荆州市

Why this place

Jingzhou was the capital of the State of Chu and then a major city of the Three Kingdoms, and it has one of the best-preserved Ming city walls in China — 11km around, with the moat still full. The Chu culture that produced China's earliest surviving poetry came from this region.

What to see

• The Ming city wall — walk the full circuit, and see the three surviving original gates
• The Jingzhou Museum, which holds the finest collection of Chu and Han textiles and lacquerware in China
• The Chu capital ruins at Jinancheng, the largest pre-Qin city site in China
• Guan Yu's temple, since Jingzhou was central to his story

What to eat

• Hubei freshwater fish — Jingzhou fish dishes are a local point of pride
• The local 'fish cake' and lotus-root cooking, plus rice wine

Best time

March–May and October–November

Practical tips

• The museum is the reason to come — the silk and lacquer from Chu tombs is genuinely astonishing