Come to Xinyang for a Chinese-Style Vacation Getaway

The small city of Xinyang in southern Henan is like a jade gem soaked in mountains and waters, with the Huai River to the north and Dabie Mountains to the south. It combines the openness of the north with the elegance of the south. Here, tea fragrance covers the mountains, lake waters shimmer, and the warmth of local life makes it an ideal place for city dwellers to rediscover poetic living. If you long for a slow journey immersed in Eastern aesthetics, consider visiting Xinyang this May Day holiday to taste tea among misty mountains and wander through scenic landscapes, treating both your palate and soul to an elegant rendezvous. 👇 🍃Recommended Theme 1: Tea Fragrance Across Green Mountains - Savor Time Slowly Between Your Fingertips Xinyang Maojian, one of China's top ten famous teas, is renowned for its beautiful shape ("thin, round, glossy, straight") and distinctive character ("high fragrance, rich flavor, green infusion"). The soul of Xinyang lies in its rolling tea mountains. In the early morning at Shihe Harbor's tea mountains, thin mist hangs like gauze, and thousands of acres of tea gardens awaken in the morning light. Tender green tea buds covered with dewdrops are skillfully picked by tea harvesters whose fingertips dance as they pluck the fresh essence of spring. Looking out from the heights, tea rows wind like lines of poetry toward the horizon, with green waves surging as the wind passes, while crisp tea fragrance floats in the air. Take a sip, and the fresh, mellow flavor spreads across your tongue, like drinking mountain mist. During tea-picking season, you can experience tea-making firsthand—killing the green, kneading, and baking—to witness a leaf's transformation from forest to teacup and understand the Eastern tea philosophy of "harmony between humans and nature." 📌Recommended spots: Shuixian Bridge Village — Tea-Fragrant Jiutun — Wenxin Tea Village — Hejiazhai Camping Base 🍃Recommended Theme 2: Hidden Realms in Mountains and Waters - Walking Within a Painting Xinyang's landscape is like an ink-wash painting scroll. The summer resort of Jigong Mountain features towering peaks and strange rocks. On Baoxiao Peak, rolling clouds create a fairyland scene. South Bay Lake features 61 islands scattered like stars, where boat journeys reveal glimpses of tea gardens and ancient temples as egrets glide over the water. Huangbai Mountain has bamboo forests like seas, with waterfalls and thousand-year-old ginkgo trees washing away worldly concerns amid birdsong. Climb Jigong Mountain's Baoxiao Peak to encounter the romance of a sea of clouds at sunrise. Hike in Borden Forest Park to hear the whispers between forest and morning mist. Float on South Bay Lake's painted boats to taste a feast of fresh lake fish. Sit quietly in Dasu Mountain National Forest Park among ancient temples and enjoy the serenity of zen tea. Camp on Huangbai Mountain's peak to gaze at the vast, brilliant Milky Way. Soak in the riverside hot springs at Jingang Tai West River to enjoy the gentle embrace of hot springs and mountain breeze... 📌Recommended spots: Jigong Mountain Scenic Area — Borden Forest Park — South Bay Lake Scenic Area — Dasu Mountain National Forest Park — Huangbai Mountain National Forest Park — Jingang Tai West River Scenic Area 🍃Recommended Theme 3: Discover Xinyang's Courtyard Charm - Exploring Hidden Gems As urbanites yearn for "poetic dwelling," Xinyang has created a unique "courtyard economy" with its "tea, cuisine, and water" essence. Xinyang courtyards "marry" intangible cultural heritage skills, "dance" with tea culture, and "dialogue" with agricultural civilization... These distinctive courtyards are injecting vitality into ordinary spaces through innovative integration, launching fascinating cross-boundary journeys. You can follow the coffee aroma along Yangshan Line to shape a rough pottery cup with young ceramic artists at Chengmin Pottery Art Space, letting the breath of clay seep into your palms. You can venture deep into the bamboo forests of Liulin Line to help children outline summer's cicada songs and frog calls with bamboo weaving. Or at the "Seeing Smoke Again" courtyard in Haotang Ancient Village, drink a cup of Maojian tea by moonlight over lotus ponds while listening to an 80-year-old village keeper tell stories of past tea trade adventures. 📌Recommended spots: North Lake Skylark Coffee — North Lake Under Tree Coffee — Lakeside Tea & Coffee — Chengmin Pottery Art Space — Nanwan 1951 Cultural Creative Park — Mountain View Coffee — Xiaoman Farm Reading House — Guizhuo Garden 🍃Recommended Theme 4: Warming Comfort Food - Flavors of Nostalgia Xinyang's taste is a wonderful fusion of northern and southern flavors. By the Shihe River, South Bay fish soup is milky white and richly fragrant, warming your stomach with just one bowl. Braised meat in clay pots features translucent fat slowly stewed with radish for a mellow flavor. Gushi goose chunks offer tender meat in fresh broth, delicious when dipped in garlic sauce. Pot-baked flatbreads line the edges of wood-fired stoves, crispy and fragrant. The crystal-clear stone jelly found in street corners, topped with mint syrup, is summer's most refreshing gift. 📌Recommended foods: South Bay fish head soup, Xinyang braised meat in clay pot, Gushi goose chunks, Luoshan intestine soup, bamboo tube fresh fish, chestnut braised chicken, pot-baked flatbread, egg-filled pancakes, spicy hot dry noodles, stone jelly