Serenity amidst the Bustling

Gan River, the mother river of the Jiangxi Province, runs south to north with a total length of more than 800 kilometers (497 miles). It is one of the main tributaries of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the largest river in the Jiangxi Province. Gan River was the main channel between the Yangtze River and the Pearl River between the late Tang Dynasty (A.D.618-907) and 1936, when a rail line opened between Guangdong Province and Wuhan.

On the morning of your first day in Ganzhou, head to the Ganzhou Long Distance Bus Station and board a bus to Longnan County. Busses departs every 35 minutes and a one-way ticket costs CNY24. The trip to Longnan County will take about three hours.  When you arrive, take an autobus to Guanxi Town (keep in mind that these may travel at low speeds). Taxis are also available, and will cost about CNY40 per car. Your first destination for the day, Hakka's Castle, is about a 20 minute drive from the bus station. There is a CNY10 admission fee for the castle. Hakka's Castle dates back hundreds of years and is the largest and best preserved castle in southern Jiangxi. It stands tall as an oasis of serenity amidst the bustling city. Have lunch at the castle, then take a taxi to Dingnan County, which is only about 40 kilometers (24.9 miles) away. Once in Dingnan County, catch a bus to Anyuan County, where you will visit the famous Yongzhen Bridge Gallery - famous for its unique blend of masonry, carpentry and engineering technology which resulted in a bridge-house. While in Anyuan Country, make sure that you visit Wuwei Pagoda, which dates back more than 900 years. Lodging is available in Anyuan County.

On your second day, take a bus to Sanbai Mountain (busses depart every 30 minutes). The entrance fee is CNY11. This forested park deserves a whole day of your trip.  Sanbai Mountain is the source of the Dongjiang River; water here flows from clear springs down spectacular waterfalls, through well-preserved broad-leaf forests. These are the incomparable treasures of Sanbai Mountain. Discover these treasures, and ponder the many legends about how Sanbai (meaning “three hundred” in Chinese) Mountain received its name, while exploring the park in one of these two ways:

1.)  Boats depart from Dongfeng Lake and travel upstream, ascending the mountain via river, until reaching Fuaotang (the headstream of the Sanbai Mountain). From here, visitors descend the mountain by car. 
2.)  Cars (available at the Hugang Hot Springs) provide transportation up the mountain to Fuaotang. From here, visitors descend the mountain by foot, traveling along the river.