Lijiakeng – Maohuo Ancient-Village Walk
Lijiakeng Village (李家坑游客中心), Zhangshui Town, Haishu District 李家坑村 → Maohuo Ancient Tree Grove (茅镬古树公园), Zhangshui Town, Haishu District 茅镬古树群
Plan Your Route
Quick Facts
| Start | Lijiakeng Village (李家坑游客中心), Zhangshui Town, Haishu District 李家坑村 |
| Finish | Maohuo Ancient Tree Grove (茅镬古树公园), Zhangshui Town, Haishu District 茅镬古树群 |
| Area | Siming Mountains |
| Best season | Autumn is the whole point. From about mid-November into early December the western Siming flank turns at once: the ginkgos go gold, the sweetgums to deep red, the golden-larch needles fall as a carpet on the stone path, and the persimmons hang red on bare branches through the villages — the local name for them, 吊红 or 'hanging red', says it plainly. Spring is fresh and quiet, with new leaf and the last of the cherry blossom at Zhangxi, and it is the better season if you want the villages to yourself. Summer is green and humid, fine in the morning but close in the bamboo by midday. Winter is bare, still and genuinely cold at this elevation — the stone steps frost early, so start late and watch your footing. |
| Transport | Drive or ride-hail from Ningbo city to the Zhangshui Town villages (~1.5–2 h each way over the winding 细北线/浒溪线 mountain road); the villages sit in Haishu District, not Yuyao, though Yuyao is a workable staging point. Rural buses run the 637/638 + 617-x chain to both ends on thin, seasonal timetables — confirm the day's run in AMap. The optional cycle and the walk-either-direction logistics are covered in the sections below. |
| Crowd level | Light by Zhejiang standards, but this is the range's best-known autumn drive, so it is not empty in season. The two villages see steady local traffic, and on clear November weekends the Maohuo car park fills by mid-morning with photographers and coach parties. Midweek and early mornings are far quieter, and in spring and summer you may meet only a handful of walkers on the 指如岭古道 between the villages. The grove itself is busiest in the two or three weeks of peak colour. |
Route Summary
Lijiakeng – Maohuo is a 10–11 km ancient-village traverse across the western flank of the Siming Mountains, in Zhangshui Town, Haishu District, Ningbo. It links two of the range’s best-known old villages — Lijiakeng, a stone-walled settlement four centuries old, and Maohuo, whose name means the ancient-tree grove and which carries the title 浙东第一古树村, the first ancient-tree village of eastern Zhejiang. Between them lie the stone steps of the 指如岭古道, bamboo and sweetgum, terraced tea, and the cherry terraces of Zhangxi. It is a walk of villages and old paths rather than summits: the climbing is steady and modest, the trail is marked, and the whole thing is free.
The reason it stands out is the company it keeps. This is the western Siming flank, the quieter half of a range whose eastern side draws the coach parties in the golden-larch season. Lijiakeng and Maohuo sit in 海曙区章水镇, not in Yuyao, which is why the traverse reads as a village walk rather than a mountain outing — you are moving between settlements, not up a mountain, and the path between them is an old one that predates the road. That road, the winding 细北线, runs the ridge nearby and is what a navigation app will route you along; the walk follows the ribbon-marked stone instead, and the two are kilometres apart.
Autumn is when this flank earns its reputation. From mid-November the ginkgos turn gold and the sweetgums to deep red, the golden-larch needles fall as a carpet on the stone, and the small persimmons the villages call 吊红 — hanging red — stay on the bare branches for weeks. The Maohuo grove, with around ninety old trees whose average age is commonly given as some 470 years, is the focal point: a thousand-year golden larch, a sweetgum of more than eight hundred, a lakeside boardwalk and a café at the end of the walk. Spring is the other good window, quieter and green, with cherry blossom at Zhangxi.
One thing worth saying plainly, because the two routes get confused: the villages on the Dalan side — Zifeng, Huangyantou, Shilin with the ticketed 丹山赤水 scenic area — are a separate, far longer loop some 20 to 30 km away by road on the Yuyao side. They are not stops on this traverse, and this page does not include them. What follows is the village-to-village walk: Lijiakeng to Maohuo, in whichever direction you choose, with the Dalan loop noted at the end as a different and bigger day.
Distances, gain and times here are working figures rather than official measurements, and the admission and bus details below are as currently published locally. The bus chain changes with the season and the 丹山赤水 price is as commonly listed at the time of writing. The map marks the four village anchors rather than a traced line — follow the ribbon-marked stone path between them, and confirm transport and parking on the day.
