2 Days in the Hidden Pottery Capital: Bamboo Forest Train and Traditional Rowing Boat Adventure

🗺️ Itinerary Overview

DAY 1: In-depth Tour of Yaohu Town
📍Bamboo Forest Train → Yaohu Bamboo Rat Water Park → Intangible Cultural Heritage Market → Traditional Rowing Boat Lake Tour → Yunhu Dajue Temple → Yangxian Xishan Night View
DAY 2: Bamboo Forest Retreat and Ancient Street Pottery Exploration
📍Yixing Bamboo Sea → Shushan Ancient South Street → Return Journey

🌟 Daily Immersive Experiences + Essential Tips Guide

DAY 1: Through Bamboo Forest and Into the Soul of Pottery

🚂 Bamboo Forest Train (9:00-9:40)
📍Location: Next to Yaohu Town Tourist Center
🎫Ticket: Free (included in scenic area pass)
👉🏻How to play:

Take the vintage green train through a 3km bamboo forest tunnel. Lower the windows completely and take a deep breath of bamboo fragrance mixed with morning mist - your lungs will feel refreshed!
Secret photo spot: Sit backwards in the last row to capture the extending railway tracks and bamboo shadows

💦 Yaohu Bamboo Rat Water Park (10:00-12:00)
🌟Highlights:

Must-try for kids: "Bamboo Tube Water Gun Array" - press the bamboo tube mechanism for water fights. I got soaked when surrounded by a team of elementary school students 💦
Adult challenge: "Pottery Jar Slide" - spiral down from a 5m high ancient pottery jar replica into the pool, as thrilling as a roller coaster

🎪 Intangible Cultural Heritage Market Lunch (12:30-13:30)
🍜Must-eat:

"Zhou Zhen Wonton": Duck blood + dried shrimp soup base with freshly peeled Lake Tai white shrimp
"San Sao Black Rice": Bamboo-steamed black rice with osmanthus sugar, sweet and chewy
🎭DIY Experience:
Spend ¥20 to try "Ancient Dragon Kiln Pottery" - masters teach you how to make purple clay cups hands-on, they'll fire and mail it to you (mine turned out crooked, but having my name carved on it made it special!)

🛶 Traditional Rowing Boat Lake Tour (14:00-15:00)
📍Location: Yaohu Dock
👉🏻How to play:

Choose the "Xiake Route" into the reed marshes, where the boat lady sings "Beautiful Lake Tai" in Wu dialect
Bring breadcrumbs to feed egrets and capture the moment they dive for food

⛩️ Yunhu Dajue Temple (15:30-17:00)
🙏🏻Zen guide:

See Master Hsing Yun's calligraphy "Pure Land in the Human World", try the ¥10 vegetarian noodles (delicious with preserved vegetables and bamboo shoots)
The Japanese rock garden behind the Main Hall - wooden clogs clicking on gravel makes people think you're in Kyoto when you post on social media

🌃 Yangxian Xishan Night View (19:00-21:00)
✨Magical moments:

Watch the light show projected on Tang-Song style buildings from "Dongpo Pavilion"
Enjoy bayberry ice drink at "Yada Academy" rooftop terrace while waiting for fireflies flickering in bamboo groves

DAY 2: Bamboo Sea Retreat and Ancient Kiln Treasure Hunt

🎋 Yixing Bamboo Sea (8:00-11:00)
📍Location: Bamboo Sea Village, Hufu Town
🚡Easy route:

Take cable car to "Lingyun Pavilion" (¥40 one-way), photograph the endless bamboo waves from glass viewing deck
Hike down via "Seabed → Lake Tai Source" trail, walk on springy bamboo leaf carpet, occasionally meet villagers digging for bamboo shoots

🏺 Shushan Ancient South Street (13:00-15:00)
📍Location: Shushan Scenic Area, Dingshu Town
🔮Exploration guide:

Feel the warm kiln walls of Ming-Qing "Qianxu Dragon Kiln", watch masters fire purple clay teapots with pine branches
Find imperfect purple clay cups for ¥50 at shops next to "Gu Jingzhou Former Residence" (owner says they're cracked, but I think the cracks look like landscape paintings!)

🛏️ Accommodation Recommendation

🏨 Yixing Longyin Xishan Hotel
✨Highlights:

Balcony with outdoor soaking pool, add hotel-provided bamboo essential oil while watching the moon rise over bamboo tops
Fresh tofu pudding for breakfast with 10 topping choices including dried shrimp, seaweed, and chili sauce

📸 Pro Photography Tips

1️⃣ Bamboo Forest Train: Use live photo mode for motion blur, select frames with bamboo leaves passing windows
2️⃣ Rowing Boat: Wide-angle lens with low angle, frame boat bow, ripples, and reeds together
3️⃣ Shushan Ancient Street: Use 2x portrait mode for flagstone path + pottery wall to blur background and highlight purple clay ware

💡 Essential Tips

Cable car stops operating at 4 PM! I almost had to hike down exhausted
Bargaining secret at the heritage market: Start at half price then slowly increase - got a ¥150 purple clay teapot for ¥80
Bring mosquito repellent! Forest mosquitoes bite through clothes

✨Soul-stirring moment: While soaking in the Longyin Xishan Hotel's bath, I suddenly heard clay flute music from the backyard. Pushing open the bamboo fence, I found an old teapot maker playing "Hometown Scenery" under the moon - that's when I understood the meaning of "home is where the heart finds peace."