The rarely visited, 1100-year-old village of Luótiáncūn, its uneven stone-flagged alleys etched with centuries of wear, provides a history-laden rural escape from urban Nánchāng.
A lazy amble around the village will take you through a tight maze of lanes, past hand-worked pumps, ancient wells, stone steps, scattering chickens, lazy water buffalo and conical haystacks. Rudimentary walking-tour signs – 'visit and go ahead' – have been put up around this village, and its two siblings, and will point you towards the most notable old buildings.
A 1km-long flagstone path links Luótiáncūn with its sibling village, Shuǐnán (水南). A further 500m down the stone path (and across the road) is the forlorn village of Jīngtái (京台). Both also contain some wonderful old buildings.
Simple guesthouses (around ¥30 per person) are available in Luótiáncūn – ask for zhùsù (住宿; accommodation) – and there's a clutch of restaurants by the main square.
To get here, take Bus 22 (¥1) from Nánchāng train station to a bus stop called Bayi Qiao (八一桥; 30 minutes), then walk 400m straight ahead to catch Bus 136, from a bus stop underneath the flyover, to the small town of Ānyì (安义; ¥10, 90 minutes, frequent from 6am to 6pm). From Ānyì bus station, where the 136 terminates, take a bus to nearby Shíbí (石鼻; ¥5, 30 minutes, half-hourly, 7am to 5.30pm), but tell the ticket seller on the bus that you want to go to Luótiáncūn. They will then sell you a bus ticket which is also valid for the final 5km-minibus ride to the village entrance. The last bus back to Nánchāng leaves Ānyì at 6.30pm.
