Day 1: All over the country → / → All day gathering in Nanchang
All day
Today is the gathering day. Tourists from all over the country can go to Nanchang, Jiangxi to gather and register.
Arrive at your designated hotel and check in by submitting "China-TravelNote + Name." Check-in is generally after 2:00 PM. (If you arrive early, you can leave your luggage at the hotel. Early check-in is subject to availability.) Afterwards, you'll have free time to explore Nanchang! After a long journey, we recommend resting early or exploring nearby attractions to experience the charm of the Gan capital.
Recommended things to do in Nanchang
Tengwang Pavilion: "The setting sun and the lone wild goose fly together, and the autumn water and the sky are the same color." When you come to Nanchang, you must go to Tengwang Pavilion to watch a sunset and appreciate the night view of Tengwang Pavilion.
August 1st Uprising Memorial Tower: Commemorates the Nanchang Uprising. It is very close to the Jiangxi Provincial Art Museum and can be visited together.
Wanshou Palace: Nanchang's ancient streets and alleys offer free ancient style performances unique to Jiangnan at night - bamboo flute, erhu and pipa are played in turn, on the second floor of Kuncha.
Recommended Gan cuisine
Must-visit food streets: Jewelry Street, Sheep Street, and Toad Street
Nanchang delicacies: The product manager's dream and highly recommended braised pig heart and lungs! Nanchang mixed noodles, clay pot soup, preserved egg and meat pie soup, white sugar cake, Nanchang boiled dishes, Nanchang stir-fried dishes... all for just 3.5 yuan.
There's so much to eat! Spicy food lovers shouldn't miss Nanchang's delicious food – you'll be thrilled with it in no time. Tourists who don't like spicy food should definitely ask for "less spicy" or "slightly spicy"!
Day 2 Nanchang → Donglin Temple → Lushan → Jiujiupan Ancient Trail → Guling Town
08:30
After breakfast at the hotel, we set off for Donglin Temple in Lushan Mountain, a 2-hour drive away.
·morning
Arrive at Xilin Temple and Donglin Temple.
Xilin Temple, a temple where time fades. Su Dongpo's poem "Inscription on the Wall of Xilin Temple" made Xilin Temple famous: "From the side, a mountain becomes a peak; from the front, a peak. Distance and height vary. I cannot see the true face of Mount Lu, because I am within it." It took 18 years for Donglin Temple to be founded, 700 years for Su Dongpo to write his poem, and another 1,000 years for today's encounter. Unlike Donglin Temple, Xilin Temple, just a mile away, is remarkably quiet. Entering the temple gates, a thousand years pass by, as if the ancients were here only a moment ago.
Donglin Temple, a center of Southern Buddhism and the birthplace of the Pure Land School of Buddhism, became one of China's eight great Buddhist temples after the Sui Dynasty. The Pure Land of Donglin Temple, the poetry wall of Xilin Temple, and the peach blossoms of Dalin Temple are the treasures of the "Three Great Temples of Lushan Mountain." Today, Xilin Temple remains silent, Dalin Temple has fallen into decline, but Donglin Temple remains prosperous, with a constant stream of volunteers and pilgrims.
At noon, you can enjoy a vegetarian meal at Donglin Temple. There's no entrance fee, and even the vegetarian meals are free. However, please be mindful of food waste. So, be sure to think carefully before eating, and avoid waste. Take only as much as you can eat! Please remain silent while dining.
·afternoon
Go to the starting point of Lushan Mountain and climb to the top of Lushan Mountain along the Jiujiu Pan Ancient Road
Jiujiupan Ancient Trail is a less popular hiking trail in Lushan Mountain. Named for its ninety-nine winding bends, it's also known as the Yangming Ancient Trail. This trail is easier to climb than the Haohan Slope at Lushan's north gate, offering a more established and safe route, making it a perfect choice for a holiday hike. The hike takes an estimated two hours to reach the main scenic area at the summit, making it a light outdoor adventure. The entire ascent is three kilometers, with a 700-meter gain.
