Guangdong Province travel guide

Gongfu tea is the tea ritual of Chaoshan households. When you enter a Chaoshan home, guests are welcomed alike, close or distant, and the host will immediately brew gongfu tea, a courtesy handed down through generations. To savour gongfu tea is to truly understand Chaoshan culture; it is an indispensable part of daily life and has become part of every household. Antique tea caddies and exquisite teacups, wreathed in rising steam and accompanied by warm, repeated invitations of 'please', will delight you even if you do not drink; simply watching is enough to enchant.

Shenzhen is one of China's earliest special economic zones opened under reform and opening-up. In just over 40 years, it has transformed from a closed and backward fishing village into the international metropolis it is today, and its development is breathtaking. On Shenzhen's streets you hear less Cantonese than Mandarin laced with accents from all corners of the country, which makes the city feel like a miniature China. If you visit during the Spring Festival, however, you may find it very frustrating, because taxis are hard to hail on the street as most drivers have gone home for the New Year.

Within Guo'en Temple stands a lychee tree said to have been planted by Master Huineng himself. Known as the “Buddha Lychee,” it has weathered more than 1,300 years and remains lush and green. Each year, when the cicadas sing and the lychees ripen, its branches bend under the weight of the fruit.

As early as 1991, Zhuhai was named a tourist city by the State Tourism Administration (now the Ministry of Culture and Tourism), and it has since been recognised by the United Nations as a best-practice example of human settlements. Strolling the city centre, with its spotless streets, clear blue skies and lush, velvety lawns lining the roads, you will understand why Zhuhai is considered one of the most liveable cities.

Northern Guangdong’s appeal lies largely in its mountains and waters, where natural scenery reigns supreme. Among these mountains is Danxia Mountain, famed for its karst landforms. The peaks of northern Guangdong may not match the grandeur of Mount Tai, the steep cliffs of Mount Hua or the grace of Mount Emei, but their unique geological structures and the almost supernatural hand of nature have sculpted a wide variety of strange rocks and precipitous peaks.

As the hometown of the great revolutionary Sun Yat-sen, and the only city in China named after a great man, Zhongshan naturally has many landmarks commemorating him. The city's greenery and cleanliness also leave a lasting impression on visitors. You can walk its streets all day in leather shoes and still see your reflection in them.