JIUJIANG (Nine Rivers) is well named, being built on the south bank of the China Yangzi just west of where Poyang Hu disgorges itself in a generous maze of streams. Small, but always an important staging post for river traffic, the town grew wealthy during the Ming dynasty through trade in Jingdezhen's porcelain, which was distributed all over China from here. Largely destroyed during the Taiping Uprising, Jiujiang was rebuilt as a treaty port in the 1860s, and today - despite catastrophic flooding through the town centre in 1998 - it's enjoying a low-scale renaissance with the docks and adjacent streets busy from dawn to dusk.

The west side of town between the Yangzi and Gantang Hu is the most interesting area, a collection of narrow streets packed with small stores selling bright summer clothing, porcelain and home-made hardware utensils. Completely occupying a tiny islet in the lake is Yanshui Pavilion (¥5), one of the most picturesque spots in Jiujiang. The Tang poet-official Li Bai was responsible for the causeway as well as the much restored moon-shaped sluice gate, and the tastefully proportioned Ming pavilion is now a peaceful museum adorned with statues to Li's memory. A ten-minute walk southeast of here down Yuling Lu leads to the red walls and flower beds surrounding the Nengren Si (¥2), whose battered five-storey pagoda rises over three plain halls, the largest of which is barely big enough to contain a looming, blue-haired Buddha statue.

Much more fun is Xunyang Lou (daily 9am-late; ¥6, English-speaking guide ¥10), a traditional wooden "antique" winehouse facing Anhui and Hubei provinces across the Yangzi on Binjiang Lu, about 1.5km east of the ferry port. Built in 1986 to replace a previous Tang-dynasty structure, it was the setting - in literature - for a scene in Outlaws of the Marsh (also known as The Water Margin). China's equivalent to the Robin Hood legend, Outlaws is a lively tale set mostly farther east in Zhejiang Province, whose 108 rebel heroes were often more bloodthirsty than the oppressive Song-dynasty officials they fought. Here, the future outlaws' leader Song Jiang (exiled to Jiujiang for murdering his unfaithful wife) imprudently wrote some revolutionary verses on the back wall after downing too much wine; condemned to death, he was rescued dramatically at the last moment. Those familiar with the tale will recognise porcelain figurines of Song Jiang, "Black Whirlwind" Liu Kei (the original axe-wielding maniac) and the other heroes in the lobby. Xunyang's biggest attraction, however, is the upstairs restaurant , worth visiting at lunch for mifan rou (steamed pork with five-spice powder and ground rice), river fish, "Eight Treasure" duck, scrambled eggs and green pepper, or sunyang dabin (a pancake invented by one of the outlaws). Just east again is another elderly pagoda , with more fine views of the river once you've climbed the seven flights of wobbly wooden stairs.