Welcome to Yixing. Yixing, here I come.

Yixing 4 days 3 nights full guide for 5000 RMB per person! Stay in a bamboo sea homestay, soak in purple clay teapots, enjoy an all-bamboo shoot feast, and make your own teapot by hand—this is the true slow life of Jiangnan! --- Brothers and sisters! Stop squeezing into Wuzhen, Xitang, and Zhouzhuang! Today, I’m uncovering a seriously underrated Jiangnan treasure town: Yixing! It’s not just about purple clay teapots, but also: ✅ Thousand-year-old bamboo sea waves ✅ Magical stalactite caves ✅ Fragrant spring bamboo shoots and autumn tea ✅ Picturesque tea gardens and streams 4 days 3 nights, 5000 RMB per person, all-inclusive for food, lodging, and transportation. Stay in a mountain valley tea lodge, enjoy an all-bamboo shoot feast, make your own purple clay teapot, brew tea in Taogong Cave, and check in at Little Jiuzhaigou—so slow you won’t want time to pass! This is the real Jiangnan hidden retreat! --- 🗓 Itinerary Overview (suitable for 2-4 people) - Duration: 4 days 3 nights (recommended weekend + day off for easy travel) - Budget: approx. 5000 RMB per person (including transportation, accommodation, meals, and experiences) - Theme: Tea culture + Purple clay art + Bamboo sea landscape + Jiangnan cuisine - Suitable for: Couples, families, artsy youth, craft lovers, wellness enthusiasts! --- Day 1: Arrive in Yixing → Stay deep in the bamboo sea + Dinner all-bamboo shoot feast 🚗 Transportation: - High-speed train to “Yixing Station” (within 1.5 hours from Shanghai/Hangzhou/Nanjing) - Taxi to homestays near “Huxi Town” or “Zhanggongdong Scenic Area” (about 40 minutes, 80 RMB) 🏨 Accommodation: Recommended “Zhuhai Qixin She” or “Fuxi Village Tea Mountain House” - Hidden deep in the bamboo sea valley, open windows to greenery, fall asleep to the sound of streams - Strong design sense, with tea rooms, courtyards, projectors, and floor heating - Reference price: 780 RMB/night (slightly higher on holidays) 🌿 Afternoon: Yixing Bamboo Sea Scenic Area (ticket 80 RMB) - The largest bamboo forest in East China, climb “Lingyun Pavilion” to overlook tens of thousands of bamboo waves, like a green sea rolling! - Walk the hanging plank road, check in at “Southern Jiangsu’s No.1 Peak” - Photo tip: wear plain long dresses or hanfu, dappled light creates a great atmosphere 🍽 Dinner: Farmhouse “Zhuyuan Pavilion” - Must-try “All Bamboo Shoot Feast”: oil-braised spring bamboo shoots, dried bamboo shoot old duck pot, salted fresh soup, bamboo shoot scrambled eggs - Pair with a pot of Yangxian tea, so fresh it’ll make your eyebrows fall off! - Per person: 120 RMB ✅ Day 1 expenses: Transportation 150 + Accommodation 780 + Ticket 80 + Meals 120 + Taxi 80 ≈ 1210 RMB --- Day 2: Purple clay culture day tour → Make your own teapot by hand 🏛 Morning: China Purple Clay Museum (free, reservation required) - Learn about 500 years of purple clay history, see masterpieces by masters of all eras - Highlights: Gongchun teapot, Shi Dabin, authentic works by Gu Jingzhou - Interactive area inside where you can touch the clay and feel the delicacy of the “five-colored earth” 🏺 Noon: Stroll and eat at “Shushan Ancient Street” in Dingshu Town - Birthplace of purple clay, a century-old street where every household makes teapots - Recommended snacks: - Dingshu dried tofu (rich marinated flavor) - Purple clay pot-fried dumplings (crispy outside, tender inside) - Yangxian tea eggs (infused with tea aroma) - Per person: 60 RMB 🎨 Afternoon: Purple clay handcraft experience class (recommended “Xu Family Teapot Art Workshop”) - Under the guidance of an intangible cultural heritage inheritor, make your own exclusive purple clay teapot! - Process: knead clay → shape body → attach spout and handle → carve signature - After firing, it can be mailed to your home (shipping fee extra) - Cost: 380 RMB/person (includes materials, teaching, and firing) ✅ Day 2 expenses: Ticket 0 + Meals 60 + Handcraft 380 + Taxi 60 ≈ 500 RMB --- 🌟 Day 3: Cave exploration + Slow life in tea gardens 🕳 Morning: Zhanggongdong Cave (ticket 80 RMB) - Natural cave under Prince Mountain, with stalactites in countless shapes - Special activity: “Boat ride on the cave river” (extra 40 RMB), row a boat in the dark underground river, full of mystery! - Legend says Zhang Daoling of the Han dynasty once practiced alchemy here, full of immortal aura 🍵 Noon: Yangxian Tea Paradise or “Longyin Jiangnan” Tea Estate - Located in tens of thousands of tea gardens, buildings look like they grew out of the mountain - Lunch recommendations: tea-flavored chicken, tea oil fried rice, tea snack platter - Per person: 100 RMB 🌿 Afternoon: Tea mountain walk + tea picking experience - In spring, you can pick tea leaves yourself (best after Qingming Festival) - Learn tea frying techniques, breathe in the tea aroma, and calm your mind - You can buy pre-Qingming Yangxian Snow Bud tea (authentic about 600 RMB/jin, great for gifts) ✅ Day 3 expenses: Tickets 120 + Meals 100 + Experience 80 + Taxi 60 ≈ 360 RMB --- Day 4: Longbei Mountain Forest Park + Souvenir shopping 🏞 Morning: Longbei Mountain Forest Park (free) - The largest ecological park in the city, with lakes, bridges, and forest trails - Check-in spots: - Statue of Tao Sheng: commemorating Tao Yuanming, called “Taogong” by Yixing locals - Kite Square: perfect for family kite flying - Stele Forest: inscriptions by literati of all eras, rich cultural atmosphere 🛍 Souvenir shopping: 1. Small purple clay items: tea pets, coasters, small teapots (50-300 RMB, choose practical ones) 2. Yangxian tea: pre-Qingming Snow Bud, black tea “Hongling Jinhao” 3. Dried bamboo shoots/bamboo shoot strips: vacuum packed, super fragrant for soups at home 4. Yixing celadon: elegant and simple, great for gifts Recommended purchase locations: - Yixing Purple Clay City (Dingshu Town) - Supermarket “Babaiban” specialty area (downtown) 🚗 Return: Taxi to Yixing High-speed Rail Station (about 20 minutes, 40 RMB) ✅ Day 4 expenses: Meals 80 + Souvenirs 300 + Transportation 80 ≈ 460 RMB --- 💰 Total cost for the whole trip (based on 2 people, sharing saves more) | Item | Cost (per person) | |------|------------------| | Round-trip high-speed train (from Shanghai/Hangzhou) | 150 RMB | | Accommodation (3 nights in valley homestay) | 2340 ÷ 2 = 1170 RMB | | Meals (about 120 per day) | 480 RMB | | Tickets + experiences | 660 RMB | | Local transportation + taxis | 250 RMB | | Souvenirs + purple clay items | 300 RMB | | Total | ≈ 3010 RMB | 👉 Reserve 1990 RMB flexible budget (upgrade meals, buy high-end purple clay, emergencies) ✅ Final cost easily controlled within 5000 RMB, incredible value! --- Travel Tips 1. Best seasons: March-May (spring bamboo shoots + tea picking), September-November (autumn tea + pleasant weather) 2. Dress guide: bring comfortable shoes (many mountain paths), light jacket (cool mornings and evenings), sun protection gear 3. Must-bring items: camera, notebook (to write tea diary), small gifts (for masters) 4. Hidden activities: - Sign up for “Taogong Cave Meditation Tea Ceremony” (tea tasting inside the cave, super healing) - Night tour of “Longchi Mountain Bicycle Park” (lights + starry sky) --- Closing reflection: Yixing is not a bustling internet-famous city, but a life brewed in a teapot, a time hidden in a bamboo forest. Four days and three nights, spending 5000 RMB, you can listen to the wind in the bamboo sea, find focus in purple clay, and suddenly understand what “slow is the fastest happiness” means in the curling tea smoke. 💬 Comment below: who do you most want to bring to Yixing? To teach kids to make teapots, or to share a warm cup of tea with parents? 🔥 Share this post so more people know—Jiangnan is not just water towns, but also a small city alive with purple clay and tea fragrance!