A Spring Hiking Guide: 2-Day Trip to a Small Town in Southern Shaanxi

Take a weekend trip to this small town during off-peak season. With fewer tourists, you can enjoy a relaxing time watching the sea of clouds and stars in the mountains, strolling through the town, tasting local delicacies - a perfect weekend getaway with a change of scenery!

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We visited Ziyang, a small town in southern Shaanxi named after Zhang Boduan (known as Ziyang Zhenren), the founder of the Southern School of Taoism. Known as the "Little Chongqing" of southern Shaanxi, the town is built along mountains and the Han River, with a 6-level underground parking lot - truly reminiscent of Chongqing's magical terrain!

⭕️Itinerary
Saturday: Drive to Ziyang - Climb Wenbi Mountain's Ziyang Pavilion - Explore the county town, try local food, ride the CNY1 cable car - Check in at Flower Grandma's Guesthouse
Sunday: Relax in the mountains - Visit the Northern Five Provinces Guild Hall - Cross the Suspended Bridge - Enjoy local food in town - Return home

📍Wenbi Mountain Ziyang Pavilion
Perfect for light exercise. Hiking up offers a panoramic view of the county town, and the pavilion is great for photos

📍CNY1 Cable Car
The county town is small and walkable. The vintage cable car ride is interesting - just CNY1 per ride. Alternatively, it's only a few minutes' walk up the stairs to Ziyang Square

📍Northern Five Provinces Guild Hall
This is an important surviving merchant guild hall from the Ming and Qing dynasties in the Han River region of southern Shaanxi, witnessing Ziyang's prosperous history as a shipping hub on the Han River. The suspended bridge is also here - crossing it can be a bit nerve-wracking.

🍜Food
✅Ziyang Clay Pot: Old Third Clay Pot!!! So delicious! Perfect for Sichuan taste buds. The pot comes with vegetables and rice noodles. We tried the meatball clay pot - the meatballs were incredibly tender! Must try!

✅Steamed Basin: The number one dish in southern Shaanxi, featuring special steamed dishes worth trying.

✅The county town has Mixue, Hey Tea, Luckin Coffee, and HEYTEA for drinks

🏡Accommodation
We stayed at a mountain guesthouse - the long-anticipated Flower Grandma's Rural Retreat. The wooden cabin on the mountaintop offers views of the sea of clouds and sunset, overlooking the entire town. Away from the hustle and bustle, you can hike in the mountains and see plenty of stars at night. It should be even more beautiful when various flowers bloom in spring and summer!

Breakfast is prepared by the housekeeper using home-grown vegetables. The handmade steamed buns are fragrant, and even the wheat is grown by the guesthouse. Purely natural!

Each building has its own housekeeper, perfect for two or three families traveling together. The housekeeper's local home-style cooking is delicious😋

⚠️If you don't want to hike too long, you can drive to the mountaintop. Navigate to "Shiliangzi" to reach the foot of Ziyang Pavilion.