The Most Beautiful Place in China: Xianju, Dragon Valley

I think that Xianju is one of the most beautiful places in China.

Yes, not the plateau of Tibet, or Zhangjiajie, or the great wall, but a humble little village in south Zhejiang.

 

The valley is picture-perfect. It looks like it was built on a computer as ‘what a country valley should look like’.

It’s perfect for kids. The small river goes through a long valley, shallow over stones, so it is both warm and crystal clear.

It’s full of fish, frogs and nature. This means that kids can spend hours and hours playing in the fresh air countryside.

We found one accommodation there by searching Dianping.

We were lucky, as it turned out that the owner was a young Shanghainese man who was building a boutique style place.

The result is the Artisan Hotel.

Add WeChat ID travel_ym to contact the owner for bookings and info.

 

The rooms are good, the TV system is modern, the food is decent and the location is perfect.

It would probably cost 1000 Euros a night in Italy or France, but you can enjoy the best a valley can be for just 600 RMB a night.


Driving there is very simple. Your GPS will just take you down the S26, and one turning after the S28, you will turn off and the new highway will take you straight to the Bai Long valley road.

If you don’t drive, then you can get a train to the nearest station and a taxi – the owner will help.

Or, you could rent a bus for around 20 people for about 500 RMB each from Shanghai, but you will need a Chinese-speaking friend or spouse to book it via Jinjiang Travel.

We stay there for three days so that we can fully relax into the routine of waking up, going to visit the cable car or the forest park in the morning, going back for lunch and then playing at the river for hours.

The only problem is that once you get used to days in nature, you won’t want to go back to a city with cars, streets and buildings everywhere. You will be yearning for the river all year long.

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