Note: If there's a sudden downpour, heavy rainfall forecast, or the weather isn't suitable for the trail, we'll use the cable car to ensure everyone's safety. Lines for the cable car can be long during holidays! The fee is 75 yuan per adult and 35 yuan per child (1.2-1.4 meters).
After going up the mountain, we will follow the west line of Lushan Mountain through the Fairy Cave, Flower Path, Ruqin Lake, and finally arrive at the hotel in Guling Town.
【Xianren Cave】
"Nature created a fairy cave, and the infinite scenery lies on the dangerous peaks"—this is a poem written by Chairman Mao Zedong at the Fairy Cave. The cave is home to many wild macaques. If you encounter one, please protect your personal belongings and refrain from teasing or feeding the wild animals.
【Flower Path】
The Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi, while serving as Sima of Jiangzhou (present-day Jiujiang), once visited Mount Lushan. It was late spring, and the peach blossoms at the foot of the mountain had already fallen, while the blossoms here were in full bloom. Inspired by this, he composes the poem: "The fragrant flowers of April fade on earth, while the peach blossoms at the mountain temple begin to bloom. I long for spring's return, unable to find it, having stumbled upon this place." Later generations dubbed this spot the "Bai Sima Flower Path," and the Bai Juyi Thatched Cottage exhibition hall is also built within the garden. Upon exiting the flower path, one enters the Splendid Valley, where one experiences both the elegance of "picking chrysanthemums beneath the eastern fence, leisurely gazing at the southern mountains" and the grandeur of "watching the majestic pines at dusk, the boundless scenery on the perilous peaks." It is truly worth exploring and savoring.
·night
We arrived in Guling Town and checked into the hotel
Guling Town, nestled on the slopes of Mount Lushan, is known as the "Mountain City in the Clouds." Standing 1,164 meters above sea level, it is surrounded by mountains on three sides and faces a valley on one side, boasting a unique geographical location and stunning natural scenery. Commercial activity is flourishing, making it akin to the ordinary towns below. In the evening, explore the streets of Guling Town and visit the Lushan Love Cinema to see a screening of the film "Lushan Love."
3rd Tianguling Town → Lushan West Line → Lushan Middle Line
·morning
We had breakfast at the hotel. The advantage of staying in Guling Town is that we can enjoy the quietness of Lushan Mountain in the morning before the big crowds go up the mountain. We then visited the remaining attractions on the west line.
【Power station dam】
The Lushan Power Station Dam has two waterfalls in the Kuanglu Waterfall Group that are characterized by their beauty and slenderness - the Huanglongtan Waterfall and the Wulongtan Waterfall.
【Lulin Lake】
Lulin Lake is surrounded by mountains, lush pines and cypresses, and has beautiful scenery. It is also the filming location where the hero and heroine of the movie "Lush Mountain Love" meet and swim and hug each other for the last time.
·afternoon
In the afternoon, we visited the cultural buildings along the Lushan Central Line.
【Meilu Villa】
Meilu Villa is a unique cultural landscape in Lushan. It shows one aspect of the turbulent modern history of China. It was once the place where Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling lived together.
Lushan Conference Site
The Lushan Conference Site has a unique style, cleverly combining Chinese and Western architectural art, and blending with the natural charm of Lushan. It is a model of modern architecture in Lushan.
【Lushan Museum】
The basic exhibitions of Lushan Museum include humanistic paintings such as "Lushan Villa Cultural Relics Exhibition" and "Five Hundred Arhats Picture", geological and geographical exhibitions such as "Lushan Geological Evolution History Exhibition" and "Lushan Topographic Model", and cultural relics from the revolutionary period.
·night
In the evening, depending on the time of day and weather conditions, we will take a sightseeing bus to [Xiaotianchi] to enjoy the sunset.
Please note that the sightseeing bus may stop running after dark that night, and you will need to walk back to your accommodation.
