I’m going through a bit of retro-China review of old photos and trips I have been on, which turned me onto Yuncheng, Ruicheng and the dead sea of China. I’ll add that the trip was 10 plus years ago.
Back then I was an English teacher at EF English First in Xi’an, which meant we would look for trips that could be done easily from Xi’an. Yuncheng, Ruicheng and the dead sea of China.
Introduction to Yuncheng
Yuncheng is small city by Chinese standards located in Shanxi province. Shanxi province is famously one of the most populated cities in China and aside from the now Disneyesque Pingyao doesn’t offer much. Still it makes a good stop to, or from Pingyao, and the Lonely Planet says it is nice!
Who to get to Yuncheng?
It is also 4 hours from either Pingyao, or Xi’an, both of which being the main cities either side. There really isn’t much other than these two places.
Why come to Yuncheng?
Well there aren’t a huge amount of reasons other than to break up a journey, or as a Chinese countryside getaway. I like it though…
- The dead sea of China – We saw a sig for this and decided we should check it out. A huge dead sea and lots of salt deposits as far as the eye can see. We discovered a wellness centre whee you would bathe in salt-water (and float), have a mud-bath and then head to a refreshing cold pool. This was s uprising highlight of Yuncheng.
- A water park! Theres a huge outdoor waterpark in Yunchneg, which in my mind made it worth the 4 hour journey itself
- Ruicheng – Yuncheng is still a city, a small one but a city one the less. You can head 65km up the mountain to visit Ruicheng. The main reason to come here is to visit the Guan Di Temple. This temple was moved brick by brick to its new location after its former house was intentionally flooded. Not the greatest temple in the world, but fun none the less.
- Rural nightclubs – Rural nightclubs quite word in China. We visited a nightclub in Ruicheng which involved men in extremely strange drag outfits and something I guess they thought was comedy. There are no bars as such in Ruicheng.
- Shanxi street food – Shanxi BBQ is extremely famous, as are Shaanxi noodles
Getting out of Yuncheng
Regular buses to Xi’an, or Pingyao, but don’t be in a rush to leave Yunchneng, or Ruicheng as they are quite relaxing.