Nanjianyan Scenic Area is located 50 kilometers southwest of Suichang County. Despite its name suggesting rock formations, it is renowned for its terraced fields in the mist and rural mountain scenery. The area may not be vast, but it boasts a variety of landscapes including sea of clouds, terraced fields, stone forests, bamboo forests, waterfalls, and villages. This concentration of diverse scenery in one place has made Nanjianyan a popular ‘photography base’ in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, attracting many photography enthusiasts daily with their professional equipment.
At the entrance of the scenic area, there is a village named Shixuntou with numerous agritourism options, making it convenient for visitors to eat, stay, and travel. Accommodations in the village are affordable, with standard rooms ranging from tens to a hundred yuan, and a rural dinner costing around 20 yuan, offering great value. Near the scenic area’s entrance, Nanjianyan Mountain Villa offers more spacious and clean standard rooms for over 200 yuan. Staying at the villa allows for multiple entries to the scenic area without needing to buy tickets repeatedly; otherwise, tickets are valid for a single entry. A visit to the scenic spots within Nanjianyan can be completed in about half a day. However, the sea of clouds and terraced fields outside the scenic area after rain in the early morning are more favored by photography enthusiasts. Many choose to stay overnight in Shixuntou, waking up at five or six in the morning to capture the misty beauty of the fields at the photography promenade outside the scenic area entrance. With favorable conditions, one can photograph the enchanting scene of clouds and mist around the fields at dawn. Additionally, setting up a tripod at night to photograph the starry sky with mountain ranges in the foreground can produce stunning effects. The pleasant scenery in the mountains has even led some to stay for a week, waiting for the perfect weather to capture the perfect shot. General visitors can simply purchase tickets and enter the scenic area to explore without needing to witness the early morning sea of clouds and terraced fields. The entrance is situated at an approximate altitude of 1100 meters in the mountains, making the walking trails a loop that descends and then ascends the mountain. The signs in the mountains are clear, and the difficulty of the walk is not too high, with no need to retrace one’s steps. Upon entering the scenic area, one first encounters the towering stone pillars of Tianzhu Peak, reaching a hundred meters in height. Not far along the narrow bluestone path lies the Cloud Viewing Pavilion, offering a panoramic view of the undulating mountains in the distance, and the villages of Dakeng and Banling connected by crisscrossing ridges, making it an excellent observation deck. Continuing forward, one will encounter uniquely shaped stones such as the Stone Monkey and the Turtle Exploring the Sea. After passing through the Skyline and the Bamboo Sea, the mountain peaks become steeper, and the steps become longer and steeper. As you cross the covered bridge, the roar of the Nine-Level Waterfall can be heard from afar. The volume of water in the Nine-Level Waterfall is considerable, and the closer one gets to the waterfall along the trail, the more spectacular it appears. Especially after rain, the view is even more imposing. When photographing, be careful of water splashes on the camera; sometimes the mist can be so dense that it may affect the photographic outcome. Next is the Three Peaks Piercing the Clouds, which are three towering stone shoots arranged in a staggered pattern, and they can be considered the signature attraction of Nanjianyan.The subsequent part of the tour does not offer much to see. After walking across a cable bridge, one returns to the entrance of the scenic area. The entire tour takes about two to three hours.
After touring Nanjianyan, one can hire a car at Shixutou to visit the nearby Shenlong Valley and Qianfo Mountain scenic areas, with a daily car rental price around 300 yuan. The opening hours are from April 1st to October 31st, 06:00-16:30; and from November 1st to March 31st, 06:30-18:00. Preferential policies for children: Free for height less than 1.2 meters; half price for height between 1.2 and 1.5 meters. Seniors: Half price for those aged 60 and above with a senior citizen card. Additional information: The above information is for reference only; please check the actual information disclosed by Nanjianyan Scenic Area on the day of visit. Service facilities: Parking lot, with both internal and external parking areas, reference price: 10 yuan per time; address: within Nanjianyan Scenic Area; number of parking spaces: 280.