Step-by-Step Route
Lijiakeng — the stone village at the start
~30 min to look around, then onBegin at Lijiakeng (李家坑村), and give the village half an hour before you walk a step of trail. This is a 400-year-old settlement built into the fold of the valley, its lanes walled in dressed stone, a stream running through the middle and persimmon trees overhanging the paths. The 李氏家庙 ancestral hall still stands, and the village is one of the first in Ningbo to be listed for the longevity of its residents — a quiet, lived-in place rather than a staged one, and one that rewards a slow first pass on foot. Facilities and free parking are by the bridge at the lower end of the village, which is also the informal trailhead: look for the ribbon markers on the lane out of the upper village rather than any formal signage. From here the waymarked path leaves the village and begins to climb, so fill your water, use the toilets, and step onto the stone.
Photo suggestion: The village lanes read best in the soft light of morning, before the stone walls lose their shadow.
The 指如岭古道 — stone steps into the bamboo
~50–70 minThe first real walking is the 指如岭古道, and it sets the character of the day: hand-laid stone steps and an earth path climbing gently through bamboo and sweetgum, with the valley falling away behind you. This is not a summit push — the grade is steady and forgiving, the kind of old path that was built to be walked with a load — but it is continuous, and after rain the leaf-covered stone holds water and turns slick. Ribbon markers at the junctions keep you right, and the main line is hard to lose. By the time the bamboo thins you are on the shoulder of the ridge, with the next village coming into view below and the first wide views back across the valley you have just left.
Caution: Leaf-covered stone steps are genuinely slippery when wet — take the descent on this section slowly if you are walking the traverse in the Maohuo-to-Lijiakeng direction.
Photo suggestion: Look back down the stone steps through the bamboo — the repeating flights of steps make the classic frame of an old Siming path.
Diping and the shoulder between the villages
~40–60 minAt Diping (低坪村) the stone path gives way to a farm road and a scatter of houses on the hillside, and the walk opens out. This middle stretch between Diping and Zhangxi is the quietest and most varied part of the traverse: farm track and narrow lanes through sweetgum and terraced tea, small stands of bamboo, and openings where the western Siming crests stack up behind you. A tiny hamlet, 花桃, sits between the two villages for those who want to walk the full linking path rather than the shorter farm-road line. There is no shop or water here, and little shade in the middle of the day — this is the section to have your water and hat sorted for before you start it.
Photo suggestion: The terraced tea and the smallholdings around Diping catch a clean sidelight in the afternoon — good for detail rather than panorama.
Zhangxi Cherry Garden — the hilltop platform
~30–45 min including a restZhangxi (杖锡村) is the cherry village, the largest cherry-nursery base in Zhejiang, and in spring the hillside above it is blossom from end to end. In autumn the orchards are bare and quiet, which is exactly why the village makes a good rest stop: there is a large hilltop viewing platform with open views across the range, and space to sit and eat before the last leg. The village has toilets, which is the main practical reason to pause here. Take the platform slowly — the panorama from it is one of the better unsung views in the western Siming, and on a clear day the layers of ridge behind ridge are the reason people come back to this corner of the range.
Photo suggestion: The hilltop platform above Zhangxi is the spot for a wide layered-ridge frame; in late spring the same view is cherry blossom.
The last leg — down to the Maohuo grove
~45–60 minFrom Zhangxi the route turns east and drops toward Maohuo, and the walking changes again: farm road and earth path through mixed broadleaf, the stone returning underfoot as you near the grove, and the valley narrowing. This is the section where the autumn colour builds — the ginkgos and sweetgums of the villages give way to the first golden larches standing among the ordinary forest, a sign of what is coming. The grade is mostly downhill, which makes it pleasant in this direction and a steady climb in the other, and the light through the trees in late afternoon is the best of the day. The grove announces itself gradually, then all at once: tall, dark trunks in a clearing, and the path runs into it.
Photo suggestion: The mix of broadleaf and the first golden larch on the approach is the transition frame — the moment the ordinary forest becomes old growth.
