The Quhu Linyuan Ancient Trail

The Quhu Linyuan Ancient Trail

The Quhu Linyuan Ancient Trail

Starting and ending (via) points: Begins in Linyuan Village, Hulixiang, and ends at Fen Shui Cheng, the boundary with Quxi Town, Ouhai District

Total length: 5.6 km

Overview and main features: The Quhu Linyuan Ancient Trail is the Rui’an section of the ancient trail connecting Ouhai and Rui’an, also known as the Fen Shui Cheng Ancient Trail. At an elevation of 454 meters, it starts in Linyuan Village, Hulixiang, and ends at Fen Shui Cheng Ridge, which borders Quxi Subdistrict, Ouhai District. From Fen Shui Cheng, the trail descends northward toward Quxi and downtown Wenzhou. Established as early as the 5th century, the trail stretches 5.6 km in total with a width of 1.5 meters. Along the way, you’ll find maple trees, pine trees, and bamboo forests. In autumn, the fiery red maples create a spectacular sight, making this a renowned red maple trail. The trail extends from southwest to northeast along the upper reaches of the 31st Stream, built alongside the creek. Along its path, there is still one section of ancient city wall, two stone arch bridges, three ancient road shelters, several covered pavilions, temples, steles, remnants of paper-making workshops, and four small villages: Linyuan, Lingtou, Fengshu??, and Xian’antang. The area is rich in forest vegetation, including maple trees, pines, and bamboo groves. Hundreds of ancient sweet gum trees line both sides of the trail, complementing the waterfalls, deep pools, and peculiar rocks along the stream to form a beautiful natural landscape.

Source: Zhejiang Provincial Forestry Bureau

Hulixiang: A town under the jurisdiction of Rui’an City. Established as a town in 1931, reclassified as a township in 1949, renamed a commune in 1958, called Huyuqiao Town in 1984, and restored as Hulixiang in 1992 after merging with Kengyuan Township. Located in the mountainous northwest of the city, 34 km from downtown, with the town government based in Datong Village. It covers an area of 31.4 square kilometers and has a population of 22,000. The Rui (An) Feng (Ling) Highway runs through the area. The town administers Datong, Songtan, Xiazhe, Hudong, Dalinyang, Dingshan, Panlongshan, Sigushan, Yandian, Xianxin Temple, Shanqian, Xiang??, Feng’ao, Yacun, Machewang, XinShe, Xin??, Wulin, Yuankou, Tian… For more details about Hulixiang++

Further reading:

· Top Ten Scenic Ancient Trails in Zhejiang