Shiziku Golden-Larch Loop
Shiziku cross-ridge trailhead (十字裤) — loop start and finish 十字裤 → Shiziku cross-ridge trailhead (十字裤) — loop start and finish 十字裤
Plan Your Route
Quick Facts
| Start | Shiziku cross-ridge trailhead (十字裤) — loop start and finish 十字裤 |
| Finish | Shiziku cross-ridge trailhead (十字裤) — loop start and finish 十字裤 |
| Area | Siming Mountains |
| Best season | Late autumn is the headline: for roughly two weeks from mid-November the golden larch (金钱松) needles turn and the corridor becomes the 'golden valley' that made the trail famous — low morning sun raking through the canopy is the signature light. Winter is for the hardy: rime, occasional snow and the waterfall frozen into ice columns. Summer runs several degrees cooler than the plains and stays green, but brings afternoon storms. Spring is fresh and quiet. |
| Transport | Self-drive ~2 h from Ningbo city via 梁弄 and the winding S33 range road to Siming Town, then navigate 十字裤 for the last 3–4 km; scheduled but thin buses from Yuyao (637 serves the 鹁鸪岩岔口 and 仰天湖 stops; E02 快线 and others stop at 四明山镇) — no bus reaches the trailhead; confirm the day's run in AMap |
| Crowd level | Quiet by city standards but the most popular easy hike in the area. On the ~2-week colour peak (mid–late November) and fine autumn weekends the golden-larch corridor and the lake are genuinely busy — local short-video posts have made it famous — while midweek mornings and shoulder seasons are close to solitary. Outside the colour window you will share the loop with few other walkers. |
Route Summary
Shiziku Golden-Larch Loop (十字裤·鹁鸪岩水帘洞—仰天湖环线) is a 10.6 km loop on the high ground of Siming Town (四明山镇), Yuyao — the most shared easy hike in the Siming Mountain National Forest Park and, since 2023, a provincial 环浙步道 classic route. It is the version of the Siming Mountains that fits in a morning: a gentle drop through the golden-larch corridor, a waterfall that falls across the mouth of a cave, a long climb to the ~800 m basin of Yangtian Lake, and a quiet hill-road return. For foreign visitors it is the easiest real mountain loop on an English-side-empty range — genuine ridge-and-forest country that a fit beginner can finish comfortably before the afternoon storms.
The loop’s geography turns on three landmarks. 十字裤, the trailhead, is named for two ridges that cross there in the shape of the character 十 — 石狼山 rises to the south, 华盖山 to the north. From it the path drops into the corridor of 金钱松 (golden larch), the tree that made the trail famous: for about two weeks from mid-November its needles turn gold and coat the path in soft duff, which is why Chinese hikers call the corridor the 黄金谷, the golden valley. Down in the gorge, the Water-Curtain Cave (鹁鸪岩水帘洞, locally 水帘洞天) tucks a natural cave under a sheer cliff where a waterfall drops over the cave mouth into a clear pool — named, by local legend, for the 鹁鸪, a wood-pigeon-like bird whose call once echoed there. Beyond the bamboo and the long climb lies Yangtian Lake (仰天湖), a small high lake cradled in forest at about 800 m, with a paved shore path and a 九曲回廊, inside the forest park’s 仰天湖景区.
The practical picture is simple. You drive — about two hours from Ningbo city up the winding S33 range road — navigate 十字裤 for the last lane, and park roadside beside the houses at the trailhead. Hiking the loop from there has been reported as free, because the ridge approach stays above the park’s road gates; if you enter the 仰天湖 or 水帘洞 sub-areas by road instead, the park ticket applies (门市 ¥50, half-price for children and seniors, free for the under-1.2 m, 70+ and others; 0574-62340889) — confirm at the gate. Start by 09:00 for the light in the larch corridor and to finish before the afternoon weather builds, carry lunch and water, download the 环浙步道 offline map, and the loop delivers its one clean, unhurried circuit: down through the gold, under the water curtain, up to the lake, and home by the hill road.