Day 4 → Lushan East Line → Lushan East Gate → Hotel at the foot of the mountain
·morning
Take a sightseeing bus to the east line of Lushan Mountain and walk down the mountain
【Including Pokou】
Hanpokou gets its name from the huge gully between Hanpo Ridge and the opposite Hanyang Peak, which looks like a mouth that draws all the water from Poyang Lake. Climb up to Hanpo Pavilion and gaze out over the surrounding scenery, taking in the panoramic views of the lake and mountains.
【Wulao Peak】
The peak of Wulao Peak is divided into five parallel peaks by a pass. Looking up, they look like five old men sitting on the ground. Therefore, people call these five peaks "Wulao Peak". Wulao Peak is the best place to view the sea of clouds on Mount Lu.
·afternoon
Please prepare your own lunch for lunch
After visiting Wulao Peak, we continued to descend the mountain from Sandiequan in the afternoon and arrived at the east gate of the scenic area.
There are a total of 1,300 steps from Sandiequan Station to the Sandiequan trailhead at the foot of the mountain. The Sandiequan trailhead is about 3 kilometers away from the east gate of Lushan Scenic Area.
The hike down the mountain does not include tickets for the cable car from San Diequan Station to the main San Diequan scenic area (35 yuan per adult, 30 yuan per child 1.2-1.4 meters) or the sightseeing bus from the San Diequan trailhead to the East Gate of Lushan Scenic Area (10 yuan per trip). The cable car reduces the staircase distance by about one-third and can be purchased by tourists.
【San Diequan】
Each tier of the Sandiequan waterfall has its own unique landscape: the upper tier resembles drifting clouds, the middle tier resembles broken rocks and ice, and the lower tier resembles a jade dragon swimming in a pool, creating an extremely spectacular scene. In the right season, such as late spring and early summer, the water volume is high and the waterfall is particularly spectacular; in midsummer and severe winter, although the water volume is reduced, it is still beautiful.
·night
After arriving at the east gate of the scenic area, we took a bus to Poyang Lake Luoxingdun to watch the sunset over Poyang Lake Caohai
Luoxingdun is a small rocky island several feet high. Surrounded by water during the flood season, it is accessible on foot during the dry season. Construction began on Luoxingdun during the Song Dynasty, with pavilions and towers added during the Ming Dynasty. Due to the vicissitudes of time, little remains, save for a memorial archway, a Zen temple, an observation deck, and an ancient pagoda. The island, half-hidden in the water or exposed on the shore after the water recedes, fluctuates with the annual rise and fall of the Poyang Lake water level. It is a renowned geological wonder and tourist attraction in the Poyang Lake area.
Overnight at a hotel in nearby Lushan City
Day 5 Hotel → Poyang Lake → Donglin Giant Buddha → Nanchang
·morning
After breakfast at the hotel, we headed to Poyang Lake Caohai at 8:00 AM to check out the popular shipwreck, Bluevis, on Xiaohongshu.
Along the waterway lies the beautiful Poyang Lake Grass Sea, a great spot for watching migratory birds. There are birdwatching spots where you can observe them up close. Photography enthusiasts can bring their telephoto lenses and experience capturing birds in flight. The Poyang Lake bed is exposed during the dry season, but is covered by a sea of grass in autumn and winter.
Around 10:00 AM, we headed to the Donglin Giant Buddha, a symbol of the birthplace of Pure Land Buddhism (Donglin Temple) and the tallest statue of Amitabha Buddha in China and the world. At the summit, we received a 20-yuan meal voucher, which we used to dine at a vegetarian restaurant at the foot of the mountain. We also paid an additional 9 yuan for self-service food.
·afternoon
We depart for Nanchang at 13:30, arriving at Nanchang Changbei International Airport around 14:30 and disbanding at Nanchang West Railway Station at 15:30. Traffic jams are common during holidays, so it is recommended to purchase a ticket for the return trip to Nanchang West Railway Station and the airport after 17:00.
