Li Jia Mountain, a must-visit paradise in Lüliang, Shanxi, as depicted by Wu Guanzhong

Shanxi Lüliang is most famous for its Qikou Ancient Town, but I recommend the Li Jia Mountain Village, which is four kilometers away from Qikou Ancient Town even more. This is the paradise that Wu Guanzhong painted, with the entire village nestled among the loess highlands, scattered in a picturesque disorder. The village architecture is dominated by cave dwellings and quadrangle courtyards, each with a flat courtyard carved out of the hillside and caves dug into the mountain, said to be warm in winter and cool in summer. Due to inconvenient transportation and backward conditions, the young people have all gone out to work, leaving almost only the elderly behind. There are not many tourists in the village, some of whom are art teachers and students coming to sketch. It also happened to be the season when the village's jujube trees were ripe, and you could reach out and pick the jujubes. It is said that Lin County, where the village is located, is also known as the hometown of red dates, with many ancient jujube trees that are over a thousand years old. 【Transportation】The nearest train station is not Lüliang Station but Liulin South Station. I took a taxi from Liulin South Station and negotiated a price of 80 yuan to get here. 【Admission】Free It is recommended to visit in the afternoon. The village is small and can be toured in one or two hours, and then you can go to Qikou Ancient Town. However, it is difficult to hail a taxi during the off-season, so I had to spend 30 yuan to take a villager's car to Qikou Ancient Town (actually only 4km away) PS: The Yellow River flows through Lüliang, Shanxi, turning into a peculiar nearly 'O'-shaped big bend, known as 'the first bend of the Yellow River in the world'. On one side of the Yellow River is Shanxi, while the other side is Shaanxi.