In the extreme northeastern corner of Jiangsu Province, China, on the Yellow Sea coast, LIANYUNGANG is very much out on a limb from the traveller's point of view. It's a working port rather than a tourist attraction, though the surroundings - a fine harbour with mountains behind - and the 1920s and 1930s architecture do at least offer something to look at. Its great boast these days is of being the terminus of the Longhai rail line , a line which reaches west through Xi'an to northwest China, beyond into central Asia, and eventually all the way to another seaport at the opposite end of the Eurasian land mass - the Dutch port city of Rotterdam.

Lianyungang Municipality actually covers a vast area, stretching from the new port, pushed up against the sea by hills and known as Lianyun , to the old traditional city some 20km inland, known as Huizhou - although even this traditional part is now modernizing in part due to the construction here of China's fourth nuclear power station, to be completed around 2001. The new city, Xinpu , lies 2km northeast of the Huizhou, and is where most travellers are likely to arrive, either at the Xinpu train station or at the new bus station , both of which are inconveniently located far to the north of town. Bus #8 connects both stations with Lao Zhan (the old station) in the downtown area, on Jiefang Lu. Walking out from Lao Zhan, turn right, then take the first left heading south down Tongguan Lu. About ten minutes down here you'll come to the Kanping Hotel (tel 0518/5511888; ¥200-300), which is one of the few hotels accepting foreigners and by far the nicest, offering both single and double rooms. Otherwise, try the obscurely located Yuntai hotel (¥150-200), in the far east of Xinpu on Hailian Lu, east of the vast double traffic circle, Longhe Guangchang, which offers grotty doubles. You'll find various town amenities along Longhe Guangchang , including the Bank of China at its northwestern end, just west of a little canal. This street is also the departure point for many private buses and minibuses, especially the fast and frequent service to Nanjing, which now takes as little as four hours thanks to a new expressway.

Apart from the tree-lined streets of Huizhou themselves, which have quite a pleasant antiquated feel, there's really only one tourist sight to speak of, Huaguo Shan (Flower and Fruit Hill; daily 6am-8pm; ¥21), 30km from town in the Yuntai hills, which not only sports some delightful scenery, but also gets a mention near the beginning of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. If you come early in the morning you can easily spend the whole day climbing footpaths over the hill, the tallest in Jiangsu at around 630m high - there are towers, pavilions, temples and some highly rural scenes of village life on the way. The highlight is the Tang-dynasty Sanyuan Daoist Temple , high up on the hillside, which has three grand halls, one shaded by two thousand-year-old gingko trees. The hill is about 15km, or twenty minutes by taxi, from town (¥20 each way), though there are also occasional buses here from Lao Zhan in Xinpu.