Wuyuan ‘Fields of Flowers’, Jiangxi Province
Visit Wuyuan to hike through fields of yellow flowers in rural southern China; see village life, ancient clan temples, and unique touches in wooden architecture in tidy river towns surrounded by mountains. Cultural focus, nothing too strenuous.
Day One main activities | Fly to Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province. |
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Day Two main activities | Travel to Wuyuan, walk and hike through countryside and villages, fields, and terraced hills. |
Day Three main activities | Walk and hike around ancient villages and terraces in the Jianglin Mountains area. |
Day Four main activities | Visit ancient village, hike around terraces and hills, travel to Jingdezhen, visit porcelain shop, fly back to Beijing. |
Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province
Located east of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province, Wuyuan County is home to many small villages scattered among the streams and forested hills. It is a bucolic and tranquil area, and difficult to reach by public transport. In recent times it has become a popular tourist destination, but we plan to head for less busy areas while still making sure to take in the key highlights, as well as the essence of the area.
Highlights
Fields of flowers
In early spring, the fields and hillside terraces of Wuyuan County turn totally yellow with blooming rapeseed flowers, adding to the already serene and pastoral beauty of the area. We’ve timed this trip to coincide with the time of flowering, and will be hiking in and around the beautiful flowers for much of our visit. As well as looking pretty, rapeseed is also used to produce vegetable oil, biodiesel, and animal feed.
Ancient villages and architecture
There are many small villages in the Wuyuan area, and many of these house temples and other well-preserved ancient architecture. Villagers still preserve a laidback way of life. On the second day of the trip we will visit several villages, notably Yancun and Yantian.
Yancun is a village that features many examples of interesting ancient architecture. Many of the larger houses were built by successful businessmen of days long gone by—some with more than three floors. A river flows past the village, and it is surrounded by fields and forested hills.
Yantian is another ancient village, surrounded by fields and terraces of rapeseed flowers – a great place for photography.
Many ancient cedar wood covered bridges can be found in Wuyuan, and on the second day of our trip we’ll visit the Qinghua Rainbow Bridge, the most famous of them all. Built in the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279), the 140m long bridge is made entirely of wood.
Jiangling Mountains
On the third day of the trip we’ll do a bit of hiking near the Jiangling Mountains, taking in the fields, flowers, villages, and terraced hillsides. The hiking will not be super difficult, and should take 3–4 hours.
Jingdezhen, China’s ‘Porcelain Capital’
The city of Jingdezhen has over 2,000 years of recorded history. It is known as the ‘Porcelain Capital,’ having produced quality pottery for 1,700 years, with one particularly beautiful Yuan Dynasty-era (AD 1278-1368) piece going for the equivalent of ¥230,000,000 at a London auction house in 2005.
We’ll have the opportunity to visit a porcelain factory on the last day of the trip—but don’t worry, no one is going to ask you to buy a two-hundred-million renminbi piece of porcelain! (No one is going to ask you to buy anything. This isn’t planned as a shopping stop, more of a quick look at the industry.)