Shiyan Wellness Vacation Journey — A Mind and Body Healing Map Across Eight Scenic Stops

Stop 1: Yunshui Fangtan — Deep Breathing by the Du River
In the early morning, Fangtan Township is shrouded in mist, where the moisture from the Du River and mountain negative oxygen ions blend into a natural oxygen bar. Jog along the 7.8-kilometer waterfront trail and spot egrets flying over thousands of acres of ecological forest. The newly built floating tea room hangs over the water, where visitors can sit cross-legged on cushions and experience mindful meditation accompanied by the sound of flowing water. Local villagers have developed a "plant dyeing" workshop using isatis root and mugwort to make scarves, wearing the essence of the wild mountains.

Stop 2: Huanglong Huilong Resort — Fusion of Hot Springs and Daoist Medicine
The natural hot springs in Huilong Village are rich in metasilicic acid, with 42°C water steaming mistily among bamboo groves. Here, the unique "Wudang Daoist Medical Hot Spring Therapy" is offered, with medicinal herbs like seven-leaf flower and octagonal lotus floating in the herbal bath. Visitors first receive pulse diagnosis from an on-site Daoist doctor, then choose the corresponding "Ziwu Liuzhu" time slot for bathing. At night, the starry sky bath area’s light installations adjust water temperature according to constellations, achieving healing in harmony with the cosmos.

Stop 3: Berlin Zhiyu Xuan Manor — Forest Healing Base
Covering 200 acres, the manor is like a three-dimensional botanical encyclopedia, with 30 medicinal plant zones marked by QR codes that provide explanations of traditional Chinese medicine properties. The German-imported "Forest Therapy Course" is highly praised: participants are blindfolded to touch tree bark, walk barefoot on humus soil, and complete a "five senses awakening" training under professional guidance. The treehouse guesthouse terrace faces a thousand-year-old ginkgo tree; in autumn, golden leaves drift into the room’s soaking pool, creating a moving oil painting.

Stop 4: Berlin Qinjiaping — High Mountain Tea Field Yoga
At 800 meters elevation, Qinjiaping tea fields are perfect for morning exercise. Yoga instructors lead students at sunrise to position themselves on the terraces, with the "Tea Fragrance Flow" series of movements incorporating tea-picking gestures, allowing the body to flow with the mountain’s contours. After class, participate in the intangible cultural heritage "Embroidery Alive" experience, embroidering tea leaf meridians into sachets with colorful threads to carry the earth’s energy with you.

Stop 5: Xigou Xiaowujia Garden — Edible Landscape and Art Therapy
Designed by a Taiwanese team, this garden resembles a palette, with edible roses and perilla arranged in a Taiji pattern. In the "Horticultural Therapy" workshop, visitors weave lavender wreaths and print rosemary on cloth bags. The most special event is the evening "Land Theater," where local elders perform the creation myth "The Legend of Darkness" with shadow puppetry. The audience sits on coriander field ridges, with the subtle fragrance floating along with the story.

Stop 6: Longquan Temple Tourist Area — Zen Tea Meditation Retreat
The millennium-old Longquan Temple has newly opened a "Zen Meditation Center." The monks lead a unique "walking meditation" activity: barefoot walking slowly along mossy paths, pausing every seven steps to listen to the spring water, corresponding to the Buddhist scripture story "Seven Steps to Lotus Birth." The tea room serves homegrown Longjing tea in cups made with Wudang kiln celadon glaze, whose crackled ice pattern resembles traditional landscape brushwork.

Stop 7: Bailongtan Scenic Area — Cold Spring Activation Therapy
The 108 waterfall pools in Taozi Village form a natural cold spring bath, with water temperatures ranging from 18-22°C year-round. German wellness experts designed the "Hot and Cold Alternating Therapy" practiced here: first, impact acupoints under mountain spring waterfalls, then enter a cave sauna, repeating three times before drinking herbal tea. The local Xixiangli guesthouse offers medicinal hot pot featuring Danjiangkou fish head and Shiyan specialty gastrodia, delicious and calming.

Stop 8: Niutoushan Forest Park — Forest Medicine Evidence Base
As Hubei’s first "Forest Therapy Certification Base," it features Japanese-certified therapeutic trails. The camphor forest along the way releases phytoncides, with monitoring screens showing negative oxygen ion concentrations reaching 36,000/cm³. A research team developed the "Forest Sleep Pod" suspended among the trees, playing heartbeat-frequency white noise inside to help urban insomniacs regain baby-like sleep.

Wellness Tips

· Recommended treatment duration: 3 days for basic healing (Fangtan - Huilong - Qinjiaping), 7 days for deep conditioning (adding Zhiyu Xuan - Bailongtan - Niutoushan)
· Featured activities: Daoist medical hot springs, hot and cold alternating therapy, forest sleep pods, plant dyeing workshops
· Best seasons: Spring and autumn for outdoor healing, summer recommended for Bailongtan cold springs, winter best for Huilong hot springs

This wellness route is like Shiyan’s mountain and water meridian map—from hot springs to activate blood, forest to cleanse lungs, Zen meditation to calm the mind, and artistic expression—each step awakens the primal connection between body and nature.

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