Tangshan Hot Springs · Homo Erectus Museum

First of China's four great hot spring resorts (developed as the "Sacred Soup" in the Southern Dynasties 1,500 years ago); Tangshan Ape Man Cave (where the Nanjing Homo Erectus No. 1 skull fossil was found in 1993); Mine Pit Park (a converted quarry whose swing lawn is an internet hit). Tangshan Hot Springs have been developed since the Southern Dynasties as the "Sacred Soup," with a 1,500-year spa history and first place among China's four great hot spring resorts; today they combine high-end resort hotels with public soaking pools. The Nanjing Homo Erectus No. 1 skull fossil unearthed from Tangshan Ape Man Cave in 1993 rewrote the early-human history of East China, and the Homo Erectus Museum is organized around the theme of "human origins." The adjacent Mine Pit Park was created by ecologically restoring a quarry; its white rock walls, swing lawn and starry-sky bubble domes have become viral new landmarks. "Hot spring soak + geology study + quarry photos" makes up a classic Tangshan day trip.

Getting there: Metro Line S6, Tangshan Station