Luoyang Departure: Laojun Mountain, 4 Days 3 Nights

The drive from Luoyang to Luanchuan county takes a little over two hours on the expressway. Drop the bags at the hotel and eat lunch before heading anywhere, because the afternoon belongs to the cave. Jiguan Cave holds eighteen degrees all year, so a jacket goes on before the door, not after. Walk the full eighteen hundred metres with the guide, past flowstone and stone curtains, and step out while the sky is still bright. Dinner in the county town, an early night, an early start.

Attraction introduction: Jiguan Cave is a limestone cave cut into the flank of the hill, with eighteen hundred metres opened to visitors and a constant eighteen degrees inside. Stalactites, stalagmites and stone curtains layer over one another under warm lamps, and the widest chamber holds several hundred people standing. Outside, paths and a viewing platform look down over Luanchuan county town and the ridgelines behind it.

Tips: The gap between inside and outside runs to more than ten degrees, so put the jacket on before entering. Guests generally find the steps slick and the lighting low, and a worn pair of shoes with grip beats a new pair. In practice this day holds nothing else, and the rest of the afternoon goes to the hotel, because the mountain comes tomorrow.

Breakfast at half past seven, then the gate. The ticket runs two days, so the first afternoon spent underground costs nothing. Park outside the gate and take the shuttle up to the lower cable car station, five yuan a stop. The first cable car is one hundred and thirty return, and the last ascent leaves at half past three, which is the number to remember. Change at Zhongtianmen for the second cable car, eighty return, and step out onto the cliff path of Shili Huaping. The summit lights come on around six, one hall after another, with the cloud sea still sitting below.

Attraction introduction: The main peak of Laojun Mountain stands above two thousand two hundred metres, and the golden halls along its ridge form the image most people recognise. Forest thins with height, from mixed pine and oak at the waist to bare granite pillars near the top. The Shili Huaping walkway runs tight against the cliff face, wide open to the valley, and cloud seas are most frequent where autumn turns into winter.

Tips: Half past three for the last ascent is a hard cut-off, not a suggestion. Guests generally find the summit seven or eight degrees colder with a serious wind, and a shell jacket works better than a down coat. In practice the over-sixty exemption covers the gate ticket only, so cable car fares stay in the budget when older family members travel.

Day three goes to Longyuwan. Nothing here demands to be conquered; it is a forest, and the point is to walk in and listen to water. The path follows the stream uphill at an easy grade, leaves thick underfoot and soft enough to feel through the sole. Birds are loud because there is nothing else. Lunch at a farmhouse below the trail, then back to the county town by the same road, and a walk through the streets before dark.

Attraction introduction: Longyuwan National Forest Park lies inside Luanchuan county and is built around secondary forest and a stream valley. Canopy cover is heavy, summer stays cool, and by late autumn the woods turn yellow and red. Trails run beside the water at gentle grades, which suits walking without a schedule. Opening dates and ticket prices are adjusted season by season, so the gate notice is the authority.

Tips: Both the ticket and the opening window at Longyuwan shift from year to year, so a phone call the day before is the safe move. Guests generally find it quiet and easy underfoot, but supply points along the trail are few. In practice water and dry food are bought in the county town first, because the mountain will not sell them on demand.

The last morning is unhurried. Beef soup with shredded flatbread for breakfast, in a shop full of locals at that hour. Then the wet market for walnuts, wood ear fungus, coarse cornmeal and dried fern, two bags of it. Vendors offer a taste before naming a price, and a yuan or two a jin is normal room to bargain. On the expressway by ten and back in Luoyang for lunch, with checkout done before breakfast rather than after.

Attraction introduction: Luanchuan county town sits well above Luoyang and swings hard between day and night temperatures. Local produce means walnuts, wood ear fungus, coarse cornmeal and dried fern. The county market is busiest early, with dry goods stalls clustered on the inner side. Since the expressway opened, the run down to Luoyang holds steady at a little over two hours.

Tips: Check dried goods for damp before paying; snap a piece of wood ear and listen, a clean crack means it dried properly. Guests generally find county market prices kinder than those at the scenic gate, though the scale is worth watching. In practice no sightseeing goes on the departure day, because the road can swallow an hour without warning.