Resting south of the Yangtze River (Chang jiang) in a sub-tropical area, Jiangxi Province has a warm and humid climate. Under such weather conditions, agriculture flourishes. The annual temperature is between 16 degrees C. and 20 degrees C. and annual precipitation is between 1,300-2000 mm.

Cold and warm air currents tend to meet in this area, bringing with them intermittent drizzles, known as Plum Rain (Mei yu), in spring and rainstorms in summer. Autumn tends to bring fairly dry weather, making this the best time to come. The most famous climatic area is Nanchang, known all over China as one of the "four furnaces", along with Nanjing, Chongqing and Wuhan.

Resting south of the Yangtze River (Chang jiang) in a sub-tropical area, Jiangxi Province has a warm and humid climate. Under such weather conditions, agriculture flourishes. The annual temperature is between 16 degrees C. and 20 degrees C. and annual precipitation is between 1,300-2000 mm.

Cold and warm air currents tend to meet in this area, bringing with them intermittent drizzles, known as Plum Rain (Mei yu), in spring and rainstorms in summer. Autumn tends to bring fairly dry weather, making this the best time to come. The most famous climatic area is Nanchang, known all over China as one of the "four furnaces", along with Nanjing, Chongqing and Wuhan.

For the tour we suggest boat arrival at Jiujiang and air departure from Nanchang's Changbei Airport. For other arrivals or departures, join up with the tour in Lu Shan (Day 1).

Day 1: Arrive in Jiujiang, then take bus to Lu Shan. Check in to a local hotel in Guling Town (Guling zhen). Go rambling, perhaps finding your way to the Sky viewing bridge (Guantian qiao), the Floral Path (Huajing; additional RMB10), the Jinxiu Valley (Jinxiu gu) or the Xianren Cave (Xiaoren dong). In the afternoon, visit the Three Ancient Trees (Sanbao Shu) and the Longtan Waterfall (Longtan pubu). Stay local overnight.

Day 2: Early visit to the Three-tile Waterfalls (San die quan; additional RMB28) and the Five immortals' Peak (Wulao feng). Return to Guling town and take bus back to Jiujiang. Find a hotel and check in. In the afternoon, visit the Shizhong Rock (Shizhong shan; RMB25) at the intersection of the Yangtse River and the Poyang Lake. The sight is an hour's bus journey east of Jiujiang. Stay in Jiujiang overnight.

Day 3: One day trip to Xiu Peak (Xiu feng; RMB20). Enjoy the Mawei and Huangya Waterfalls and visit the Bailu Academy (Bailu Shuyuan; RMB12), the ancient academic institute that dates back to the Song Dynasty. In the afternoon, take an air-conditioned train (No.87, RMB52 for hard seat, departs at 16:03, arrives at 21:24) to Ji'an. Stay in a local hotel.

Day 4: In the morning, head to Jinggangshan. Visit the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Museum and the Former Revolutionary Headquarters. In the afternoon, visit the Five Fingers Peak (Wuzhi feng; RMB6) and Five Dragon Pools (Wulong tan; RMB20). Stay in Jinggangshan.

Day 5: Watch the sunrise in the morning, visit other tourist sights in Jinggangshan. Check out the local markets. Take bus back to Ji'an (3hours) and catch the train to Nanchang (No.618, RMB31 for hard seat, departs at 18:15, arrives at 21:39). Stay in Nanchang.

Day 6: Visit the Tengwang Pavilion and the Rope and Gold Pagoda in the morning. In the afternoon, visit the August 1st Uprising Museum. Spend the night exploring the city and try some local cuisine.

Your Jiangxi tour comes to an end and you are free to head where the east wind takes you.

Transportation of Jiangxi depends greatly on its comprehensive networks of railroads, superhighways and waterways. Nanchang, the provincial capital, is the region's heart.

By Air: Changbei Airport in Nanchang is a modern international air hub located north of the city. Flights to 29 major cities in China, including Hongkong, are available weekly, some daily. In addition, Jiangxi has other civilian airports in:

Ganzhou with flights to Guangzhou (1hour), Nanchang (1.5hours), Shanghai Pudong (4.5hours) and Xiamen (1.5hours) available.

Jingdezhen with flight to Beijing (2.5hours), Guangzhou (1.5hours) and Shanghai Pudong (1hour).

Charted flights to Jiujiang and Ji'an are also available.

By Train: Jiangxi has an advanced railroad network. Nanchang is the only provincial capital on the Beijing-Kowloon line. Other major lines include the Hangzhou-Nanchang line, the Nanjing-Nanchang line, the Yingtan-Xiamen line and the Wuhan-Jiujiang line.

There are trains available from Nanchang to Guangzhou (15hours), Shanghai (12hours), as well as several cities in Jiangxi, including Jiujiang (1.5hours) and Ji'an (4hours).

By bus: The superhighway infrastructure in Jiangxi is well developed. The Jiujiang-Nanchang (less than 2 hours) Grade One National superhighway and Jiujiang-Jingdezhen (less than 2hours) superhighway have been completed. There are also six National highways linking Jiangxi with Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei.

By Boat: Jiangxi is known locally as the "water country", a result of the four river branch network, the river's Gan and Xin longitudinally, and the Yangzi and the Chang flowing latitudinally. These rivers, along with the large Poyang Lake (Poyang hu), are still used as useful modes of transporting goods and people. Jiujiang remains a major freshwater port city, and ferries from a number of cities and towns in the province can still take you on the Yangtze as far as Wuhan (12hrs), Nanjing (24hrs) and even Shanghai (around 50hrs).