Route details on this page draw on Baidu Baike’s 十字裤 entry, two independent field reports of the loop (2023–2024), the Siming Mountain National Forest Park’s public ticket and hours information, and live AMap geocode and reverse-geocode verification archived in the project’s verification archive. Trailhead parking layout, gate rules at the sub-areas, the current status of the 灵溪–界牌头 road works, and public-transit times can change — confirm on-site and in AMap on the day.
Step-by-Step Route
Shiziku trailhead to the golden-larch corridor
~40–50 minThe loop begins at the Shiziku ridge-crossing trailhead (十字裤), a scattering of houses where the lane from Siming Town meets the forest. Almost immediately the path drops into the famous golden-larch corridor — a dense stand of 金钱松 (Pseudolarix amabilis) whose soft needles carpet the tread in autumn and turn the whole slope gold for a short two-week window. In late-morning light the effect is the trail's postcard: low sun raking between straight trunks, pine duff springy underfoot, the colour at its best around 09:00–11:00 before haze builds. Broadleaf evergreens, cryptomeria and red maple mix in below, the forest staying dense and shaded as the path descends toward the first saddle.
Photo suggestion: The golden-larch corridor at ~09:00 with sun raking through the trunks is the signature frame of the whole route.
Saddle, stream crossing and the Water-Curtain Cave spur
~45–60 minPast the corridor the trail crosses a saddle and drops toward a stream in the gorge — the walking turns damp and mossy, with short muddy pitches after rain. At the stream the main line continues, but a short spur of about 280 m leads to the day's centrepiece: the Water-Curtain Cave (鹁鸪岩水帘洞, locally 水帘洞天). A sheer gorge cliff hangs over a natural cave, and a waterfall drops across the cave mouth into a clear ankle-deep pool; steps and a small viewing terrace frame it. The rock is named for the 鹁鸪, a wood-pigeon-like bird whose call legend says echoed in the gorge. Allow time to stand behind the water — the spray keeps the hollow cool even in summer.
Caution: The spur and the gorge steps are the slickest ground on the loop after rain; take them slowly and keep children close at the pool edge.
Photo suggestion: Shoot the falls from inside the cave looking out — the water curtain becomes the frame.
Bamboo and the long climb to the lake car park
~60–75 minBack on the main line the trail crosses the stream, enters a tilted bamboo stand, and then commits to the sustained climb local hikers call the 大长坡 — the steepest, most continuous effort of the day, a long rise through mixed forest that keeps the pace honest. It is not technical, just unrelenting: the kind of grade that asks for a steady rhythm rather than sprints, and rewards the walkers who saved something at the waterfall. As the slope eases, the Yangtian Lake car park appears — the loop's high point near 800 m — with toilets and, on busy days, food and drink stalls. This is the natural lunch stop, and the first full view down into the lake basin.
Caution: The 大长坡 is muddy and slippery after rain or frost; poles help, and the descent on the return road should not tempt you to shortcut the climb.
Yangtian Lake and the Jiepaitou road junction
~45–60 minFrom the car park the path drops into the Yangtian Lake basin (仰天湖), a small high lake cradled in forest at roughly 800 m — blue-green water, red maple on the banks in autumn, and a paved lake path with a short 九曲回廊 for a loop around the shore in about fifteen minutes. The basin sits inside the park's 仰天湖景区; visitors arriving by the road gates pay the park ticket, while hikers arriving over the ridge have been let through freely — rules drift, so carry the note to confirm at the gate. Leaving the lake, the route climbs gently out to 界牌头 and joins the hill road that will carry it home.
Photo suggestion: The lake reads best in the low-angle light of late morning or early afternoon, with the red maple reflected on still water.
Hill-road return to Shiziku
~40–50 minThe last leg is the open one: about 3 km along the hill road from 界牌头 back to the Shiziku trailhead, on hard surface but with the day's longest views — forested ridges rolling away to the Siming crests, 华盖山 rising to the north, and clear air that in autumn turns the return into a slow scenic amble rather than a slog. The road is quiet, used mostly by local traffic to the forest-farm area beyond 灵溪. Keep to the roadside and watch for the occasional vehicle; signal is better here than in the gorge, so it is the place to confirm the drive or pickup home. At the trailhead the loop closes where it began, beside the houses and the roadside parking.
