Pujiang grapes. I didn't get to try them this time, as they weren't widely available yet. Future tourists planning to visit can buy some to try. The real must-try in Pujiang is
the
Magnolia Jelly. Hangzhou residents are no strangers to this refreshing summer dessert, a favorite they've enjoyed since childhood. According to the aunt at the village entrance, the jelly here is hand-rolled, and it definitely tastes different from the boxed variety sold at the supermarket—it's thicker and more gelatinous.
A drizzle of brown sugar water and the cool mint flavor slid down my throat was incredibly satisfying. The prices for the magnolia jelly here are pretty consistent, ranging from 3 yuan for a small cup to 25 yuan for a bucket (the one I bought from was kind enough to include a bottle of brown sugar water and two bottles of chilled mineral water to keep it warm). It keeps for 6-7 days, so you can take it home and share it later.
Dongming Beef Clear Soup
We also went to Dongming Beef Clear Soup, another local favorite. The interior is average, and the area around it is under renovation. Taking a taxi, I couldn't even find the entrance. But I managed to order a plate of beef fried noodles, which was incredibly fragrant and generously portioned. The beef offal and blood soup was also quite good. My partner had beef noodles with pork belly, and we didn't disappoint either! (We perfectly avoided the must-try list 🤣) Someone even recommended the beef bibimbap, so you should give it a try.
In addition, I looked through Xiao Mou's book for shops that the locals love to eat, and my homework also included Dongshan Cold Drinks, Qibajiu, Fengjude, Xinpujiang Restaurant, Qingliang Yixia, and Douyishao Pujiang Wontons, which you can also try!
🔻Recommended route:
🌞If you'd rather avoid the scorching sun and enjoy a leisurely stroll through the surrounding towns, here are two recommended itineraries to explore these hidden gems!
👉🏻[Treasure Town · Haining]
🔸Overlooking Haining from Ziwei Pavilion | Savor authentic local cuisine | Visit Xu Zhimo's former residence and stroll along Nanguanxiang Ancient Street | Pick 5 kilograms of Cuiguan pears and take them home
👉🏻[Treasure Town · Yixing]
🔸 Jiangnan Little Potala Palace and Dajue Temple | A Clash of Old Factories and Modern Architecture | Zisha Cheaters at Shushan Gunan Street | Chilling at Taoerchang | Dongpo Academy 
🥰I often see comments from you backstage—wanting more hidden gems and itineraries; wanting to experience local life more deeply and immerse yourself in the essence of a small town.
✨We've heard your calls and collaborated with product managers from various sites to actively identify "treasure towns that won't disappoint" for tourists!
🔦We're shining the spotlight on these small towns beyond the mainstream travel destinations, highlighting their alluring qualities—✅Experience the local flavors ✅Enjoy the delicious food ✅Focus on the humanities, or perhaps all three!
🌟Everyone is welcome to subscribe to our [Treasure Town] section, which is dedicated to exploring different small town styles and interesting ways to play!
Images @Laoxiao, Taxue, Changle Copywriter & Editor @Taxue
