Wencheng is the ancient hometown of Liu Ji, who served as an advisor to Zhu Yuanzhang, who founded the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

His ancestral village is a scenic site, where the local tourism authorities have tried to maintain the look of hundreds of years ago. The village has temples, pavilions, a large lotus pond and surrounding mountains.

The Chengyibo Temple is a wooden structure that houses statues of Liu Ji and his sons Liu Lian and Liu Jing. There are also steles with inscriptions written by famous Ming and Qing (1644-1911) dynasty scholars.

What distinguishes this site from others are the more than 100 pairs of ying lian, or couplets carved on wood. They adorn the walls of halls, temples and pavilions, and were unscathed by the cultural revolution.

Our tour guide told us the locals were quick thinking during that time of upheaval. They inscribed quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong on the backs of the wood couplets so that no one dared destroy them.

For tourists who visit in the summertime, tens of thousands of pink lotus blossoms can be seen waving in the breeze in a lotus water park. There's a walkway through the area for people to enjoy this visual wonderland up close. The fragrance is exotic. This is a perfect place for photographs.

"I never see gray skies in my hometown except on rainy days," Liu, the tour guide, boasted to us. "Here, it is always crystal blue."

How to get there

The trip from Shanghai to Wenzhou takes about four hours by bullet train. At the bus stop in front of the Wenzhou train station, take a bus to Wencheng County. Buses run every 40 minutes, starting from 9:40am.

You might prefer to rent a car if there are several of you in a group. Hotels in Wencheng are happy to help you with that. Or you can call Wencheng Changyun Car Rental at (0577) 5902-8856. For booking tours in the area, phone China CYTS Tours at (0577) 6789-0088.

? At the Wencheng bus station, you can catch a bus to Tongling Mountain.

? To get to the Baizhangji Waterfalls, first take a cab to the Wencheng Sightseeing Bus Center (旅游集散中心), then catch a bus that leaves every morning at 9am to the scenic area.

? To get to Liu Ji's home village, take a cab to Nantian bus station and then a bus to Nantian. Once you get off, walking instructions to the site are posted. The walk takes about 15 minutes.

Admission: 20 yuan for Liu Ji's home village; 65 yuan for Baizhangji Waterfalls; 70 yuan for Tongling Mountain

Tips on food

? Dried vegetables are a specialty of this area. It is a traditional way of preserving eggplant, asparagus and other vegetables in a mountainous area where farming is limited and fresh vegetables harder to come by.

? Fish tofu. Another local specialty is tofu-like curd made of fish meat paste.