亳州市

Why this place

Bozhou is where China's traditional-medicine trade concentrates: its herb market is the largest in the country, and the city's name is attached to a famous liquor, Gujing Gongjiu. Hua Tuo, the legendary physician, was from here.

What to see

• The Bozhou herbal medicine market, which is extraordinary if you have any interest in Chinese medicine
• Hua Xi Temple and the memorial to Hua Tuo, the Han surgeon
• The old city's Huaxi Alley and the Cao Cao underground troop-passage site
• Gujing distillery, for the liquor

What to eat

• Medicinal cuisine (yaoshan) — food cooked with herbs, which is genuinely local
• Beef buns and the local wheaten breakfast; Anhui-style braised dishes

Best time

April–May and September–November