Taizhou is still worth writing a travelogue, but it cannot be seen as a guide. We usually travel more casually and focus on improvisation after finding a destination. Taizhou was originally just one point on the list of the Jiangsu Zhejiang Shanghai package tour plan. However, when searching on maps and Little Red Book, it was found that the places to play in Taizhou were quite scattered, commonly known as loose Taizhou. The difference between the parts near the sea and those not near the sea was about two hours by car. In the end, the slightly closer part was selected as the weekend accessible part, which is the “Taizhou Fucheng” in Linhai City, Taizhou. During the process of checking the route, a previously collected Taizhou Tiantai Mountain location, “Zhejiang Taoist College,” was also discovered, and a passing point was added along the way.
Tiantai Mountain Taoist Academy
This is truly a legitimate four-year undergraduate institution of higher education, enrolling approximately 50 students annually. The school is located on a mountaintop of Tiantai Mountain, facing a large area of Tianchi (commonly known as a reservoir) on the mountaintop, with an unnamed pagoda next to it. Various vehicles are parked in the messy gravel parking lot in front of the gate, which gives the impression that the background is too fake compared to students who get off the bus wearing streetwear. However, the security guard does not allow entry, after all, it is a school. After the fate has passed, we can only take a panoramic picture of this strange and somewhat peculiar mountaintop, including the mountaintop, reservoir, Taoist school, and the lakeside road, and then descend the mountain.
If you want to go to school, you need recommendations from different perspectives, don’t fantasize.
Tiantai County
Tiantai County, which was not originally planned, made an impromptu trip to the Taoist Academy because it happened to be lunch on the way up and down the mountain. I don’t know if it was for hunger or if it was really delicious. The local must eat dish, the Yuqing Zhai Dumpling Cake Barrel, was unexpectedly delicious. It is a small snack that rolls various ingredients into a cylindrical shape with crispy rolls, and it is not surprising that in this small county town, people need to queue up for numbers.
Driven by curiosity, I searched for Tiantai County at the dining table: the birthplace of the Buddhist Tiantai Sect, the founding place of the Taoist Nanzong, the former residence of Jigong, the hometown of Chinese tea culture, the hometown of national Go, and the hometown of Chinese black medicine… I really don’t know Tiantai Mountain, I will definitely do it next time
Shifeng Creek on the way
As soon as I came out of Tiantai Mountain, I headed straight for Taizhou Prefecture. Although it was only less than 50 kilometers away from the national highway, the winding unnamed river scenery made me switch routes several times, just to cross the river over the bridge again and again, and take another look. It was probably the simple, clear, and lush scenery I had imagined, perfect for camping and picnicking. Unfortunately, there is nothing beautiful in the photo… The unnamed river is called Shifeng Creek, which was also the map I checked when writing this article.
The besieged Taizhou city
There are only two key points in Taizhou Prefecture: climbing the ancient city walls like the Great Wall and eating various carbohydrates and specialty snacks at the food street. Before coming here, I imagined a city with walls. There are too many models in the country, but when I actually arrived in the county town, I found that it was quite different. Taizhou Prefecture, built along the river, is an ancient city area surrounded by ancient city walls, lakes, and mountains. The city walls make up about three fifths of the area, forming a large circle that can be seen from the city wall map. It takes an hour and a half to complete the entire journey. The middle empty part is the ancient city area, with Donghu Lake on the right and Jinshan Mountain on the lower right. The southernmost end of the city wall is connected to the food street “Ziyang Street”.
My memory of food is all kinds of carbohydrates. Flat food, soaked shrimp, embedded cake, seaweed cake… Half way through the food street, you’re already full. Here’s a photo of a strange dish called “Ginger Stewed Egg”, which has a sweet and ginger flavor with a hint of ginger mixed with double skin milk. Walnuts, eggs, and yellow wine are also added. With just one spoonful, everything is strange except for the strangeness.
Overlooking the food street ‘Ziyang Street’ ↓
On the second day of our trip, we spent two hours walking through the ancient city walls in the hottest temperatures of the year. It was too hot and our skills needed to cool down. We walked all the way from the Range Rover Gate in the upper right corner of the city to the food street, a remarkable feat. Please attach some photos as a memento.
