Day 1: All over the country → or → Longyan ★ Gathering day
All day
1. Today is the gathering day. Tourists from all over the country will go to Longyan to check in. Once you arrive at your designated hotel, please provide "China - Travel Note + Name" to check in.
2. Afterwards, you'll have free time. The first floor of the Longyan City Museum showcases Tingzhou's history and culture. Learn about the production process of Longyan's specialty, Chengang Red Yeast Rice Wine, at the China Chengang Red Yeast Rice Wine Museum. Afterward, explore the nearby Chishui Tianhou Temple.
3. [Love City 1908 Cultural and Creative Street] is a newly popular spot in Longyan City. It was renovated from the former site of the Fujian West Industrial and Agricultural Bank and is a cultural and creative district. The street features various revolutionary sites and distinctive buildings from the Republican era. At night, the neon signs illuminate, creating a sense of a miniature "Shanghai at Night"—perfect for capturing photos of the vibrant atmosphere.
Specialties: Beef offal, clear soup noodles, beef soup, rice with a dustpan
2nd Tianlong Rock → Guanzhi Mountain Half Loop Hike → Peitian Ancient Houses
All day
1. After breakfast, drive (approximately 90 minutes) to Guanzhi Mountain, known for its "Northern Yi and Southern Zhi, dual Danxia wonders." Located in the southern range of the Wuyi Mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage site, Guanzhi Mountain boasts Danxia landforms, but also boasts unique, breathtaking stone walls. This unique blend of mountains, water, rock formations, caves, springs, temples, and gardens offers a breathtaking spectacle of unique beauty, with breathtaking mountains, picturesque waters, secluded valleys, and enigmatic caves.
2. This is the location visited in a six-part CCTV National Geographic documentary. Following the research of a professor of human geography, China-TravelNote has developed a special hiking route (one star for beginners):
First stop: Take a yacht tour of Shimen Lake. When Peng's mother visited, she marveled at the scenery, which was as beautiful as the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, including the majestic Gate of Life, Lotus Peak, Jiutan Peak, hippos drinking from the spring, and elephants playing in the water.
Second stop: Climb the Carp Back escalator, a staircase so long you can't even capture it from a 1,000-meter aerial perspective, and experience the magic of Chongqing deep in the mountains! Of course, the only steps you'll need to save are 365, leaving you with more energy to explore the Sky Wall.
The third stop: After reaching the top of the mountain, we walked along the 100-meter [Suspension Bridge] to the other hilltop, and then took the suspended [Cable Car]. The [Glass Plank Road] was a real surprise. After overcoming the fear of heights, we arrived at [Zhu'an Village]
The fourth stop: the ancient village deep in the mountains, where bamboos announce peace and safety, is very similar to the "Ten Thousand Men Unbreakable" Great Wall. We continue to climb and overlook the thousand-meter-long magnificent [Sky Wall]. It is worth the trip and you can also visit [Heavenly Lake]. Compared with Changbai Mountain Tianchi, which is a volcanic pool, Tianshan Tianchi is a glacial pool. The Tianchi here is the lava pool of all Danxia landforms in China. CCTV geography professors have discovered the unique climate microenvironment here. Only China-TravelNote cultural leaders can tell you why the water here is as good as Shimen Lake and is directly drinkable.
Stop 5: After descending the mountain, we arrive at Jiulong Lake (since there is Shimen Lake, the boat tour here is not included). After admiring the scenery of the dam, we return to the hot spring hotel.
3. After about 5-6 hours of exploration, go to [Peitian Ancient Residence] around 16:00-17:00 and check in to the B&B
Specialties: Liancheng white duck, red-skin peanuts, stream fish tofu, pig's eight treasures, Jiumentou, salt and wine chicken, bitter soup
Day 3 Peitian Ancient Residence → Paper Cutting and Bamboo Figure Making Experience → Dingwuling → Changting Ancient Town
All day
1. After breakfast, drive (approximately 50 minutes) to Peitian Ancient Residences, known as the "Folk Forbidden City." This ancient village boasts over 800 years of history and is one of the best-preserved ancient residential communities in southern China. It comprises 30 elegant houses built during the Ming and Qing dynasties, 21 ancient ancestral halls, 6 academies, 4 temples and Taoist temples, 2 cross-street archways, and a kilometer-long ancient street, forming a large, well-planned, and interconnected cluster of ancient Ming and Qing architectural complexes. Stroll through the village's ancient streets and alleys, and experience the rustic, pure atmosphere, the Hakka people's ancient customs, and the glorious history of this place over the long years.