Maohuo Ancient Tree Grove — the finish
~30–45 min to exploreThe traverse ends in the 茅镬古树群, the ancient-tree grove that gives Maohuo its name and its reputation as 浙东第一古树村, the first ancient-tree village of eastern Zhejiang. About ninety old trees stand here, with an average age commonly listed around 470 years: golden larch, Chinese torreya, ginkgo and sweetgum, including a golden larch of around a thousand years and a sweetgum of more than eight hundred. It is free, open-air and unhurried — a lakeside boardwalk, a viewing deck, a lawn where people camp, and the 森木咖啡 café on site for a coffee at the end. The grove is also where the day's logistics resolve: the car park, the toilets and the café are all here, which makes it the natural place to regroup, change footwear and sort out the drive or pickup before the mountain road. Walk the boardwalk before you leave; it is the natural close to the day, with the lake below and the grove at your back.
Photo suggestion: The lakeside boardwalk frames the grove against the water — the cleanest closing image of the walk.
Getting There & Back
By car (recommended)
BestDriving is the straightforward way in and the only way that reliably reaches both trailheads. From Ningbo city, head out through Zhangshui and climb the 细北线 / 浒溪线 mountain road to the villages — allow about 1.5–2 hours each way, longer on a slow weekend. Note the geography: Lijiakeng and Maohuo are in 海曙区章水镇, not Yuyao, though Yuyao city or 余姚北站 is a workable staging point at a similar driving time. The road is narrow, steep and winding; it is not for a nervous driver, and the last stretch has few passing places. Park at the Maohuo grove lot (charged, and full by mid-morning on autumn weekends, after which cars line the roadside) or for free at Lijiakeng by the bridge. Return by the same road, or leave a car at each end and walk the traverse one way.
By public transport
Buses reach the villages but on thin, seasonal rural timetables, and this is the part of the trip most likely to change. The usual chain is from Ningbo 火车站南广场 on a 637/638 service to 鄞江周家, then a 617-series rural bus (617-3/4/7/8, or the 617-4/6/8 pairing some sources give) up to the 茅镬古树群 stop; there is also a reported 李家坑↔茅镬 link on the same family of routes. Some of these runs are once or twice a day and lean on weekends, so treat the whole chain as a plan to confirm in AMap on the morning and never as a firm timetable. Return means reversing the same chain, and the last bus from the top villages can be early — check the day's final service before you commit to a one-way walk.
By taxi / ride-hailing
A ride-hail from Ningbo city or Yuyao covers the mountain road to either trailhead, but drivers are scarce once you are up in the range and pickups are not to be counted on. The practical approach is to book outward to one village and arrange the return at the same time — either the driver waits, or you agree a pickup time at the far end while you still have signal. Show the driver the Chinese name of the village (李家坑游客中心 or 茅镬古树公园) rather than an English label. If you walk the traverse one way, having the car meet you at the far village removes the only genuinely awkward piece of the logistics.
By bike (optional)
The 细北线 ridge road is a genuine climb and a rewarding one for a fit cyclist, but it is an open mountain road shared with cars, not a separated cycle path, and the gradients are steep and sustained. Riding it as an out-and-back — park at one village, ride the ridge to the other and return — gives you the views without the one-way logistics problem, and the autumn colour reads even better from the saddle. There is no bike hire in the villages, so bring your own. Return the way you came, and take the descents slowly: the road is narrow, the surface uneven in places, and local traffic does not expect cyclists.
Practical Notes
Walk it either direction
The traverse is point-to-point, so decide the direction before you start. Lijiakeng to Maohuo puts the long climb first and finishes at the grove with its café and boardwalk — the more rewarding order for most people. Maohuo to Lijiakeng reverses that, starting among the old trees and ending in the village lanes. Both work; neither is easier overall.
Sort out the return
This is the one logistical point that needs a plan. If you have one car, either walk out and back along the same line, or leave a second car at the far village. If you are on buses, confirm the last service at the village you finish in before you set off, because rural runs can end early. Ride-hail pickup inside the range is scarce, so book it.
Time it for the colour
Mid-November to early December is the window: ginkgo gold, sweetgum at full red, the larch needles down on the path and the red persimmons still on the branches through the villages. Zifeng's 'ginkgo brothers' on the Dalan side turn a little earlier, from late October. If you come for the grove, aim for a clear weekend in the second half of November.
Start early on autumn weekends
The Maohuo car park fills by mid-morning on clear November weekends, with cars spilling onto the roadside. Arriving before about 08:30, or coming midweek, changes the day entirely — you get the grove and the stone path close to yourself, and you are down before the afternoon rush on the mountain road.
Water and food go with you
There is no water or food on the 指如岭古道 or on the shoulder between Diping and Zhangxi. Carry 1.5–2 L of water and something to eat. The villages at each end have small stalls, the grove has its café, and Zhangxi has toilets — but the middle of the walk is for what you brought.
