The seven-day National Day holiday is coming soon, and everyone’s getting restless, right? However, the annual “sea of people” and “sea of cars” on National Day holiday are still fresh in everyone’s memory. There is such a small treasure town in Nantong, Jiangsu, which has gardens no less exquisite than those of Suzhou, urban canal scenery, and special food that hides the “secret of longevity”: Nantong Rugao.
If you don’t want to get together to watch the “sea of people” on National Day holiday, why not come here to heal body and mind in just two days of relaxed sightseeing?
We’ve summarized this two-day tour plan to help you enjoy the National Day holiday.
DAY1
Jixianli → Dinghui Temple → Inner and Outer City River Scenery Belt → Jinghaimen → Anding Square
DAY2
Water Painting Garden→ Longevity Banquet → East Street → China Longevity City → Jiangsu Flower and Tree World
Rugao, known as the “highland by the water”, is close to the river, the sea and Shanghai city, with the Yangtze River to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the east. It is nourished by a rich wetland. Rugao is not as well-known as Wuzhen, Zhouzhuang and other ancient towns. Concealed in the north side of the Yangtze River Delta, it lacks bustling crowds, so it has a leisurely air.
DAY1
1 Jixianli
Jixianli – one of the “10 great famous residences of Jiangsu”, most of Rugao’s famous sages are connected to Jixianli.
2 Dinghui Temple
△National AAA-level tourist attraction, Jiangsu Province cultural relics protection unit
Dinghui Temple is located in the southeast corner of Rugao Ancient City and is more than 1,400 years old. Ringed by clear water, surrounded by red buildings, and a north-facing mountain gate, it is a unique relic of bygone times.
3 Inner and Outer City River Scenery Belt
△Wenchang Pavilion
The ancient city of Rugao is surrounded by two inner and outer city rivers, the outer is round and the inner square, forming a peculiar landscape of “water surrounds the city, and the city contains water”. During the day, the guardrails on both sides of the river meander, like a white dragon at rest. At night a constellation of gorgeous lights appears; you can go boating on the water and take a nap on the shore.
4 Jinghaimen
Jinghaimen is located on the west side of the city river outside the east gate of Rugao. The majesty of Jinghaimen contrasts wonderfully with the clear water and green trees of the city river. When you go to Jinghaimen at night, the gorgeous pavilions and dark door openings seem to draw the visitor back hundreds of years to the Ming Dynasty.
5 Anding Square
Anding Square is the cultural distribution center of Rugao, where you can enjoy provincial intangible cultural heritage – Rugao kites. The main features of Rugao kites are live harriers and board harriers. Folding kites and integrated sound kites were first invented here. When you come to Rugao, you must ride the autumn wind and have a kite addiction.
DAY2
1 Water Painting Garden
△ National AAAA-level scenic spot, national key cultural relics protection unit
Known as the “Famous Garden in the World”, the Water Painting Garden occupies about 30,000m2 in the northeast corner of the ancient city of Rugao. It offers every kind of scenery imaginable – the Water Painting Garden, China Rupai Bonsai Garden, Nifeng House, Yiyuan, and the China Rugao Longevity Museum. In the garden, the waves are misty, reflecting the world like a painting, a quiet and elegant landscape painting with ethereal rhythm.
2 Longevity Banquet
Rugao is the sixth-largest hometown of longevity in the world. The secret of longevity lies in daily eating habits:
“Mixed, wild, light, fresh”, coarse tea and light rice, mainly vegetarian, accompanied by whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
3 Dongda Street (East Main Street)
Dongda Street is located in the northeast corner of the ancient city of Rugao and was built in the Southern Song Dynasty. The buildings along the street have formed a pattern dominated by the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, interspersed with buildings in the Ming and Qing Dynasty styles. East Main Street is home to many cultural relics, historic sites, and century-old shops.
Rugao Public Simple Normal School was built in 1902 and is the first independent public normal school in China. For more than 100 years, it has maintained its original appearance, original location, and original educational style – it is known as a “living fossil of teacher education”.
△Rugao Normal School
4 China Longevity City
China Longevity City is located in the western suburbs of Rugao, where you can see “the No.1 longevity sculpture in the world”, the world’s largest longevity centenary bowl (recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as “The World’s Largest Bronze Bowl”), the water curtain film, China Longevity Museum and other attractions.
5 Jiangsu Flower and Tree World
Rugao bonsai cultivation began in the Northern Song Dynasty and flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The existing flower and bonsai planting area spans more than 200,000 mu, making the place the largest flower and bonsai export base in East China. The total area of the Bonsai Grand View scenic area is 1,000 mu. The weather there is like spring the whole year round and it is the representative place to endorse Rugao’s reputation as the “capital of flowers and trees in China”.
We have prepared this two-day travel guide in Rugao for you. Don’t forget to “like” the post and get ready for your National Day holiday trip~