In the morning, I came to Taizhou Museum, which is very large. The second floor Mountain Soul Sea Spirit History Hall introduces the history and culture of Taizhou from prehistoric to modern times through four chapters: the banks of Lingjiang River, Zhang’an Ancient Port, Tiantai State, and Chicheng Tide. Volunteers are responsible for explaining here, and there is a primary school teacher from Taizhou who left a deep impression on me. He did not simply memorize manuscripts, but extended a lot of historical and cultural knowledge. He made me understand that the ancient city wall of Taizhou is one of the best preserved ancient city walls in modern China, known as the “Jiangnan Great Wall”. The city wall here has dual functions of military defense and urban flood control. The ancient city wall has extraordinary significance for the people of Taizhou. Through this stone wrapped rammed earth technology, The city wall became even stronger and later spread to the Great Wall in the north, I didn’t expect the stone Great Wall from the north to come from the south before.
I also learned about the origin of the name Taizhou here, which is related to the Tiantai Prefecture and the most famous mountain here: Tiantai Mountain. This mountain has attracted numerous literati and scholars throughout history. During the Tang Dynasty, more than 2000 poets and 500 poets came to admire its reputation. The opening work of Xu Xiake’s travelogue, “The Diary of Visiting Tiantai Mountain,” tells the story of this place. Although this trip is only arranged near the city center, 100 kilometers away from Tiantai Mountain and not scheduled to go to Tiantai Mountain, there should still be a chance to visit this mountain in the future.
In the afternoon, we arranged to go to the adjacent Taizhou Science and Technology Museum. Like the museum, these two places need to be booked in advance in Taizhou Museum and the official account of Taizhou Science and Technology Museum. The science museum is very big, it’s really a playground for children. Many parents bring their children here, and if they have time, they can stay here for a day. However, food cannot be brought in here, so it’s important to make a good plan. This includes a children’s smart park, 3D printing and intelligent robots in the exploration and innovation exhibition hall, as well as the Earth and Ocean exhibition hall, the Science and Experiment exhibition hall, and the Aviation and Aerospace exhibition hall. It only took a superficial look after just over four hours of wandering here. It’s worth coming back here again with plenty of time.
It has been reported that a typhoon is coming to Taizhou, but after watching the typhoon cloud map, they are all moving on the sea, with occasional light plum rain. Yesterday afternoon, the sun even came out. Living close to Fangte, Taizhou, I had to take my baby and not come to play naughty to see the weather. I arranged the tour in the back, but it still rained unexpectedly. Fortunately, the raincoat was prepared, and the rain was heavier in the morning. It stopped in the afternoon, scaring away many people. I played very well in Fangte. The queuing time was very short. All the projects were painted once, and there was no rain. I also watched the float parade and the fireworks show at night. It was really shocking, or it might be very close, and I enjoyed watching it very much.
Before departure, Taizhou issued a typhoon warning and indefinitely closed ships to Dachen Island. Although there have been no typhoons in the past few days, there has been no notification to resume sailing. Yesterday morning, the news of resuming sailing on the 5th was announced, which was a pleasant surprise. If you want to go to Dachen Island/Lower Dachen Island, you need to buy tickets in advance on the official account “Dachen Tourism Ticketing”. There are no tickets online, and there are no tickets to go to the scene. Remember to buy a round-trip ticket. The ticket bought by the official account was changed on the spot with the ID card, and then boarded the ship at security check. After arriving at Xiadachen Island in two hours, I bought a full day ferry ticket first. There were 25 tickets for every 1.2 meters or more. This seems to be the first time I’ve landed on a small island in my country, and I’m still a bit excited. It’s just a bit cloudy today, accompanied by light rain, but the scenery on the island is still beautiful. There are few people, and everything is arranged in the best way, so I have to set off. After being washed away by the rain, the plants look even more vibrant. Traveling between various nearby points on the island, experiencing the history and spirit of land reclamation. There are already commercial developments on the island, so you don’t have to worry about food. If the weather is good, you can also stay here for one night to experience the sunset and sunrise.
