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Three rocky peaks rise from the Bohai Sea off Jinzhou, and when the tide drops a natural causeway of sand and gravel appears, letting visitors walk out to the temples of Bijia Mountain. That walk is the signature experience of this port city in western Liaoning, which sits on the Liaoxi Corridor, the narrow coastal passage between the mountains and the sea that links Northeast China with Beijing.
The corridor made Jinzhou a prize in war. In the autumn of 1948 the city was the opening battlefield of the Liaoshen Campaign of the Chinese Civil War, and the large memorial museum in town tells that story. Much older layers survive too: a Liao-dynasty brick pagoda stands in the city centre, and the surrounding counties hold some of the finest Liao architecture anywhere in China.
The best day trips lead to Yixian, home of the vast wooden hall of Fengguo Temple and the Wanfotang Grottoes, and to Beizhen, where Yiwulu Mountain, its mountain-god temple and a pair of Liao pagodas await. Back in the city, Jinzhou is known across the Northeast for its barbecue.
Also called the Guangji Temple Pagoda, this octagonal brick tower was raised under the Liao dynasty in the eleventh century and rises about seventy metres over the city centre. Thirteen tiers of eaves sit above a storey carved with Buddhas, and the square around it makes a pleasant evening stroll.
The temple that gave the ancient pagoda its name keeps a cluster of traditional halls with grey-tiled roofs, carved beams and bronze incense burners set in pine-shaded courtyards. Together with the pagoda and the museum it forms the historic core of Guta District, so plan a slow morning here.
In Yixian, about an hour north of the city, this temple was founded in 1020 under the Liao dynasty. Its Mahavira Hall is one of the largest surviving ancient wooden buildings in China, and inside seven colossal painted clay Buddhas sit in a row beneath old painted beams. Allow at least an hour.
At the foot of Yiwulu Mountain, this state temple was where officials worshipped the mountain god on behalf of the emperor. Its halls, mostly from the Ming and Qing dynasties, climb a hillside along a formal axis of gates and courtyards, and stone steles record imperial offerings.
The national memorial to the Liaoshen Campaign of 1948, the first of the three great campaigns that decided the Chinese Civil War, stands in the city where its key battle was fought. Galleries hold maps, weapons and documents, a panorama hall recreates the assault, and tanks stand in the grounds.
Beside the ancient pagoda, the Jinzhou Museum fills a group of traditional-style halls. Its highlight is a gallery of fossils from western Liaoning, with fish, plants and small skeletons preserved in fine layered stone, alongside displays on local history. Labels are mostly in Chinese.
Cut into a cliff above the Daling River near Yixian, these Buddhist caves were begun at the end of the fifth century under the Northern Wei and are among the oldest grottoes in Northeast China. Rows of niches hold seated Buddhas and bodhisattvas, softened by weather. Pair it with Fengguo Temple.
Raised in the Ming dynasty in the old centre of Beizhen, this stone archway honours Li Chengliang, the general who held the Liaodong frontier for decades. Layered stone roofs, lions and scenes of officials and animals are carved in high relief. Walk all the way round, as each face differs.
Off the Bohai coast near the city, this small island takes its name from its three peaks, shaped like a Chinese brush rest. At low tide a natural causeway of sand and gravel emerges so visitors can walk across to terraced Taoist and Buddhist halls. Check the tide table before you go.
Rising west of Beizhen, this range was honoured for centuries as the guardian mountain of the north, one of the sacred peaks to which emperors sent offerings. Stone steps wind through pine woods to granite outcrops, small temples and carved inscriptions. Wear sturdy shoes and plan most of a day.
Two octagonal brick pagodas stand side by side in Beizhen, the surviving centrepiece of a Liao-dynasty temple. Each has thirteen tiers of eaves, and the lower storeys carry carved Buddhas, attendants and flying celestials still sharp in places. Late-afternoon light shows off the brickwork best.
In the heart of old Beizhen, once the walled town of Guangning, this drum tower sits on a massive crenellated brick base pierced by an arched passage and crowned by a two-tier timber pavilion. Its origins go back to the Ming dynasty, and it stands a short walk from the Li Chengliang archway.
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Photo: EditQ, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: 猫猫的日记本, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Photo: 猫猫的日记本, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: 猫猫的日记本, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