Photo suggestion: The hill-road return in late afternoon gives long, layered range views west toward the interior — an easy final frame.
Getting There & Back
By car (recommended)
BestThe loop is deep in the Siming highlands, and a car is the realistic way in. From Ningbo city take the 杭甬高速 toward Yuyao, then the S33 range road through 梁弄 and up the twisty 浒溪线 climb to Siming Town — about two hours of mountain driving (locals call the road 'Xiao Qiuyu Shan', a mini 秋名山). From Yuyao or 余姚北 HSR station allow roughly 1.5 hours. From Siming Town navigate 十字裤 for the final 3–4 km of narrowing lane to the trailhead's roadside parking. Drive the range road in daylight and leave an early-morning buffer for the trailhead.
By public transport
Thin but real. 余姚 rural bus 637 serves the 鹁鸪岩岔口 and 仰天湖 stops inside the park area; the E02 四明山快线 and lines 600 / 633 / 635 / 636 stop at 四明山镇; from the 奉化 side, 570-1 also reaches 四明山. None of these reach 十字裤 itself, so expect a short taxi or ride-hail for the last leg from Siming Town or from the 鹁鸪岩岔口 stop. Times drift and some runs are once a day — confirm the day's schedule in AMap before relying on any bus.
By taxi / ride-hailing
From Siming Town a taxi or ride-hail covers the short, steep last leg to the trailhead, and from 余姚北 station it is a longer but doable one-way fare. Rural pickup is sparse off-peak, so book the return while you have signal at the start, or arrange for the driver to wait. Show the app 十字裤 or, for the lake access road, 仰天湖景区售票处.
Return from the trailhead
The loop closes at 十字裤, so the return is the same approach in reverse. By car, retrace the lane to Siming Town and the S33 descent — allow the full two hours back to Ningbo. If you came by bus or taxi, pre-book the pickup before you start: signal drops on the far side of the loop, and a roadside hail at the trailhead is unreliable. Overnight at 仰天湖山庄 or a Siming Town homestay turns the long drive into two shorter ones and buys you the 09:00 start the light deserves.
Return from the trailhead
ReturnThe loop closes at 十字裤, so the return is the same approach in reverse. By car, retrace the lane to Siming Town and the S33 descent — allow the full two hours back to Ningbo. If you came by bus or taxi, pre-book the pickup before you start: signal drops on the far side of the loop, and a roadside hail at the trailhead is unreliable. Overnight at 仰天湖山庄 or a Siming Town homestay turns the long drive into two shorter ones and buys you the 09:00 start the light deserves.
Practical Notes
Start by ~09:00 for the light and the return
The golden-larch corridor is best in low morning sun (~09:00–11:00), and the full loop runs 4.5–5.5 hours with stops. A 09:00 start puts you back at the trailhead by mid-afternoon, with daylight to spare for the long drive out of the mountains. The park's sub-area gates note a last entry around 16:30 if you are arriving by road instead.
The two-week window is the point
Golden-larch colour lasts only about two weeks, peaking roughly mid-to-late November; come too early or two weeks late and the corridor is green or bare. Outside that window the loop is still a lovely forest day — but if you are chasing the gold, time the trip to the larch, not the calendar.
Ticket reality: two ways in
Hiking the loop from the Shiziku trailhead has been reported as free — no gate on the ridge approach. Entering the 仰天湖 or 水帘洞 sub-areas from the road gates takes the park ticket (门市 ¥50, online ~¥45, half-price ¥25 for 1.2–1.5 m children and ages 60–69, free under 1.2 m / 70+ / military / disabled). Rules and checkpoints drift — confirm at the gate.
Water and food
No reliable water on the forested legs — the stream crossings are pretty but not a guaranteed clean source. Carry lunch and at least 1.5 L per person. Food and drink stalls are reported at the Yangtian Lake car park on busy days, and farmhouse restaurants wait in Siming Town and the villages below.
Footwear and the wet season
Dry-season ground is springy pine duff and packed earth — light trail shoes are enough. After rain or frost the gorge spur, the bamboo pitches and the 大长坡 turn slick and muddy; grippy soles and poles help. In winter, rime and occasional ice call for proper boots and ice grips on the shady stretches.
