晋城市

Why this place

Jincheng sits on the road where Shanxi merchants moved salt, tea and money from the sixteenth century onward. Their wealth built fortified family compounds with towers and walls unlike anything else in China — half houses, half castles, and very well preserved.

What to see

• Huangcheng Xiangfu, the 'Prime Minister's Castle', a vast walled family estate with inner and outer cities
• Guoyu Castle, a fortified Ming village with towers and a complete street plan
• The Qinshui river valley, dotted with these compounds

What to eat

• Jin-dialect household food — millet, beans, mushrooms from the Taihang
• Local yellow wine, made in the towns around Jincheng

How to plan

Two days with a car: one for Huangcheng and Guoyu, one for the countryside compounds around Qinshui and Yangcheng.

Best time

April–May and September–October