辽源市

Why this place

Liaoyuan was a coal town and is also where the Manchus kept a deer park — the name means 'deer source'. It is small and workaday, but it sits under the Longgang range, which gives it a rough green setting.

What to see

• Kuixing Tower, a Ming–Qing brick tower in the city
• Longgang Mountain and the surrounding forest parks
• Deer farms, which continue the region's old Manchu association with sika deer

What to eat

• Northeast stews
• Venison dishes, given the local tradition

Best time

May–October