Fuling

China's zhacai (pickled mustard tuber) capital where the Wu River joins the Yangtze, home to the Baiheliang Underwater Museum, the 816 Underground Nuclear Plant and the Wulingshan Great Rift — a mix of culture, Third Front heritage and karst wonders.

Fuling District lies in central Chongqing at the confluence of the Yangtze and Wu rivers, about 100 km from downtown Chongqing. Known in ancient times as Zhi, it was part of the Ba Kingdom and is famous across China as the home of zhacai (pickled mustard tuber). The city is built along both rivers: the old town core on the south bank of the Yangtze is home to the Baiheliang Underwater Museum, while on the north bank, Dianyi Garden is where Northern Song Neo-Confucian scholar Cheng Yi wrote his commentary on the *I Ching*.

There are three main areas to explore. In the city, see the underwater inscriptions at Baiheliang, the confluence of the two rivers, Dianyi Garden and the Zhacai History Museum. To the southeast, follow the Wu River upstream to Baitao Subdistrict to visit the 816 Underground Nuclear Plant from the Third Front construction era, then head up Wuling Mountain for the Wulingshan Great Rift, the national forest park and Damu Flower Valley — a cool summer retreat. To the west, Linshi has the Meixin Wine Town and the Longmen Bridge in Linshi Ancient Town, and Qingyang Town has the Qing-dynasty Chen Wanbao Manor. About 35 km east lies Fengdu's Mingshan (the "Ghost City").

The best seasons are Mar–May and Sep–Nov. In Jul–Aug the city is sweltering, so head up Wuling Mountain or to Damu to cool off. In winter's low-water season, changes in water level around Baiheliang make the ancient hydrological inscriptions easier to understand. Getting there: bullet trains run from Chongqing North and Chongqing West to Fuling North in about 40 minutes; by car from downtown Chongqing it's about 1.5 hours on the G50 Shanghai–Chongqing Expressway. From the city it's about 40 minutes' drive to 816 and about 1 hour to the Wulingshan Great Rift; buses to the scenic areas are infrequent, so self-drive or hire a car. Allow 2–3 days. Must-tries: Fuling zhacai, fried fermented rice wine (you laozao), Fuling brown-sugar sticky rice cakes and riverside grilled fish.

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