Three-day, two-night trip to Lai'an, Anhui, with a budget of 3,000 yuan

📍Destination: Lai'an County, Chuzhou, Anhui Province
💰Budget: 3,000 RMB (including transportation, accommodation, meals, and entrance fees)
⏰Duration: 3 days, 2 nights
🌤️Best seasons: April-May (for rapeseed blossom fields), September-October (for autumn rice harvest)

📅 Day 1: Nanjing → Lai'an, Bailu Island Ecological Tour
🚗 Transportation: Drive/high-speed rail from Nanjing to Chuzhou → taxi to Lai'an (150 RMB per person)
🏨 Accommodation: Bailu Island B&B (300 RMB per night, Bailu Island Resort recommended)
🌿 Morning: Bailu Island National Wetland Park

Entrance fee: 40 RMB
Things to do:

Take the wooden plank road to see egrets (best time early in the morning). The autumn reed marshes offer stunning photos.

Rent a bicycle around the lake (20 RMB/hour) and encounter a flock of wild ducks.

🍲 Lunch: Homemade clay pot fish

Freshly caught fish from the reservoir + wood-fired flatbread (50 yuan per person).

🏞️ Afternoon: Shunshan Forest Park

Free: Hike through the pristine secondary forest and explore the stone carvings depicting the legend of "Emperor Shun Ploughing the Fields."

🌃 Evening: Starry sky barbecue at the B&B

Optional experience (80 yuan per person), paired with local rice wine.

📅 Day 2: Eastern Anhui Red Memories + Rural Picking
🚗 Chartered car: Lai'an → Banta Town (round-trip 150 yuan)
🏨 Accommodation: Lai'an County Hotel (200 yuan per night)
🏛️ Morning: Banta Defense Battle Memorial Hall

Free: Learn about Eastern Anhui's anti-Japanese war history and climb the Martyrs' Tower for a panoramic view of the hilly countryside.

🍓 Noon: Picking in the Fields (Seasonal Limited)

Strawberry picking in April and May (30 yuan/basket), sweet potato digging in September and October (20 yuan/bag).

🍜 Lunch: Half-tower cold noodles + roujiamo (Chinese roujiamo)

Local food stall (20 yuan per person), the chili oil is fragrant but not too pungent.

🌾 Afternoon: Yangshan Rice Terraces

Free: Hike to the observation deck and take photos of the cascading rice paddies (especially beautiful in the golden autumn).

🍢 Evening: Lai'an Night Market (Butterfly Square)

Try fried stinky dried tofu and glutinous rice lotus root (30 yuan per person).

📅 Day 3: Pray at Peacock Temple + Return
🚗 Transportation: Taxi to the attraction (50 yuan)
🦚 Morning: Peacock Temple

Admission: 20 yuan
Visit the ancient Tang Dynasty temple, watch the free-range peacocks spread their feathers, and pray for "safety and blessings" (10 yuan per peacock).

🍚 Lunch: Leiguan Pressed Duck

Laian specialty, vacuum-packed half a duck (40 yuan) with rice.

🛍️ Afternoon: Return (you may also visit Chuzhou's Langya Mountain along the way)

💰 Budget Details (Two people travel for a better deal)

Items
Expense (per person)

Transportation (round trip + local activities)
600 yuan

Accommodation (2 nights)
500 yuan

Food and Beverages
400 yuan

Entrance fees + activities
200 yuan

Shopping (local specialties)
200 yuan

Total
1900-2500 yuan

🌟 Travel Tips

Transportation Tips: Nanjing to Lai'an is only a 1.5-hour drive, making it ideal for self-driving; taking the high-speed rail to Chuzhou Station is more convenient, so taking a taxi is more efficient.

Must-Bring Items: Mosquito repellent (wetlands are prone to mosquitoes) and a sun hat (unshaded fields). Hidden gameplay: The morning mist and sunrise on Egret Island are super healing, wait for the photography spot before 6 o'clock.