Day 1 Shanghai → Shengzhou → Genglou Ancient Road → Nanshan Lake → Shanghai
All day
Meet at the designated location of China-TravelNote between 7:00-7:15 in the morning and depart, with itinerary explanations, interactive introductions, and laughter along the way.
Arrive at 10:30-11:00, warm up and depart.
Climb the reservoir dam and follow the ancient path up. Along the way, towering ancient trees and red maples, covered with fallen leaves, further highlight the vicissitudes of the ancient path. Then you'll arrive at the Guimen Genglou, a seemingly unassuming place that harbors hidden treasures.
From here you can overlook Nanshan Lake. We walked along the hiking trail to the pavilion, overlooking Nanshan Lake, feeling the beautiful scenery of the lake and mountains, and walked through the tea garden to feel the fragrance of tea.
As the road construction at 2km on the Genglou Ancient Trail has not yet been completed, a small part of the ascent requires the use of hands and feet, so it is recommended to bring your own trekking poles and gloves.
Interested parties can visit the Lumen Academy, which is located nearby. Around 900 years ago, the renowned scholar Lü Guishu founded the academy, and his friend Zhu Xi also visited to lecture and discuss philosophy. Here, you can experience the academy's rich cultural heritage.
12:00-13:00 We start lunch at the right time. You can bring your own dry food or order a bowl of Shengzhou famous snack - tofu soup rice cake in the village.
After lunch, we continued our journey, passing through villages with curling smoke and walking through terraced tea gardens. We followed the footsteps of our ancestors and relived the charm of the ancient road that has been passed down through the years.
The afternoon hike was delightful, weaving through the thousand-acre tea fields, a pleasant and green experience. Across the tea fields, we encountered a mysterious reservoir and a vast expanse of fiery redwoods. The tea fields, reservoir, and redwoods complemented each other beautifully.
In November, the pond cypress trees are a dazzling display of red and green, while in December, they are a dazzling red.
After taking all the beautiful photos, we walked back to the main road where the bus had been waiting for a long time.
Get on the bus and head back to the city around 16:00
We arrived in Shanghai around 19:30. Everyone was reluctant to leave, kissed goodbye with tears, and made an appointment to see each other next time.
Special note: This route has rich autumn scenery. Depending on the weather each year, you can experience different autumn colors if you go at different times. Generally speaking, the viewing period for redwoods is from November to mid-December. The pond cypress is red and green in November and bright red in December.
