That familiar summer heat, the sudden downpours, and the occasional hailstorms and strong winds made me swim more than go outdoors throughout July. This short self-driving trip to Xinzhou also took place under blue and yellow weather warnings. I tried to pick the best weather and routes, and the road conditions were smooth all the way. The weather alternated between sun and rain. After 3 days and 2 nights, I arrived home safely.
Day 1:
Shijiazhuang — Fuping Egg Rock — Fuping Cat Village — Wutai Lijiayu Village — Dai County, Xinzhou
Stay overnight in Dai County
Egg Rock track: Two Steps 38152721, Six Legs 10254166
Overview: 2 km round trip, 1.5 hours
After Cat Village, we went to Wutai Lijiayu Village. Navigate to Lijiayu Village but don’t enter the village. Instead, follow the newly built tourist road winding up the mountain. Along the way are meadows, pine forests, viewing platforms, and cows blocking the road. The mountain top is not yet open, so you have to return the same way. From the top of Lijiayu Village, there is a hiking trail to Waitou Mountain. If you enter Lijiayu Village, there is a route under construction that will allow direct access to Huaping near Wutai Mountain, currently open only to motorcycles. For hiking Waitou Mountain and reaching Huaping directly, has a detailed guide.
After leaving Lijiayu Village, if you haven’t been to Xinzhou Ancient City, you might consider visiting it. This time, we went to Dai County Ancient City instead.
Day 2
Dai County — Yuanping Yunshui Town Heishui Getuo Village — Ningwu County lunch — Ximaojiazao Village hike — Jingle County
The most classic self-driving routes in Xinzhou’s Guancen Mountain area are the Xinwu Line and Wuba Line. This year, the Xinwu Line (from Xinzhou Ancient City to Dongzhai Town) is under construction and prone to traffic jams, so I chose another route for self-driving — Heishui Getuo Village in Yuanping. Heishui Getuo Village is almost deserted, with stone houses, high-altitude meadows, abundant wolfbane flowers, spruce forests, and wind turbines. Unfortunately, heavy fog rolled in, and we saw nothing.
Starting from Xinzhou or Dai County, navigate to Heishui Getuo Village in Yuanping. You can add Beian Village in Yunshui Town, Yuanping, so you can continue westward to the next stop without backtracking. The navigation may show no connection because this road was just opened. There is no signal in the mountains, so download offline maps for navigation. Coming down from the mountain top heading west, you will reach a fork: turn right to Laojundong, turn left to descend the mountain.
The hike in Ximaojiazao Village is about 1 km with an elevation gain of nearly 200 meters. It’s quite steep and the route is not obvious. In comparison, the hike in Dongmaojiazao Village is much easier.
Ximaojiazao Village: Two Steps 11200409, Six Legs 10249059
Overview: 2 km, 2 hours
Dongmaojiazao Village: Two Steps 42567814, Six Legs 9361330
That day we stayed in Jingle County, planning to pass through Taiyuan on the way home. If you still enjoy natural scenery, you can stay overnight in Wuzhai County, then take the Wuba Line the next day to see the sights before heading home.
Day 3
Jingle County — Taiyuan Ancient County Town — Home