Society

Carefully crafted tours to culture and nature

By Ding Congrong and Song Wenwei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-02 09:09

As the 2010 World Expo prepares to open next month, the neighboring city of Nantong is ready to welcome an influx of travelers.

Carefully crafted tours to culture and nature

With the completion of the Suzhou-Nantong Yangtze River Bridge, travel from Nantong to Shanghai has been shortened to about an hour.??

The city's tourism authorities have crafted five touring routes to provide visitors the opportunity to enjoy its history and cultures, natural wonders, people and life.

One of the trips is called "Seine of the Orient". It takes you along the Haohe River, the name of the best-preserved city moat in China, then on to Wolf Mountain and Expo Garden.

At Wolf Mountain, home to one of China's most famed Buddhist temples, you can learn about and appreciate the essence of Buddhism.

In the Expo Garden by the Yangtze River, you find yourself among oriental gardens while enjoying the splendid view of the Yangtze River.

Another trip to the "Home of Longevity" will take you to Rugao, a county-level city in Nantong that has several hundred people over 100 years old.

There you might be lucky enough to learn the secret of long life while enjoying the story of the Chinese version of Romeo and Juliet, which is based on a local romance that happened a few hundred years ago.

The most exciting trip might be the so-called "Beach Disco". At Changsha port, you can join hundreds of people dancing on the beach barefooted accompanied by blaring techno music, an activity that helps coax thousands of oysters buried in the sand to the surface.

Another tour is to see the "First Sunray in China". The trip takes you to Yuantuo Cape where you can be the first to see the sun rise in China and enjoy the scene of ships going out to sea and seagulls soaring over the water. At the juncture of the East Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Yangtze River, Yuantuo Cape also unfolds before you with the fantastic view of waters in three different colors.

The last route brings you to the "Hometown of Zhang Jian" in Haimen. Zhang was the last Zhuangyuan, or No 1 scholar, in the imperial examinations of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). He was also a forerunner in industry in the early 20th century.

Haimen also offers the taste of the mellow Yi-sheng, the first Chinese wine awarded a gold medal, which it received at the 1906 Milan Expo.