Navigate with the app and the names
The trail is a 环浙步道 classic and loads in the 环浙步道 (Zhejiang Trail Loop) App; download the offline map before you leave Siming Town, because signal drops in the gorge. Save the Chinese names — 十字裤 for the trailhead, 鹁鸪岩水帘洞 for the cave, 仰天湖 for the lake — for taxis and the navigation app.
Weekend crowds at the colour peak
The corridor and the lake are genuinely busy on fine autumn weekends — short-video posts have made the trail famous — and the trailhead parking fills. Go midweek or early on a Saturday to keep the quiet that makes the loop special; the colour is the same either way.
Check the 灵溪–界牌头 status
A 2024 road-works notice closed the separate 灵溪 entrance on weekends. The standard Shiziku start is unaffected, but the loop's road return passes 界牌头 — glance at current road and trail notices in AMap or at the trailhead before relying on that stretch.
Tell someone the plan
It is a clean loop with no road transfers, but the gorge has poor signal and a wrong turn means backtracking forest trail. Share your start time and expected finish, and arrange the pickup before you leave the trailhead — the quiet that makes the loop lovely is also its one real risk.
Safety Notes
- The gorge spur and the 大长坡 are slick after rain or frost — take them slowly and use poles on the climb.
- No reliable water on the forested legs; carry at least 1.5 L per person and treat stream water only if you must.
- Signal drops in the gorge — download the 环浙步道 offline map and tell someone your plan before starting.
- The hill-road return carries occasional local traffic — keep to the roadside and watch the bends.
- Summer afternoons bring thunderstorms over the high ground; start by 09:00 and be off the open road section before storms build.
- Winter rime and ice on shaded stretches — proper boots and ice grips; the waterfall freezes into ice columns that are beautiful but not for climbing.
Best Time to Go
Spring
Fresh green, red maple leafing out around the lake, and quiet trails — a misty, cool shoulder season before summer. Azalea colour appears on the lower slopes.
Summer
The 'natural air-conditioner' season: the interior runs roughly 6–8 °C cooler than the plains and the forest stays green and shaded, but afternoons bring thunderstorms over the high ground — start early and finish before storms build.
Autumn
RecommendedThe headline season: for ~2 weeks from mid-November the golden-larch corridor turns gold and the lake banks red-maple crimson. Fine weekends are busy; midweek mornings are the quiet version of the same colour.
Winter
Quiet, crisp and cold at ~800 m, with rime on the high trees, occasional snow, and the waterfall frozen into ice columns. Proper boots and ice grips required on icy stretches — a specialist window for the well-equipped.
Frequently Asked Questions
Short answers to common planning questions about transport, Chinese place names, timing, and safety for this route.
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Why is the place called 十字裤 (Shiziku), and where does 鹁鸪岩 come from?
Shiziku is named for the ground at the trailhead: a north–south ridge (石狼山 south, 华盖山 north across 流沙坪岗) crosses an east–west spur in the shape of the Chinese character 十, and the crossing point is the '裤' junction of the two ridge lines. The rock at the waterfall, 鹁鸪岩, is named for the 鹁鸪 — a wood-pigeon-like bird — because, by local legend, its call used to echo in the gorge. Both names are landscape and bird stories, not translations you can look up literally. -
How long is the loop and how hard is it?
The standard loop is about 10.6 km with roughly 400–470 m of cumulative climb and a high point near 800 m — field reports log it in about 4 h 21 min including photo stops, so plan 4.5–5.5 hours. On the site's scale it is Easy to Moderate: genuinely beginner- and family-viable in dry weather, but not a flat stroll — there is one sustained climb (the 大长坡), muddy sections in the gorge after rain, and a short rocky spur to the waterfall. In winter, ice on the shaded stretches changes the grade. -
I see different distances online — 7 km, 10 km, 12 km, even an 18 km '8字' — which is this page?
They are different lines through the same ridge country. This page is the standard 10.6 km loop: trailhead → Water-Curtain Cave → Yangtian Lake → hill-road return. The ~7–8 km figures are one-way descriptions of the corridor-to-lake stretch without the road return; the ~12 km variant is a bigger ridge circuit some clubs run; and the 18 km 华盖山 'figure-8' (18.07 km, +1,053 m, ~8.5 h, expert, winter ice) is a different, much harder route that also starts from the 十字裤 area — it belongs on its own page. Match the description, not just the number. -
Do I need to pay to walk this loop?