2. New ways to play with Peitian handmade puppets: Brother Wu, the 24th generation of the family, uses a string to connect each part of the bamboo, and finally let them stand on the table and operate flexibly. We can follow the Wu family's descendants to make bamboo figurines and learn Hakka paper cutting.
3. Depart for Dingwuling around 2:00 PM (approximately 1.5 hours by car): This Hakka village, known for its "year-round mosquito-free" atmosphere, retains its original village form. Yellow mud walls, dark gray tiles, wooden houses, and stone steps are commonplace. Rough, heavy stone gates, unique old stone slabs, an open-style ancestral hall, and an ancient well dating back to the Qianlong period are all examples of the village's history and culture. The Dingwuling Well was included in the list of immovable cultural relics in the third national cultural relics survey.
4. Around 4:30 PM, depart for Changting Ancient City (approximately 40 minutes by car) and stroll along the ancient city wall, which boasts over 1,200 years of history. Built along the Ting River, the wall arcs from east to west, forming a city nestled between the mountains and the river. Stretching for over 5,000 meters, it offers the most breathtaking scenery in Changting. (P.S.: The night view here is also stunning. The red lanterns depicting the various surnames on the wall, set against the backdrop of the Ting River, are a truly breathtaking sight in Changting. Don't miss it!)
Peitian specialties: Bun cakes, hot pot with nine ingredients, Doutang, white-cut rabbit, white duck, Yang tofu, Wenpen meat, Xuanhe rice jelly, salt and wine chicken
Tingzhou specialties: pickled pork kidney, taro dumplings, boiled mandarin duck, boiled chicken, fried potato cakes, longevity duck congee, Hakka rice wine
Day 4 Changting → Changting Museum → Diantou Street → Dafudi → Baxi Hall → Longyan High-speed Railway Station
All day
1. After waking up naturally, visit Changting, the "World Hakka Capital," the first city inhabited by Hakka people and also a revolutionary base. Experience the Hakka spirit at the Changting Museum (formerly the "Tingzhou Examination Hall," the venue for the imperial examinations during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the former site of the Fujian Soviet Government).
2. Visit the Fujian Carved Building [Dafudi] and experience the daily life of Changting residents. The [Eight Joys Pavilion] embodies the essence of Tingzhou Hakka culture. Centered around the Eight Joys of the Hakka people, it fully showcases the traditional customs and etiquette of Changting people in celebrating these Eight Joys. Other highlights include Tingzhou-style folk activities such as the Spring Field Festival, the Hundred Pots Banquet, paper-carved dragon lanterns, welcoming flower lanterns, ancient rituals, and straw dragon performances, all of which are rich in Hakka characteristics.
3. At noon, stroll along Diantou Ancient Street, searching for delicious food along the street. It's like stepping into the "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" painting. Diantou, in Hakka, means a good market. Here, unlike those cookie-cutter tourist souvenir shops, there are more than 150 traditional handicrafts, many of which are century-old shops: old noodle shops, tofu shops, blacksmith shops, barber shops, tailors, etc.
4. In the afternoon, we will take a bus back to Longyan and say goodbye all the way until we arrive at Longyan Station. The journey takes about 2 hours. It is recommended to buy a bus after 15:00
Tingzhou specialties: fried potato cakes, dustpan cakes, lantern cakes, boiled large intestine, chicken intestine noodles, fish, steamed pork with rice flour, roasted large pieces, Hetian chicken, Phoenix drunken wine, first-class tofu, pearl balls
If Baxi Hall and Dafudi are temporarily closed due to business transformation, they will be replaced by Wolong Academy and Tingzhou Confucian Temple.
Wolong Academy | Following the layout of southern Chinese gardens, the main buildings include a guesthouse, library, lecture hall, ci poetry hall, and the Chenglong Academy. Water from the Xixi River is introduced from the northwest to form the Yuechi water system. The surrounding area is decorated with pavilions, rockery, streams, garden landscapes, corridors, and supporting facilities, creating a cultural space that is ideal for viewing, visiting, and appreciating, with an ancient charm.
Tingzhou Confucian Temple | Built in the third year of the Shaoxing reign of the Song Dynasty (133 AD), the Tingzhou Confucian Temple was established during the Anti-Japanese War. Xiamen University relocated to Changting during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the university headquarters was located in the Dacheng Hall of the Confucian Temple. Currently, it comprises the Pan Pond, an arch bridge, a ceremonial gate, a Wenhui Hall, a memorial hall dedicated to the emperor, a shrine dedicated to prominent officials and local sages, and the Dacheng Hall.
