Nanling National Forest Park Reserve
Guangdong
The Nanling mountain range in Guangdong is home to the only ancient forests in the province, and is a reserve for old-growth blue pines, a species unique…
Must-see attractions in Guangdong
Guangdong
Zhaoqing’s city walls were built during several periods – the lowest part with large mud bricks are Song dynasty; above that is Ming; then a Qing…
Guangdong
Around 15km southeast of downtown Zhaoqing, Xiǎngǎng village, founded in the Ming dynasty, is a large and lively bāguà village, and has a market at its…
Guangdong
Cruise along the Beijiang River (北江, Běijiāng) from Qingyuan’s Wuyi dock (五一码头, Wǔyī Mǎtóu), heading past ancient pagodas to the Buddhist temple complex…
Guangdong
This attractive complex was built by a businessman who made his fortune in Thailand in the 19th century. He had the region’s best raw materials shipped…
Guangdong
Lack of upkeep and old age (it dates from early 18th century) mean Qinan Villa looks a bit like a princeling-turned-pauper. The stone carvings around its…
Guangzhou
On the southern shoreline of Ersha Island (Èrshā Dǎo), this colossus of an art museum showcases the works of important Cantonese artists and has been the…
Guangdong
Not a typical ancestral hall, this compound built in 1906 retains an exquisite southern Chinese architectural style, but with Western elements…
Guangdong
The majestic 400-year-old ‘house of calyx’, 120km east of Meizhou, is the largest circular earthen castle in Guangdong. It comes complete with three rings…
Memorial Museum of Generalissimo Sun Yatsen’s Mansion
Guangzhou
Sun Yatsen lived in this restored mansion when he established governments in Guangzhou in 1917 and 1923. The beautiful complex comprises two Victorian…
Guangdong
Inhabited by the third and fourth generations of the founder, a pharmaceutical merchant, this balmy courtyard residence (c 1914) features stone, wood and…
Guangzhou
Browse engaging but propaganda-ish exhibits on famous Cantonese revolutionaries, with a section dedicated to the life of Sun Wan, Sun Yatsen’s daughter…
Shenzhen
The hulking Shenzhen Museum provides a decent enough introduction to Shenzhen's brief but breakneck march into modernity, both before and after the…
Guangdong
This 4000-sq-metre compound has murky lily ponds teeming with koi and a main temple dedicated to Confucius that is supported by 48 pillars. Confucious is…
Shenzhen
When big-city fatigue sets in, you can seek refuge in this spacious inner-city park. It may still get busy but here the mood is created by musicians,…
Guangzhou
Luányú Táng is a 200-year-old union for actors playing martial-arts and acrobatic roles in Cantonese opera. The union still gives theatrical martial-arts…
Guangdong
An eye-catching, early-20th-century mansion, the Haiyuan Inn combines Southeast Asian features, Western details and the attributes of a hakka (走马楼; zǒumǎ…
Guangdong
Near West Lake is the Hanbi Building, which served as a military office during anti-warlord expeditions in 1925. Inside, a small display in Chinese, with…
Guangzhou
Dating from 1890, this Roman Catholic church marks the edge of the French concession (everything due west of here on Shamian Island was administered by…
Emperor Xu’s Son-in-Law’s Mansion
Guangdong
This breezy mansion originally built in 1064 retains some of its ancient stonework and wall coverings. The high door saddles, unique to southern China,…
Guangzhou
The ‘Red Mansion’ (c 1907), once Shamian’s grandest abode, fuses features of British colonial architecture such as colonnades and louvre windows with the…
Guangdong
On the east bank of the Han, this is the oldest and best-preserved temple dedicated to the Tang dynasty philosopher Han Yu, who was banished to ‘far-flung…
Foshan
This former Ming monastery remains an active place of worship today. Inside, you’ll find a pagoda built in 1656, and the Foshan Folk Arts Studio,…
Guangdong
The remains of the ancient city wall run alongside and back from the river. You can walk on the top of most sections.
Guangdong
A shuttered building in West Lake, designed in a period style reminiscent of 1970s kung fu movies.
Guangzhou
Marking a brief period of concord between the Kuomintang and the Communists, this school, at the site of a former Confucian temple, was a joint…
Guangzhou
East of the Peasant Movement Institute on Zhongshan Sanlu, this lavish memorial park commemorates communists killed after an attempted coup in 1927, which…
Guangzhou
Not to be confused with the far more impressive Guangdong Museum of Art, this dusty old museum has middling displays of concession-era porcelain, silks…
Guangzhou
Located in the historic Dōngshān area, Spring Garden was the headquarters of the central committee of the Chinese Communist Party in 1923. Mao Zedong…
Memorial Arch of the Father & Son Graduates
Guangdong
This handsome granite archway from 1610 stands before a school. The arch was set up by the Ming government to commemorate a father and son who were both…
Guangdong
Part of the Guangji Bridge complex. It's also a popular rendezvous point for locals meeting up with friends.