On the day the field report that defines this loop was walked, the route from the Shiziku trailhead passed no ticket gate — the ridge approach enters the forest above the park's road gates. If you instead arrive by road at the 仰天湖 or 水帘洞 sub-areas, the Siming Mountain National Forest Park ticket applies (门市 ¥50, online ~¥45, half-price ¥25 for 1.2–1.5 m children and ages 60–69, free under 1.2 m / 70+ / military / disabled; phone 0574-62340889). Checkpoints and rules drift, so confirm at the gate on the day. -
When is the golden-larch colour at its best?
About two weeks, peaking roughly mid-to-late November. The 金钱松 (golden larch) needles turn gold and carpet the corridor in soft duff; arrive too early and they are green, too late and they have fallen. Low morning sun (~09:00–11:00) raking through the trunks is the signature light, which is why the practical advice is to start by 09:00. Fine autumn weekends are busy; a midweek morning gives the same colour with fewer people. -
Can I follow the loop offline?
Yes. The trail was named a provincial 环浙步道 classic route in 2023 and loads in the 环浙步道 (Zhejiang Trail Loop) App along with the rest of the Siming network. Download the offline map before you leave Siming Town, because signal drops in the gorge. The loop itself has no road transfers — the only on-road section is the final hill-road return — so staying on line is straightforward once the app has the route. -
How do I get there without a car?
Thin but real public transport reaches the area. 余姚 rural bus 637 serves the 鹁鸪岩岔口 and 仰天湖 stops; the E02 四明山快线 and lines 600 / 633 / 635 / 636 stop at 四明山镇; from the 奉化 side, 570-1 also arrives. None reach 十字裤 itself, so count on a short taxi or ride-hail from Siming Town or the bus stop — and confirm the day's schedule in AMap, because times drift and some runs are once a day. The realistic no-car plan is a night in Siming Town or at 仰天湖山庄, then an early taxi to the trailhead. -
Water, food and toilets on the route?
No reliable water on the forested legs — carry at least 1.5 L per person and pack lunch. Toilets and food/drink stalls are reported at the Yangtian Lake car park (the loop's high point) and at the 鹁鸪岩岔口/水帘洞 road cluster on busy days; Siming Town and the villages below have farmhouse restaurants. Treat the pretty stream crossings as scenery, not a water source. -
What will I actually see?
The three headline sights: the golden-larch corridor (autumn gold for ~2 weeks), the Water-Curtain Cave — a waterfall dropping over the mouth of 鹁鸪岩水帘洞 into a clear pool, reached by a ~280 m spur — and Yangtian Lake, a ~800 m forest-cradled lake with a paved shore path and 九曲回廊, red maple on the banks in autumn. Around them: cryptomeria and broadleaf forest, a tilted bamboo stand, and a hill-road return with long layered views toward 华盖山 and the range interior. -
What else is there to do in the same trip?
The Siming Mountain National Forest Park holds more sub-areas — 深秀谷 (深湖 and 秀湖) below the main gate, and 四窗岩 toward the park's north-east corner — for a calmer second day. The expert local favourite is the 华盖山 figure-8 from the same trailhead (18.07 km, +1,053 m, ~8.5 h, winter ice — not for beginners). Across the range, the Tianzhi Ridge Trail page covers Yuyao's northern premium loop. A night at 仰天湖山庄 or in Siming Town turns the long drive into a two-day Siming visit.
Nearby Routes
Other trails starting from the same area, worth combining or visiting on another day.
Tianzhi Ridge Trail
The 12.5 km full-ridge premium loop around Shuangxikou Reservoir on Siming's northern flank — the same Siming Mountains area page, closer to Ningbo.
Huagai Shan–Shiziku Figure-8 (planned)
A planned Ningbo page: the expert 华盖山 figure-8 from the 十字裤 area — 18.07 km, +1,053 m, ~8.5 h, winter snow and ice (六只脚 track 9422519).
Planned