Weekender's Guide to Nanxi China Landscapes

According to popular Chinese belief, Nanxi River is the birthplace of landscape painting, reminiscent of the water-and-ink prints of hatted fishermen hoisting long bamboo poles. This scenic quadruple A-rated attraction in Zhejiang

province's Yongjia county certainly attracts its fair share of students and seniors, but as it's a 90-mile-long river, it's still possible to find a spot to yourself. It's something of a gruelling journey to get there, but completing it ticks a box on any China travel bucket list.
From here, Shiwei Rock Scenic Area is a 15-minute drive. Full of craggy boulders resembling animals, with names such as Lion Rock and Chaotian Turtle Rock, this landscape of mountains, forests and turquoise waters makes for perfect hiking country. There are stops along the way where you'll have to cross submerged stone footpaths, and even take a slow ride down the river. Trekking through the entire parkland takes around five hours, not including stops to wring out wet clothes and trainers.
Leaving the Shiwei area, Furong Cun is a local village that's a popular stop, offering bamboo-rafting down the river, but there's not much to see in the town itself other than winding cobblestone streets and giant trays of drying fish.
Drifting down the river from here is undoubtedly the highlight of the trip. Dusk is the best time to go, when many of the rafters are off-duty and the mist casts an ethereal filter over the water; this is the stuff of painting and poetry, but catching it is just as dependent on inclement weather as the fabled yunhai (sea of cloud) that everyone wants to see during a visit to Huangshan mountain.