Xiaoshao Ancient Path is an autumn favorite with Hangzhou people. The ancient path is located inside a small village in Xiaoshan District called Huajiadian Village (华家垫村). In ancient times, people from Xiaoshan District took to this path to get to Shaoxing city, hence the name Xiaoshao (combination of first words of the two areas). Xiaoshao Ancient Path has been referred to a lot in historical documents and the part inside Huajiadian Village is the best-preserved one, paved with building stones and surrounded by bamboo trees. It is truly beautiful.
Route:
Huajiadian Village (hua jia dian cun 华家垫村) → Caoshan Temple (cao shan si 曹山寺) → Xialv Town of Shaoxing City (shao xing xia lv zhen 绍兴夏履镇) → Yue Wang Zheng (yue wang zheng 越王峥) → Shenyun Temple (shen yun tang chan si 深云禅寺) → Xiaoshao Ancient Path (xiao shao gu dao 萧绍古道) → Shuangqiao Village in Zhuji City (zhu ji shuang qiao cun 诸暨双桥村) → Dongshan Village of Jinghua Town (dong shan cun jin hua zhen 进化镇东山村) → Jishan Village (ji shan cun 吉山村) → Huajiadian Village (hua jia dian cun 华家垫村)
Distance: 2.6 kilometers
Highlights: There is a saying describing the hiking experience of the path, which goes “Hiking the Xiaoshao Ancient Path is like hiking in a landscape painting.” In addition, scattered along the route are reservoirs, bamboo forests, pavilions, ancient temples, cascading waterfalls, plum trees and much more.