沧州市

Why this place

Cangzhou is a Grand Canal city, and because it lay on the road where soldiers and boatmen passed, it became one of the great centres of Chinese martial arts — dozens of styles were developed or taught here. The city is also one of the oldest iron-casting sites in the world.

What to see

• The Iron Lion of Cangzhou, a 1,000-year-old iron statue almost 6 metres tall
• The Grand Canal waterfront and the old canal warehouses
• Wuqiao, a county south of the city famous for acrobatics training schools

What to eat

• Cangzhou is famous for its mutton soup and for jujubes (dates) from the surrounding counties
• Grand Canal fish dishes, river fish braised with vinegar

Best time

April–May and September–October