Day 1 Shanghai → Biyan Ancient Road → Taihu Ancient Town (changed to Nanxun Ancient Town on rainy days) → Shanghai
All day
Meet at the designated China-TravelNote location at 10:15 AM and sign in. Depart at 10:30 AM, enjoy interactive activities and itinerary briefings on board, and have fun all the way!
The 1.30-2.12 batch will depart one hour earlier at 9:15-9:30 to prevent traffic jams during holidays that may affect the normal evening performances. Please be advised
Arrive at Biyan Temple, the starting point of the hike, around 13:00
Biyan Temple is a long-renowned Buddhist holy place in Changxing area. It has cliff carvings of "Empty the World" and "Cold Spring", Longhua Temple, Xiang Yu's horse-riding ridge, horse drinking pool, horse-tying wood, sword-grinding stone and other relics.
After warming up, we prepared for the hike. We hiked up the Biyan Ancient Trail behind the temple to a ridgeline lined with a vast array of windmills. This ridgeline is exposed to the sun, so wear sunscreen. The Biyan Ancient Trail traverses Bian Mountain, 521.5 meters above sea level and a remnant of the East Tianmu Mountain range. We climbed to the summit of Nanyun Peak and gazed upon the majestic expanse of 36,000 hectares of Taihu Lake. The wind blew, and the distant mountains and sailboats seemed to be right before our knees. The 72 gullies of the East and West rippled into the distance, looming in the distance. Accompanied by the sound of windmills, we descended the mountain to our starting point. The descent was both challenging and exciting, but the steep slopes demanded careful attention. Hold onto a rope and bring gloves. We made our way back to our starting point.
16:30 Walk or take a bus to Taihu Ancient Town, 3 kilometers away, and explore the town at your own pace
Taihu Ancient Town is a man-made complex of newly constructed, ancient-town-style buildings. It's home to a diverse array of delicious food and exciting interactive street performances, creating endless fun. While the town offers a variety of restaurants and shops, the value for money is relatively low. We recommend bringing your own food and opting for chain restaurants if dining within the town. Various performances are also held in the evenings, though they may be canceled in case of rain. For details, please check the official Taihu Ancient Town performance schedule.
For the evening performance, please arrive at your preferred viewing location in advance to avoid missing out on the iron flowers during peak hours. Also, please keep a safe distance while watching to avoid being splashed by iron filings.
A brief guide to performances (please refer to the official performance schedule of Taihu Ancient Town):
18:00~18:12 Watch the iron flower at Lei Yue Mun
19:00~19:05 Watch the fire pot performance at Lei Yue Mun
After watching the performance at 19:30, the tour leader will remind everyone to return to the bus and arrive back in Shanghai before 21:30
Special Note:
The Taihu Ancient Town performances were cancelled due to rain! To prevent disappointment, we will adjust the itinerary in case of rain: the Biyan Ancient Trail hike remains unchanged, but the Taihu Ancient Town itinerary will be changed to a visit to Huzhou-Nanxun Ancient Town.
Nanxun Ancient Town, nestled in the heart of the beautiful and fertile Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou Plain, is one of the "Six Ancient Towns of Jiangnan" with a rich cultural heritage and well-preserved heritage. Known as the "cover of the Six Ancient Towns of Jiangnan," it is the only national 5A-level scenic spot in Huzhou City and one of the earliest Jiangnan ancient towns in China to be inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage List. Some say, "All ancient towns are the same, but Nanxun is very different." Find out what makes it so special!
After the hike, you will arrive at Nanxun Ancient Town around 17:30 and depart for Shanghai around 20:00, arriving back in Shanghai before 22:00. (Due to the uncertainty of rain, the itinerary will be adjusted according to the actual situation.)
Registration means you accept the backup itinerary plan for rainy days.