Footwear for old stone
This is a stone-and-earth path, not a scramble, but the steps on the 指如岭古道 are uneven and, under wet leaves, genuinely slippery. Shoes with real grip are the difference between a relaxed descent and a careful one. Poles help on the stone sections if you use them.
Navigate by the villages, not the road
The map marks the four village anchors rather than a traced line, because the honest path between them is the ribbon-marked stone trail, and a navigation app will draw you the mountain road instead — the two are kilometres apart. Follow the ribbon markers and the villages, and carry the Chinese place names saved on your phone for the driver and for offline use.
It is the old-growth village, not the scenic area
Maohuo and the core traverse are free. The ticketed 丹山赤水 scenic area, with its ¥65 admission commonly listed at time of writing, is on the Dalan side, part of the separate extension loop — not on this walk. If you want to add it, budget a different day and a drive, and confirm the current price at the gate.
Respect the grove
Maohuo's trees are old and protected. Stay on the boardwalk and the paths, do not climb on roots or trunks, and take everything out with you — the grove is a working heritage site, not a park built for picnics. Camping on the lawn is tolerated, but fires are not, and the grove is dry and wooded enough that this matters.
Safety Notes
- Wet leaves on old stone steps are the main hazard on the 指如岭古道 — descend slowly and keep a hand free.
- There is no water, food or shelter between the villages; carry 1.5–2 L and check the weather before you start.
- Mobile signal is patchy in the valley and on the shoulder — download an offline map and tell someone your route and finish time.
- The mountain road is narrow, steep and winding; drive it in daylight and expect local traffic on blind bends.
- The grove is a protected old-growth site with a no-fires rule; camp only where it is tolerated and never light a fire.
- Days are short by the November colour season — start early enough to be off the trail well before dusk.
Best Time to Go
Spring
RecommendedMild, green and quiet. New leaf on the broadleaf, the last cherry blossom on the Zhangxi terraces in late March and early April, and the villages at their most peaceful. A good season if you want the walk without the autumn crowds.
Summer
Hot and humid, and the bamboo on the 指如岭古道 holds the heat. Walk early and be off the exposed shoulder by midday; carry more water than you think you need. The grove's shade and the lake boardwalk are the reward at the end.
Autumn
RecommendedThe season the walk is built around. Ginkgo gold, sweetgum red, golden-larch needles on the path and red persimmons through the villages, from about mid-November into early December. Clear weekends are busy at Maohuo; midweek is quiet.
Winter
Bare, still and genuinely cold at this elevation, with the stone steps frosting early and the grove stripped to trunk and branch. Quiet and atmospheric on a dry, clear day — but start late, finish early, and watch your footing on the stone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Short answers to common planning questions about transport, Chinese place names, timing, and safety for this route.
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How long is the Lijiakeng to Maohuo walk, and how much climbing?
The traverse is commonly listed at around 10 to 11 km with roughly 400 m of cumulative gain, taking 4 to 5 hours at a relaxed pace with stops for photographs. The line sits between about 550 m at the villages and 660 m at its high point, so the climbing is gentle and steady rather than steep. These are working figures from outdoor-club tracklogs of the route rather than an official measurement, and a 14.6 km variant with 758 m of gain that you may see quoted is a longer out-and-back version, not this traverse. Treat 10–11 km and 400 m as the planning numbers. -
Is the walk really free?
Yes, on the core line. Lijiakeng, Diping and Zhangxi are ordinary villages with no gate, and the Maohuo Ancient Tree Grove is free and open-air. The one charge to be aware of is parking at the Maohuo grove lot, which is charged and fills early on autumn weekends. Everything else — the stone trail, the villages and the grove — costs nothing. The separate 丹山赤水 scenic area is ticketed, but that is on the Dalan extension, not on this walk. -
What is the 丹山赤水 ¥65 trap, and how do I avoid it?
丹山赤水 is a ticketed scenic area on the Dalan (Yuyao) side of the range, with admission commonly listed at ¥65 per person at time of writing — confirm the current price at the gate. It is not on the Lijiakeng–Maohuo traverse; it belongs to the separate, longer Dalan loop that also takes in Zifeng and Shilin. The trap is simply confusing the two: visitors sometimes drive to the Dalan villages expecting the free old-village walk and find a paid scenic gate instead. If you want the free experience, stay on the Zhangshui side and walk Lijiakeng to Maohuo. If you do want 丹山赤水, plan it as its own day. -
When exactly is the best time for the autumn colour?
