阜新市

Why this place

Fuxin is a coal city which, as its mines have closed, has turned its spoil heaps into a park. It sits where Manchuria meets Inner Mongolia, so Mongolian grassland and culture are right at the city's edge.

What to see

• Haizhou open-pit mine and the land-reclamation park built over the spoil
• The Ruiying Temple and the Mongolian sites of the Fuxin Mongol Autonomous County
• Talin grassland a short drive north

What to eat

• Mongolian and Manchurian mix — mutton, millet and pickled vegetables
• Northeast dumplings

Best time

May–October