Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai Hiking | Where to go for the May Day holiday? An ultra-detailed guide to the Salt Merchants' Eighteen Fords

Shaoxing really has a lot of suitable hiking routes! This time we went to the Salt Merchants' Eighteen Fords, and I suggest that for such semi-long-distance trips, you can take the high-speed train to the local area and then rent a car. It's very tiring to drive directly to the scenic area, especially after hiking for a day and then having to drive a long distance. ⛰️Attractions and activities: We went on a self-driving tour, drove to Qingzhai Village, where there is a large free parking lot, and then started hiking. We took the big loop, covering a total of 14.38 kilometers. The entire Salt Merchants' Eighteen Fords route has very nice scenery of mountains and waters, and the fords are not too far apart from each other. The biggest problem is that the hike from Qingzhai Village to the first ford and from the eighteenth ford back to Qingzhai Village both involve a long climb up the mountain. Especially from the eighteenth ford to Qingzhai Village, the ascent is quite high, and because we started late, it got dark by the end. I suggest that it's better to start earlier. 🚗Transportation and accommodation: We took the high-speed train from Shanghai Hongqiao to Shengzhou Xinchang Station, and then rented a car to go to the Eighteen Fords scenic area (because we heard that it's not very convenient to take a taxi around the Salt Merchants' Eighteen Fords, so we chose to rent a car). We chose to stay near the Big Buddha Temple, about an hour's drive from the Eighteen Fords, which was also convenient for visiting the Big Buddha Temple the next day and close to Shengzhou Xinchang Station. 🍜Food recommendations: Shengzhou and Xinchang are very close to each other, so after getting off the high-speed train, we went straight to Shengzhou! Tofu buns! Rice cakes are very delicious! Worth a try. 📌Helpful TIPS: 1. Be sure to start hiking early! We started at 12:45, and because we stopped to take photos and walked slowly, we didn't get back to the end point until 19:50. There are no street lights on the mountain, and there is no way back (going back the same way is even further from the end point ). 2. It might be a good idea to bring a flashlight in case it gets dark . 3. Don't expose your legs, just because there was a section of the road that was flooded and we had to wade through it. I lifted my pants for 5 minutes and got bitten by some unknown bugs twice. Although it didn't hurt or itch, the bitten area turned blue.