The core window is from about mid-November into early December. The ginkgos turn gold first, the sweetgums follow into deep red, and the golden-larch needles drop to carpet the stone path; the red persimmons hang on the bare branches through the villages for weeks. The 'ginkgo brothers' at Zifeng on the Dalan side turn earliest, from late October. Peak colour moves by a week or so either way with the weather, so if you are travelling specifically for it, aim for the second half of November and check local reports in the days before. -
Can I do it by public transport, and what is the risk?
You can, but it is the fragile part of the plan. The usual chain is a 637/638 bus from Ningbo 火车站南广场 to 鄞江周家, then a 617-series rural bus up to the 茅镬古树群 stop, with a reported 李家坑↔茅镬 link on the same family of routes. Sources differ on the exact suffixes and some runs are once or twice daily with a weekend bias, so treat the chain as something to confirm in AMap on the morning. The real risk is the return: the last bus from the upper villages can be early, so check the final service before you commit to a one-way walk. -
Where should I park, and how bad is the congestion?
Park at the Maohuo grove lot if you are starting or finishing there — it is charged, and on clear autumn weekends it fills by mid-morning, after which cars line the roadside in both directions. Lijiakeng has free parking by the bridge at the lower end of the village, and starting there is often the easier choice on a busy weekend. Arriving before about 08:30, or walking midweek, avoids the worst of it. Wherever you park, keep the road clear — it is narrow and the only way in and out for everyone. -
Is the mountain road safe to drive?
It is a real mountain road: narrow, steep, winding, with blind bends and few passing places, and it is shared with local traffic that knows it better than you do. In daylight, at a sensible speed, it is perfectly manageable in an ordinary car — but it is not a road for a nervous driver, and it is much less pleasant in rain or after dark. Give yourself the 1.5–2 hours each way from Ningbo without rushing, drive up in the morning and down before dusk, and use the horn gently on blind bends. If that sounds unappealing, a ride-hail with a local driver is the sensible alternative. -
Can you camp at Maohuo?
Camping on the lawn at the Maohuo grove is tolerated — it is one of the reasons the grove is popular with local hikers — but fires are not permitted, and the site is a protected old-growth grove rather than a campsite with facilities. There is a café on site and toilets by the car park, but no formal pitches, no hook-ups and no ranger service overnight. If you camp, keep it low-impact, take everything out, and remember that the trees are the site: the point is the grove, not the campsite. -
What should I pack?
Shoes with real grip, because the stone steps on the 指如岭古道 are uneven and slippery when wet. 1.5–2 L of water and food for the middle section, where there is nothing. A light waterproof, since the valley weather turns, and a warm layer for the shoulder even in autumn. An offline map downloaded before you lose signal, with the Chinese village names saved on your phone for drivers and for showing people where you are going. Poles if you use them for stone descents. And a camera, because the walk is one long sequence of photographs from November onward. -
How does this compare with the longer Dalan loop people mention?
They are two different routes that get confused. The route here is the Lijiakeng–Maohuo traverse: about 10–11 km, a half-day, entirely in 海曙区章水镇, free, and walkable between two villages. The Dalan loop is much longer and further out on the Yuyao side — it takes in Zifeng, Huangyantou and Shilin with the ticketed 丹山赤水 scenic area, is generally done by car or as a two-day trip, and is not a walk between adjacent villages. If you have half a day, do this traverse. If you have a full day and a car, the Dalan loop is a separate and bigger outing.
Nearby Routes
Other trails starting from the same area, worth combining or visiting on another day.
Tianzhi Ridge Trail
A 12.5 km full-ridge loop around Shuangxikou Reservoir in Dayin Town, Yuyao — one of the range's 16 premium routes, with open reservoir panoramas and autumn colour on the crest.
Shiziku Golden-Larch Loop
A 10.6 km loop at Simingshan Town past the 鹁鸪岩 water-curtain cave and the 仰天湖 basin — the golden-larch corridor that made this corner famous in November.
Jinling Ancient Trail
A Song-dynasty stone-paved crossing of the 斤岭古道 from 斤岭下 over the 斗风岭岗 pass toward 中姚村, with 4,000-plus hand-laid steps and wide views to 四明湖.
Dalan Persimmon Loop (planned)
A planned Ningbo page for the longer Dalan extension: Zifeng's ginkgo brothers, Huangyantou and Shilin with the ticketed 丹山赤水 scenic area — a drive or two-day loop, not a village-to-village walk.
Planned