Yancheng, February Reverse Tourism

🌊 Who understands the joy of having the whole mudflat to yourself in Yancheng?
(My poor friend who went to Sanya during the Lunar New Year, look at me enjoying the empty city and laughing like a goose 🦆)

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🌿 Why Yancheng?
👉🏻 2-hour high-speed train from Shanghai, prices are 1/3 of Suzhou and Hangzhou
👉🏻 One of only two intertidal wetlands in the world (the other is in South Korea)
👉🏻 Hotel prices drop to 150+/night after the Lunar New Year, buy-one-get-one-free scenic spot tickets

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🚗 Transportation and accommodation tips
▪️ High-speed train tip: Buy a ticket to "Yancheng Dafeng Station", take a taxi for 15 yuan to Holland Flower Sea (tulips start to bloom at the end of February 🌷)
▪️ Accommodation tip: Yellow Sea Forest Park cabin (400+/night including breakfast for two and tickets), open the window to see elk walking around, more healing than Animal Crossing
▪️ Reverse tourism tip: Avoid the crowds at the Red-crowned Crane Reserve, go to 📍Dafeng Port Zoo to see bowing elk (5 yuan/bag of carrots to feed them)

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📸 Exclusive photo spots
✅ Tiaozini Wetland (free | go at low tide)
→ Bring salt! Write "I was here" on the mudflat (the tide will erase it in 10 minutes)
→ See the "tidal tree" spectacle at 3 pm, drone view looks like the earth's blood vessels

✅ Anfeng Ancient Town (free | 10 times fewer people than Zhouzhuang)
→ Buy rice wine from the grandma sunbathing at the entrance of Wu's Ancestral Hall (5 yuan/bowl with traditional blue and white porcelain)
→ Go to the tea house converted from a century-old pawnshop, the owner will teach you how to play Yancheng leaf cards 🃏

✅ Water Street Lantern Festival (until February 24)
→ Don't blink during the 7 pm Phoenix Flying performance! After the show, squeeze to the back door of the stage to buy lotus root balls (brown sugar flavor beats the scenic spot store)

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🍜 Local food guide
🔥 Farmer Street Egg Pancake (starts at 3 pm)
→ Add kelp shreds + pork tenderloin = 7 yuan, sweet bean sauce is the soul
→ Next door, oil sticks with tofu pudding, sweet and salty forever

🔥 Dongtai Fish Soup Noodles (Aunt Mei's Noodle House)
→ White soup made with crucian carp bone marrow, sprinkle white pepper and drink until your nose sweats
→ Secret menu: add a spoonful of shrimp roe, so fresh that your friend will change their train ticket overnight

🔥 Dagang Salted Goose (Unnamed stall on Jianshe Road)
→ Starts selling at 4 pm, goose gizzard is more popular than goose meat
→ Vacuum-packed, can be taken on the high-speed train, mix with noodles at home and make your roommate cry with envy

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💣 Pitfalls to avoid
1️⃣ Red-crowned crane release time changed to 10:30! Don't wait for the afternoon show
2️⃣ Holland Flower Sea only has greenhouse flower fields in February, don't be fooled by online photos
3️⃣ Be cautious of "seafood stalls" recommended by taxi drivers, menu has no prices
4️⃣ Yellow Sea Forest Park train costs 50 yuan/person, better to rent a bike

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📌 Hidden tips for traveling through Dafeng
🔸 Bring rubber shoes! Tiaozini mudflat can trap people
🔹 Book a free tour guide at Yancheng Museum in advance (wearing Hanfu can trigger NPC storylines)
🔸 Dazong Lake winter fishing season is ending, buy fish on-site and they can help marinate it
🔹 Bring back a bundle of Binhai sausages, colleagues will chase you for the link after steaming

(Being fed New Year goods by three shop owners in Anfeng Ancient Town, I finally understand what "the warmth of scattered Jiangsu" means 💖)

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💬 "What other reverse tourism gems are there in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai? Share your secret bases in the comments!"