Walking the Maling Ancient Road

A beautiful hike between Luci, Maoping, and Shishecun, passing streams, bamboo forests, mountains, and lush greenery.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

• The Maling Ancient Road runs between Luci Village, Maoping Village, and Shishecun, and is about 12 km long.

• We reached it by train from Shanghai Hongqiao Station. You can travel to either Tonglu or Tongludong and take a Didi from there. Didi rides are very easy to arrange between all the villages, as well as to and from the stations in Tonglu.

• We stayed for a weekend — leaving on Friday after work and returning on Sunday. You could also stay just one night, or even do it as a day trip if you only want to hike. Still, it’s worth staying overnight to enjoy the atmosphere.

• We booked a hotel in Luci Village. You will find more details about the hotel elsewhere in this blog. Personally, I found Shishecun even more beautiful (though Luci is also very charming, especially with its natural surroundings). Finding a hotel in Shishecun was tricky, but since the Didi rides between the villages are short, staying in Luci worked out perfectly.

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The entrance to the road next to our hotel, view from my hotel room, and part of the road in Luci, down the water.

We stayed at the Green Luxury Homestay in Luci. It’s a beautiful hotel with stylish interiors and thoughtful design. The rooms are spacious and comfortable, and the staff are exceptionally friendly and helpful. Breakfast is good, but no other meals are served. The bar closes at 18:00, and the hotel is very quiet in the evenings. We were allowed to enjoy our own wine and cake in the communal area, which was a nice touch.

Luci itself is surrounded by beautiful scenery and offers plenty of restaurants. You can swim in the crystal-clear water or take a boat ride. The village itself is less picturesque — it’s mostly large grey buildings and big restaurants, rather than quaint streets and small bars. Still, it’s the perfect starting point for the trail, as the hotel is located right next to it.

Some pictures taken between Luci and Maoping.

We hiked the road in mid-September, and it was extremely hot, with temperatures reaching 37°C and 96% humidity. Along the way there were several places to rest and refill water, which was very welcome. Closer to Maoping, the path led us through farmland with a stone wall on one side. It was beautiful, but because there was no wind and the heat was trapped, it felt like walking in an oven. Other hikers we met were, like us, completely drenched in sweat.

The last part before Maoping.

When we finally arrived in Maoping, we were completely overwhelmed by the heat. We went straight into the first restaurant we saw and enjoyed the beautiful view, the delicious food, and… the air conditioning. Once we had cooled down a little, we explored Maoping: a charming, historic rural village with a relaxed atmosphere. Unfortunately, by then we could hear the thunder approaching, and exhausted from the heat with a storm on the way, we decided to take a Didi back to the hotel and not finish the hike. The Didi, by the way, arrived within a minute.

Read below how we still managed to do Shishecun the next day.

Maoping.

The next day, after a perfect breakfast, we took a Didi to Shishecun. We were dropped off just before the village, in a stunning green landscape of water and mountains. We explored the lovely, laid-back village, full of little bars, shops, and restaurants. We much preferred it over Luci, but curiously, when checking some booking websites, we couldn’t find any hotels in the village.

After spending a few hours there—and not wanting to leave—we eventually had to return to our hotel, collect our bags, and take a taxi to Tonglu railway station for the 16:20 train back to Shanghai.

Shishecun.

I would definitely recommend doing this hike. If the temperatures aren’t like hell, it’s actually a very easy one. We’re planning to come back and do the full 12 km later in autumn, when it’s cooler and the temperature has gone down.