Scraps of silk are layered into raised peonies and birds in Shangdang duijin, a stacked-brocade craft still made by hand here. In the old town of Yincheng, merchant courtyards once traded ironware, and in the city a cook packs slow-braised donkey meat into a hot, crisp bun.
Beyond the stalls, a giant bronze Shennong looks down from Laoding Mountain, and the cliffs of the Taihang Grand Canyon rise in Huguan County. Changzhi has cold, very dry winters and warm summers that bring most of the rain. A Local Friend reads the snack menu, the bus map and the mood of an opera crowd for you, so a night of Shangdang bangzi makes sense from the first gong.
