Three destinations that
are off the beaten track but
still worth a visit. Xu Junqian
shows the way.
Holidays in
China are synonymous with crowds and
traffic jams, even the Tomb Sweeping
Day, which is when Chinese people
traditionally visit the graves of
their ancestors to pay their respects.
So to help you enjoy a
crowd-free vacation, We has selected
three destinations around Shanghai that
are off the beaten track but
still well worth a
visit.
Changzhou - 179 km from
Shanghai
One of the earliest
cities in China to be opened-up,
Changzhou in Jiangsu province is
considered by most Chinese people to
be an industrial town rather than
a tourist destination. But with
beautiful natural scenery nearby, historical
relics and huge modern theme parks,
the city offers many delights for
those willing to look beyond the
industrial skyline.
Just 40 minutes
by car from the city center
lies the Nanshan Bamboo Forest, a
huge, pristine, natural museum housing
a variety of bamboos. You can
either take the cable car to
the peak of the mountain, which
commands an overall view of the
sea of bamboo, or take a
relaxed stroll through this natural
generator of oxygen.
If you
are interested in history, Yancheng is
worth a visit. The small town
might be one of the few places
in China that has escaped war,
and more importantly, the wrecker's
ball, and it is still one of
the oldest and most well-preserved
ancient towns in China. A boat
trip along river can't fail to
please, while the marshes and wetlands
are home to some unique and
endangered species. Just a few steps
away from the old town is the
vast expanse of the newly built
amusement park dedicated to what life
would have been like back in
Confucius' day. With an investment of
about one billion yuan ($159 million),
the park is a rather surreal
combination of a Spring and Autumn
Period (770-476 BC) theme with
state-of-art amusement facilities.
If
you like the local delicacies, such
as fresh spring bamboo or hand
pressed tofu, the chef at the
Shang Palace restaurant in the newly
opened Shangri-La Hotel in Changzhou
is not only adept at cooking
all kinds of authentic local dishes,
as he is a master of some
of the traditional kitchen skills that
are fast disappearing, he is also
very bold when it comes to
creating new dishes with bizarre
ingredients like insects.
The
hotel is also introducing a special
spring package to celebrate the local
cherry blossom which ends on April 6.
The less-than-1,000-yuan package includes
a night in the hotel's standard
room, breakfast buffet for two and
two free tickets to the theme
park.
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