黄冈市

Why this place

Huanggang is where Li Shizhen, the author of the Compendium of Materia Medica — the great Chinese herbal encyclopaedia — was born. It is also the centre of Huangmei opera and a region of temples in the mountains behind the Yangtze.

What to see

• The Li Shizhen memorial and the herb garden at Qichun
• The Sizu Temple and the Wuzu Temple, two of the great Zen monasteries of China
• The Dongpo Red Cliff (the other one) at Huangzhou, where Su Dongpo wrote
• Dabie Mountain and the old revolutionary base areas

What to eat

• Hubei mountain food and the local rice dishes
• Qichun is a medicinal-herb centre — expect herb-flavoured cooking

Best time

March–May and October–November