Published : 2026-04-02
Can travel be a chance to do almost nothing at all?
In Anji, it can. Wake in a guesthouse among bamboo groves, idle away the afternoon in a café by the tea fields and spend the evening camping beside a stream beneath the stars. Rather than ticking off sights, visitors come here to ease into a slower pace of life.
Just an hour from Hangzhou, Anji has become a favourite reverse-travel destination among young Chinese. Bamboo forests, cafés, campsites and tea plantations together offer the kind of mountain escape many now seek.
Anji, Zhejiang: A wilderness paradise to escape the city
Anji, in north-western Zhejiang and under the administration of Huzhou, is only about an hour's drive from Hangzhou, with Shanghai and Nanjing both within easy reach.
Home to fewer than 600,000 permanent residents, this small county town has quietly emerged in recent years as a popular destination for reverse travel.
What sets Anji apart from the usual overcrowded hotspots is its ability to slow people down and turn a trip into something closer to ordinary life. Here, travel is less about ticking off sights than easing into a gentler daily rhythm.
Known as one of China's leading bamboo-growing areas, Anji has extensive bamboo forests and is also famed for Anji white tea. The result is a landscape of layered green hills, fresh air and tea-covered slopes that gives the place the feel of a genuine natural retreat.
Across the county, bamboo groves roll over the hills and tea gardens stretch into the distance. There is little sense of over-packaged tourism or noisy crowds; instead, what lingers are the sound of wind moving through leaves, the faint scent of tea and the unhurried tempo of local life.
Many young visitors come not simply for photogenic moments, but to step away, however briefly, from the pressures of city life and recover a sense of ease in the countryside. Some stay for a quiet weekend, while others rent a guesthouse for longer and settle into local routines such as tea-picking, bamboo weaving and tea-making.
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How to enjoy your time in Anji? A perfect balance of experiences and relaxation
There's no set itinerary for visiting Anji; the key is spontaneity. There's no need to deliberately rush from one attraction to another; simply follow your heart and enjoy the everyday life in the mountains and wilderness.
In Anji, the early morning begins with the awakening call of birdsong. There's no need to set an alarm clock; upon opening your eyes, you can see the verdant sea of bamboo outside your window.
Open the window, and fresh air, rich with the fragrance of bamboo, rushes in. Take a deep breath, and your fatigue will instantly diminish by more than half.
If you visit during the tea-picking season, you can also join the local tea farmers up the mountain to experience the joy of harvesting white tea. You can hand-pick the tender tea, consisting of one bud and one leaf, and then try your hand at roasting it.
As you watch the fresh leaves slowly curl in an iron wok, wait until the tea is ready, and then brew a cup yourself. In the steaming tea infusion, you can exhale a long breath of accomplishment.
The afternoon is the perfect time to find a coffee shop and simply unwind.
Anji's coffee shops are quite unique; instead of being in bustling neighbourhoods, they are tucked away in tea gardens, by the edge of gorges, amidst the sea of bamboo, or beside streams, looking as if they have sprouted from the wilderness itself.
Order a rich, smooth latte, take a seat on an outdoor chair, feast your eyes on the endless greenery, and listen to the rustling bamboo and the babbling stream. You don't have to think about anything; it's wonderful to just spend a quiet afternoon there.
Besides drinking coffee and visiting tea gardens, the craft-making experiences in Anji are also very distinctive.
If you enjoy handicrafts, you can visit a local bamboo-weaving workshop to learn some simple weaving techniques from an old craftsman.
An ordinary piece of bamboo, when twisted and bent in your hands, can gradually be fashioned into a small bamboo basket or a small bamboo spoon.
The joy of creating something with your own hands is more satisfying than simply ticking off attractions.
Dusk and nightfall: Anji's healing hours
Evening in Anji is the most healing time of the day. The sun slowly sinks in the west, casting its golden light upon the sea of bamboo, dyeing the layers of green a beautiful and gentle golden-yellow.
At this time, the most enjoyable thing to do is find a campsite, pitch a tent, and light a small stove.
At present, Anji has more than 50 campsites and over 8,000 camping spots. The choices are very diverse, ranging from mountain valleys and streams to villages and fields, from the surroundings of scenic spots to the courtyards of guesthouses.
Among them, Xiaohangkeng, hailed as "Zhejiang's Altay", is a particularly popular destination for camping enthusiasts from the Yangtze River Delta.
Cook a hot pot with friends, grill a few skewers of food, have a little drink, and chat about everything under the sun. The sound of babbling brooks and the chirping of insects fills the air.
Looking up, you see a sky full of stars. There are no city neon lights, only the quiet and warmth of the mountains and wilderness. Slowly, a day of 'doing nothing' comes to an end.
This is probably the most charming aspect of reverse travel.
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