Small Chinese Cities Worth a Detour: Twelve Towns Beyond the Guidebooks

The Case for the Second City

China's headline cities are worth their fame, but the country's most memorable days often happen somewhere smaller: a canal town where the morning market runs along the water, a porcelain city where the workshops still fire on wood, a river town with one good museum and no queue. The twelve places below all sit on the rail network, all take one or two days, and all work as stops between bigger destinations.

Canal and Water Towns

Yangzhou, Nanxun, Xitang and Tongli are the canal country: gardens, stone bridges and lanes, with far fewer visitors than Suzhou's headline spots outside the peak hours. Stay overnight if you can — the towns belong to residents before breakfast and after the day-trippers leave.

Wine, Porcelain and Craft Towns

Shaoxing is the yellow-wine city, with cellars, old lanes and a literary pedigree; Jingdezhen is the porcelain capital, where kilns, studios and markets fill two days; Dehua, in Fujian, makes white porcelain on a smaller and quieter scale. All three reward travellers who like watching things being made rather than looking at them in cases.

River and Hill Towns

Qufu, in Shandong, is the Confucian town of temples and mansions; Zhenyuan, in Guizhou, wraps around a river bend in the hills; Songyang, in Zhejiang, is a valley of old villages and tea. These are slower stops, best in spring and autumn, and all reachable by rail plus a short drive.

Ports, Islands and Border Country

Ningbo is the old port with a famous library and excellent seafood; Meizhou is the Hakka heartland of walled communal houses; Heshun, near the Yunnan border, is a jade-trade town of lanes and courtyards. Add Langzhong's old city in Sichuan or Chikan's arcaded streets in Guangdong, and the list runs to twelve — enough for a whole trip made of second cities.

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