Autumn in Southern Anhui

From October 7th to 12th, I went on a trip to Southern Anhui with my family. The weather was unusually hot, but fortunately, there were fewer people due to off-peak travel, and the scenery was beautiful. Since my parents are not good at long hikes, the entire trip focused on comfort. We tried to use chartered cars as much as possible to avoid transfers and concentrated all our energy on enjoying the trip. The itinerary is as follows: 1. Day 1: Took a sleeper train and arrived in Wuyuan County in the evening. Stayed at Atour Hotel (the best-rated hotel by my parents throughout the trip, good sleep quality, laundry available, and late-night porridge to drink). Watched the Wunvzhou performance. 2. Day 2: Chartered a car for a tour of ancient villages: Chaguan Village - Hongguan Village - Xichong Village - Zhang Village - Moon Bay - Xiangao Ancient City. This section had no climbing, all flat ground. The ancient villages are less commercialized; although there are not many food and drink options inside the villages, the scenery is simple and worth seeing. Xiangao Ancient City is still free to enter, and personally, I found it more fun and cost-effective than Wunvzhou; Moon Bay is not recommended. Dinner at Xikeng Restaurant, where the casually ordered dishes were all very delicious, highly recommended. 3. Day 3: Chartered a car to Xidi and Hongcun. Stayed at Hongcun Manyue Pushu Homestay (the food here is especially worth recommending; everything ordered was delicious. Rice wine, stinky mandarin fish with tofu, and five-flavor chicken egg pancake were all very good). Spent the whole day touring Xidi and Hongcun. Both ancient villages have very representative architecture, are commercially developed, and have many artificial scenes, making them more photogenic and suitable for touring than natural villages. However, I personally still prefer natural villages. 4. Day 4: Got up early to watch the sunrise at Lucun. Took an electric tricycle from Hongcun entrance to Lucun viewing platform around midnight, about a 20-minute drive. The viewing platform is free, and the sunrise is definitely worth seeing. After watching the sunrise, chartered a car to Shendu Town, arriving at noon, and stayed at Wufushan Ecological Farmhouse. This homestay has an excellent location, right next to the Xin'an River Landscape Gallery viewing platform. Staying in a river view room allows you to enjoy the Xin'an River scenery anytime. The owner fishes himself and prepares a delicious two-way fish dish. The downside is that it is a bit far from Shendu Town, so transportation is slightly inconvenient if you don’t drive yourself. In the afternoon, went to Yangchan Tulou. The Tulou village is built on a mountain with rugged mountain roads. Upon arrival at the scenic area, you first take a scenic shuttle minibus up the mountain to the village entrance, which is as thrilling as a roller coaster. The entire village is also built on the mountain and requires climbing. Compared to Huangling, this place is less commercialized, has residents living there, and the buildings are very distinctive, making it worth a visit. 5. Day 5: Took a cruise from Shendu Port to Qiandao Lake and stayed at Minghao Hotel. You can book the boat ticket through the homestay owner, who will send you to the dock early in the morning. The cruise has two decks and two private cabins. The ticket costs 80 yuan, and if you want a private cabin, add 50 yuan per person. The trip lasts about 4 hours and offers a panoramic view of Qiandao Lake. Food and drinks are sold on the boat, such as chicken, fish, grilled fish, noodles, and stir-fried dishes. Although the prices are a bit high, the taste is good. Arrived at Minghao Hotel at noon and strolled around the area casually. In the evening, we originally planned to watch the sunset at Tianyu Mountain but got the sunset time wrong and arrived late. A kind driver quickly took me to the recommended Xiushui Park Square before sunset, where I watched a stunning sunset for free. Everything was perfectly arranged. 6. Day 6: Return trip. There is a shuttle bus in front of Minghao Hotel that goes directly to Qiandao Lake High-Speed Rail Station. Summary: The most worthwhile expenses throughout the trip were: Chartered cars, with two very professional drivers; upgrading the cabin on the cruise.