# Northern Guangdong travel guide (粤北) Guangdong Province · South China, China · 13 places Canonical: https://cnatrip.com/en/destinations/guangdong/northern-guangdong ## Quick itinerary - **Day 1:** Huangtengxia Rafting → Huangchuan Three Gorges → Lianzhou Underground River → Lianzhou (accommodation) - **Day 2:** Lianzhou → Yingxi Peak Forest → Baojing Palace → Yingde - **Day 3:** Yingde → Danxia Mountain → Nanhua Temple - **Day 4:** Yunmen Temple → Ruyuan Grand Canyon → Nanling National Forest Park ## The feel of the place - **Geological Wonders:** 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. - **Yao Village Charm:** Lianzhou is home to a concentration of Yao villages in northern Guangdong. Most are built into the hillsides, and some are more than a thousand years old. Walking along the stone-slab paths of these villages, you often meet Yao people in colorful traditional dress, carrying firewood, baskets or flowered bags. Whatever they are doing, they will greet you with a smile, and some may even invite you inside to share a bowl of fragrant Yao rice wine. ## The feel of the place ### The Yao People The Yao are mainly divided into two branches: the Guoshan Yao (mountain-crossing Yao) and the Paiyao (row Yao). The Yao have many exonyms: they are called White Yao or Black Yao according to their clothing, and Eastern-Side Yao, Western-Side Yao, Highland Yao or Lowland Yao according to their settlement patterns. The Yao also have self-designations: the Guoshan Yao call themselves “Mian” or “Youmian,” and the Paiyao call themselves “Min” or “Zaomin,” among others. Many Yao live in the mountainous areas of northern Guangdong and southern Hunan, where they are divided into more than a dozen tribes with distinct costumes. Because they live in remote mountain regions, they have preserved simple yet distinctive customs and folkways to this day. ## Getting there & around Apart from Shaoguan, which is served by the Beijing–Guangzhou Railway, travel in northern Guangdong relies mainly on road transport. Fortunately, the road network is well developed: express coaches and direct buses run from Guangzhou to destinations across the region, and most trips take only a few hours. ### High-Speed Rail The Wuhan–Guangzhou High-Speed Railway passes through Qingyuan and Shaoguan stations in northern Guangdong, allowing direct travel from Guangzhou to the region. Shaoguan Station is the first stop on the Wuhan–Guangzhou line after it enters Guangdong, located in Chishui Village, Xilian Town, Wujiang District, Shaoguan. ## Eat & drink Northern Guangdong cuisine is not part of the mainstream Cantonese repertoire, but the region still has plenty of local specialties. In Qingyuan, for example, there is white-cut chicken and Longgui cold-water tripe; in Shaoguan, locals love stir-fried shankeng snails. In the mountains of Liannan, the Yao table is full of wild delicacies, while the bamboo-tube liquor of Shixing leaves a lingering fragrance on the palate. ## Shopping Danxia Baimao tea is famous across Guangdong, and Ruyuan County’s Yao Mountain winter mushrooms, Qujiang’s Shatian pomelo and Nanxiong’s ginkgo nuts all enjoy a fine reputation. Qujiang’s distinctive silkworm-moth wine (蚕蛾公酒) is also a prized health tonic. ## Where to stay Having become a popular tourist destination in Guangdong in recent years, the main towns and counties of northern Guangdong have no shortage of accommodation. Remote Yao villages, however, offer only homestays in local families’ homes, where conditions are more basic. - **Nuoting Chain Hotel** — (No. 25 Jiefang Road, Zhenjiang District, Shaoguan, 0751-8186668) ## Things to see - **Danxia Mountain** (★★★★): Admission ¥100; cable car up ¥45, round trip ¥70 on weekdays; Time needed 1–2 days — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/danxia-mountain - **Nanhua Temple** (★★★★): Admission ¥20; Opening hours 8：00—17：00; Time needed 2–3 hours — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/nanhua-temple - **Maozi Peak Scenic Area** (★★★★): Admission ¥50; Opening hours 8：30—17：00; Time needed 1 day — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/maozi-peak-scenic-area - **Yunmen Temple** (★★★): Admission ¥5; Opening hours 8：30—16：30; Time needed 2–3 hours — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/yunmen-temple - **Ruyuan Grand Canyon** (★★★★): Admission ¥65; aerial performance ¥5; Opening hours 8：00—17：00; Time needed 0.5 days — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/ruyuan-grand-canyon - **Nanling National Forest Park** (★★★★): Admission ¥80; Opening hours 8：00—18：00; Time needed 1 day — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/nanling-national-forest-park - **Yingxi Peak Forest Corridor** (★★★): Admission Nine-Fold Heaven Peak Forest ