Discount season for traveling: Where can you get the most enjoyment for the money?

Half-price tickets, free entrance, 1-yuan garden visiting... Tourist sites across China are promoting enticing favorable ticket policies, most of which will last till the end of this year. This article will introduce eight places with splendid autumn scenery among the many destinations with attractive entrance tickets.

From Suzhou gardens with fragrant osmanthus to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Wuyi Mountain, this list provides a clear idea for your autumn travelling plan.

Suzhou gardens

Suzhou is home to 70 existing historic gardens built before 1949, the most in the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The plants inside the gardens that change over time are one of the lures of tourist revisits.

In autumn, most gardens in Suzhou host chrysanthemum exhibitions. Additionally, through the ornamental perforated window in the gardens, you can appreciate the leaves in the yards turning from green to yellow, golden gingko leaves floating onto the ground, and red maple leaves shinning against the walls.

As the city flower of Suzhou, sweet-scented osmanthus decorate most roads in Suzhou, which gives out a sweet fragrance in September and October across the city. Golden osmanthus flowers can also be seen in the classic Suzhou gardens.

Lingering Garden (Liu Yuan), a renowned classical Suzhou garden, is home to seven types of osmanthus, including some rare varieties. There is a pavilion in the center of the garden especially built for osmanthus appreciation.

Favorable ticket policy: 1-yuan garden visiting

Online platforms including the Suzhou Garden Visiting Website (szylly.com) and Trip.com launched a special online ticket-grabbing section of “1-yuan garden visiting” which will last till Dec. 31. This special policy applies to 14 renowned garden sites in Suzhou including the Huqiu Scenic Area, the Lingering Garden, the Humble Administrator Garden and the Lion Forest Garden.

Autumn in Kanas

Located in Burqin County in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and sharing borders with Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia, Kanas Nature Reserve boasts an ecosystem formed of lakes, rivers, glaciers, forests and grasslands.

The area is among the most alluring of the resorts in northern Xinjiang and one of its highlights is Kanas Lake, described as a pearl shining on the river. The color of the lake varies according to the season and weather.

September and October are the best months to visit the lake because you can see various colors of flowers and trees in the mountain areas and blue water on the lake.

Hemu Village is a small village situated in Kanas Nature Reserve in Altay, northern Xinjiang. Hidden in the river valley of the Altai Mountains, the uniqueness of the village lies in the scenery of the whole village. Surrounded by mountains on its four sides, the village is built on a prairie. It is widely considered the most beautiful village in China because of its fascinating natural beauty in autumn.

Favorable ticket policy: free entry

Kanas Nature Reserve can be visited for free from Sept. 6 to Nov. 10.

Poetic moment in Lijiang

As a world cultural heritage, the Old Town of Lijiang consists of Baisha Ancient Village, Shuhe Ancient Town and Dayan Old Town. Lying on the Lijiang Plain at an elevation of 2,400 meters in Southwest Yunnan Province, the Old Town of Lijiang is one of the last surviving ancient towns in China.

In October, the streets and alleys across the towns are dotted with chrysanthemums. Ginkgo leaves and elm leaves are also turning yellow at this time. In the early morning when there is no crowd, the clatter of horse hoofs together with the tinkling of copper bells, the small bridges and flowing water, the ancient paths, the strange Naxi culture and the glimpse of the tip of the Yulong Snow Mountain when you raise your head all become a mystic lure to you.

The Yulong Snow Mountain (Jade Dragon Snow Mountain) to the northwest serves as the source of the rivers and springs, watering the plain and supplying the Black Dragon Pond, from where waterways feed into a network of canals and channels to supply the town.

A 50-minute drive from Dayan Old Town, Yulong Snow Mountain is deemed as a sacred land in the hearts of Naxi people. It is the most southerly snowcapped mountain in the Northern Hemisphere. From November to March next year, the temperature on the mountain is relatively low and hence there is thick snow. You can take a cable car to a glacier park at the altitude of 4,506 meters, and then walk along the plank road to view more stunning snow scenery.

Favorable ticket policy: discount tickets

A total of 137 A-grade and higher tourist attractions offer 50 percent discount to the entrance tickets until the end of the year.

Breathtaking scenery and Tujia culture in Enshi

Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture is home to 27 ethnic groups including Tujia ethnicity, Han ethnicity, Miao ethnicity and Dong ethnicity. It is also home to many secret wonderlands.

A green oasis located in the mountainous southwestern corner of Hubei Province, it has been rated as “the most beautiful wonderland in China” by CNN and “the most beautiful place in China” by Chinese National Geography.

Enshi Grand Canyon is one of the must-visited wonderlands. This national 5A-rated tourist attraction stretches 108 kilometers in length and consists of 11 attractions including a forest park, steep mountains, spectacular waterfalls and exciting attractions. It also features karst landforms, including over 200 karst caves, which are spectacular. Thanks to its unique karst landforms, many people compare it with the Grand Canyon in the U.S. In autumn, the plants in the canyon present different colors, with some turning red, some yellow and others keeping their green hue.

Another reason to visit Enshi is the special local delicacies. Neighboring Chongqing on the west, Guizhou and Hunan on the south, Enshi combines the different food features of these places with that of Tujia ethnicity and forms its unique flavor.

Favorable ticket policy: free entry

A-grade and higher tourist attractions in Hubei Province are open to the public for free until Dec. 31.

Qingdao offers more than just a sea view

Driving east from the central area of Qingdao for a bit over 20 minutes and you will reach Laoshan District, where people can feel autumn earlier than other places in the city. After the autumnal equinox, spectacular autumn views begin to show up across Laoshan, with splashes of yellow, orange and red mingling along the rolling mountainsides. The best places for appreciating the wonderful colors of autumn include the Jufeng and Hualou scenic sites of the Laoshan Mountain Scenic Area, and Taiqing Palace, which is also full of antique flavor.

Some people comment that the most beautiful place in Qingdao is Badaguan (Eight Great Passes), whose most beautiful moment is in deep autumn. Located near the coastline of the city, Badaguan was built during the German concession. There are eight avenues named after mountain passes that intersect the Great Wall, hence its name. Two more roads were added in the 1930s. Called the “streets of flowers,” the area is well known for its garden villas and Western-style buildings.

Favorable ticket policy

Entrance tickets of some of the 5A tourist sites in Shandong Province including the Laoshan Mountain Scenic Area enjoy enticing discounts of 50 percent or more off from now to Dec. 31, excepting statutory holidays.

World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site Wuyi Mountain

Mogan Mountain is not the only must-visit mountain in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai 3-hour vacation circle. Wuyi Mountain, a World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site, is definitely worth visiting as well.

Covered by lush bamboo forests, Wuyi Mountain serves as a nice reclusive palace featuring cloud sea, rice terraces, ancient villages and tea gardens. It is well known for its abundance of deep canyons, dense forests, waterfalls, animals (many of them endangered), flora and fauna.

When autumn approaches, the maple leaves turn red, ginkgo leaves fall and fly around, and osmanthus flowers give off a sweet fragrance in this area. The rock tea making technique of Wuyi Mountain is rated as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Favorable ticket policy

People aged 50 and above can enjoy discount tickets to visit the Wuyi Mountain resort from now to Dec. 31 excepting statutory holidays.

Wutai Mountain

Sitting in northwestern Shanxi Province, Wutai Mountain, along with Sichuan’s Emei Mountain, Anhui’s Jiuhua Mountain, and Zhejiang’s Putuo Mountain, is one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China.

Wutai Mountain is also home to one of China’s oldest Buddhist temple sites. Nanchan Temple and Foguang Temple, as China’s earliest timber architectures, represent the civilization of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Covering 593 square kilometers, Wutai Mountain is named after its five peaks which resemble five giant columns rising from the earth. Crowded with peaks and cliffs, the area enters autumn as early as the end of September. Yellow leaves falling down against the background of the tiles of multiple temples add a nice touch to the Zen feeling.

Favorable ticket policy

A total of 130 A-grade and higher tourist attractions in Shanxi Province offer free first-gate admission from Monday to Friday in the second half of this year.

Fanjing Mountain

Located in Tongren City, Guizhou Province, Fanjing Mountain is the only habitat for the Guizhou golden monkey, a key region for the distribution of Fanjing Mountain firs, the most abundant area for gymnosperm in the world, and the most important protected area for beech forests in Asia.

It was identified as the world’s most well-preserved primeval forest, with 4,394 kinds of plants and 2,767 kinds of animals, making it one of the most abundant in the Oriental deciduous forest biological areas.

Favorable ticket policy

All the A-grade and higher tourist attractions in Guizhou Province enjoy a 50-percent off discount from now to Dec. 31 this year.