Xiaogan Shuangfeng Mountain & Tangchi Hot Springs

Home of filial-piety culture (legend of Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy) plus Shuangfeng Mountain Forest Park; Yingcheng Tangchi Hot Springs (ancient springs of the Han and Tang eras). Xiaogan is named for 'filial piety that moved heaven': the legend of Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy is set here, and Dong Yong, who sold himself into servitude to pay for his father's burial, is one of the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars. Relics tied to filial culture, such as the Huaiyin Tree and the Fairy Pool, are scattered across town and countryside. Shuangfeng Mountain National Forest Park takes its name from two facing peaks shaped like a pen rack; with dense forest cover, gorge streams and ancient fortress ruins, it suits a half-day hike. Yingcheng Tangchi Hot Springs has records of use since the Han and Tang dynasties, and the spring veins of these 'Han-Tang ancient baths' still flow today; the resort's outdoor pools and hotel facilities are well developed, and the winter combo of 'hiking Shuangfeng Mountain by day, soaking in Tangchi springs by night' is highly comfortable. Xiaogan rice wine and Xiaogan sesame candy are the local flavor calling cards—don't leave without a jar of the wine.

Getting there: Xiaogan, self-drive / shuttle bus