Explore the secrets of southern Zhejiang
by PEYTON LEONARD
Mar 19, 2025
[Explore the secrets of southern Zhejiang] Unlock the ancient village of Songyang in three days and two nights, the last secret place in Jiangnan that 99% of people don’t know
📸Cover photo: Panoramic view of Chenjiapu Village shrouded in mist, with rammed earth houses scattered among the terraced fields and sea of clouds
### 🌄 Trip Highlights
✅ Check in at the "Last Secret Place in Jiangnan" certified by National Geographic
✅ Live in an ancient village of Ming and Qing Dynasties on the cliff, with sea of clouds just outside the window
✅ Hike along the Millennium Ancient Trail and encounter the real-life version of The Wizard of Oz
✅ Taste the intangible cultural heritage braised salt chicken + century-old water-pulled noodles
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### 📅 Day 1: Arrival through time and space
📍 Transportation: High-speed rail to Lishui Station → rent a car for 1.5 hours to Songyang (SUV is recommended)
📌 15:00 Yangjiatang Village
- Must-see photo of the "Golden Potala Palace": a rammed earth building complex surrounded by 20 ancient camphor trees at sunset
- Experience point: Old tea farmers teach how to make Dragon Boat Festival tea
📌 18:30 Check in to Feichunji B&B
- 270° Canyon View Room, a wonderful collision of smart home and rammed earth wall
### 📅 Day 2: Walking in the Clouds
📌 8:00 Chenjiapu Village
- Pioneer Bookstore Cliff Branch: The end of the bookshelf is a rolling sea of clouds
- Tips: Buy postcards and get a unique landscape stamp
📌 14:00 Cycling along Songyin River
- Rental location: Dushan Inn (the building itself is a work of art)
📌 20:00 Ming and Qing Old Street Night Banquet
- Baixian Noodle House: Water-pulled noodles cooked on a wood stove + wine lees and large intestine topping
### 📅 Day 3: Searching for secret places
📌 9:00 Explore Youtian Village
- Follow the forest ranger to find the 1,800-year-old yew tree (photo: the tree hole can accommodate three people for a photo)
- Hidden gameplay: adopt a flower field and watch your own flower field remotely
📌 13:00 Must-do before returning:
✔️ Cycling in Damushan Tea Garden (free! The bamboo sea and tea fields are super healing)
✔️ Take along a souvenir: Ancient method of smoking and sun-drying red tobacco (intangible cultural heritage craft)
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### 💡 Practical Tips
🚗 Transportation: 3 hours by car in Hangzhou / 2.5 hours by high-speed rail in Shanghai
📅 Best season: May-June sea of clouds season, September-October autumn sunning season
💰 Cost reference: 800 yuan per person/2 nights (including special B&B)
⚠️ Tips for avoiding pitfalls: Be careful when walking on ancient trails after rain, and some villages require advance reservations
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### 🌟 Real experience
"When I wrote the postcard in the Pioneer Bookstore, the mountain wind suddenly lifted the clouds and mist, revealing the twinkling lights in the valley. At that moment, I suddenly understood the Peach Blossom Spring described by Tao Yuanming."
Post by PEYTON LEONARD | Mar 19, 2025























