Kaihua Two-day Tour
Kaihua, built in 981 AD, has a long history of more than one thousand years. Located in the source of the Qiantang River and the junction of Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi provinces, it boasts a National AAAAA Level tourist spot, a scenic area and abundant folk cultures, for instance, Suzhuang Grass Dragon, Changhong Cloth Dragon, Yinkeng Bench Dragon, Xiashan Bamboo Stilt Horse, Planting Festival, Spirit Recalling Custom and so on.
It takes nearly six hours to reach Kaihua County, which is approximately 450 kilometers far away from Shanghai. The first stop in Kaihua is Root Palace and Buddhism County Cultural Scenic Area. Covering a large area of more than 360 acres, it can be said to be a marvelous work of human beings with more than 2000 large root carving works. It melts root sculpture art into Buddhist culture, and is reputed as the capital of world root sculpture art and the complete library of root art. Most notably, a sculpture, Five Hundred Arhats, after a more-than-ten-year careful preparation, becomes the most delicate root sculpture in the world that is hard to be surpassed.
At sundown, drive to a happy farmhouse to experience the most natural suburban life.
After breakfast prepared by the villagers, set off for Qianjiangyuan National Forest Park, which is located amidst Qixi Town, west of Kaihua County. As the source of the Qiantang River, it is bestowed well-preserved plant resources, continuous peaks, dense forests and beautiful sceneries. Here, the spectacular views are easy to be seen: steep cliffs, flying waterfalls, murmuring streams, heavy clouds, silver coverings in winter, red rays of sunset, colorful rainbows after rains and so on.
The last stop is Xiashan Ancient Residence. All the houses here are scattered neatly and characterized with Huizhou style, and it is said to be confusing to ramble alone among these white houses. Here, you can see the sharply pointed eaves, red antithetical couplets, simple bricks pilling up, old bicycles and other time-honored items, giving you a feeling of time-travel.
Then, drive back to Shanghai.