I’ve been to Xinyang three times, and my spending habits have completely changed.

🌟 【Budget Planning】

💰 Around 800+ RMB per person for 3 days and 2 nights (student-friendly!)

✅ Tickets: 200 RMB (combo tickets are more cost-effective)

✅ Accommodation: 200 RMB/night (mix of homestays + boutique hotels)

✅ Food: 150 RMB/day (slurping noodles and eating fish is a blast)

✅ Transportation: 150 RMB (city taxis + direct shuttle to attractions)

📸 【4 Must-Visit Attractions】

1️⃣ Jigong Mountain · Cloudy Summer Resort

✨ Highlights: Century-old international villas hidden in the sea of clouds, cable car overlooking the Henan-Hubei border, and the refreshing stream in Changsheng Valley!

📌 Tips: Go up before 7:00 AM to skip the line, wear Hanfu to shoot vintage Republic of China-style photos at “Yilu” — absolutely stunning~ 🎫 Ticket 60 RMB

2️⃣ Nanwan Lake · Thousand Islands Tea Fragrance Tour

🚤 Activities: Take a boat island-hopping tour → pick autumn tea on Tea Island (experience tea frying + take home your own Maojian!) → watch egrets fly on Bird Island → feed cute monkeys on Monkey Island

🔥 Hidden gem: Peacock Island picnic (ticket 35 RMB), lotus flowers bloom on the lakeshore until mid-September!

3️⃣ Wenxin Tea Village · Immersive Tea Universe

🌱 Experience: Free entry to the top of vast tea fields! Wear tea-picking clothes and carry a bamboo basket to be a tea farmer for a day, enjoy free pre-rain Maojian tea at the mountaintop tea pavilion, and shoot stunning “tea mountain steps” photos from the west side of the viewing platform!

4️⃣ Shengli Road Pedestrian Street · Tea Tech Night Carnival

🌃 Night highlights:

✔️ 7:30 PM “Window of Xinyang” 3D light show (tea mountains, sea of clouds + crested ibis flying effects)

✔️ AR floor tile tea-picking game → redeem Maojian tea-themed ice cream

✔️ Try the “Fat Laoji Hot Dry Noodles,” a dark-style hot dry noodle with Maojian tea powder that’s addictively fragrant!

🚗 【3 Days 2 Nights Itinerary】

Day 1: Oxygen in the tea mountains → Sunset on the lake islands

▪ Morning: Jigong Mountain cable car → explore Yilu villas → wade in Changsheng Valley

▪ Afternoon: Nanwan Lake boat tour → tea frying on Tea Island → egret watching on Bird Island

▪ Overnight: Nanwan Lake homestay “Zhenxi Secret Realm,” open your window to the starry river!

Day 2: Tea picking heritage → Old town nightlife

▪ Morning: Tea picking and making at Wenxin Tea Village → tea tasting on the mountaintop

▪ Afternoon: Haotang Village for Hui-style lotus pond photos (free!) → relax and enjoy rice fields at Jianshan Coffee

▪ Night: Eat Maojian hot dry noodles + watch the light show on Shengli Road Pedestrian Street

Day 3: Forest hiking → Carb feast

▪ Bordeng Forest Park stream tracing → check in at “Bald Cypress Secret Realm”

▪ Before heading back, rush to Shenbei Road Night Market: Luoshan large intestine soup + clay pot braised rice + stone jelly noodles, Xinyang’s cuisine will win your heart!

🏡 【Accommodation Highlights】

✔️ Nanwan Lake top pick → Zhenxi Secret Realm (180 RMB per person, floor-to-ceiling windows with full tea mountain views)

✔️ City cost-effective option → Atour Hotel (next to high-speed rail station, 200+ RMB including breakfast)

✔️ Summer resort must-go → Jigong Mountain Xiaoyao Palace (renovated century-old building, watch the sea of clouds in the morning!)

🍜 【Food Radar】

🔥 Breakfast carb trio

▫ Street hot dry noodles + spicy pepper soup (Victory Road “Old Pan’s” with sesame sauce is super fragrant)

▫ Crispy flatbread with braised egg (small stall on Shihe South Road, 5 RMB fills you up)

🔥 Must-try main meals

▪ Gushi goose hotpot (milky broth + tofu skin, 40 RMB per person)

▪ Nanwan fish two ways (fish head stewed with tofu + braised fish body, finger-licking fresh!)

▪ Maojian in dishes: Maojian shrimp, tea-scented clay pot meat (exclusive to Wenxin Tea Village restaurant)

💡 Pitfall Prevention Guide

⚠️ Don’t buy combo tickets for Nanwan Lake! Just buy one-way boat tickets (60 RMB), Peacock Island can be visited separately

⚠️ Big temperature difference on Jigong Mountain morning and night! Bring a light jacket + mosquito repellent

⚠️ For tea picking experience, go to Wenxin Tea Village (free), don’t be fooled by roadside tea gardens charging fees!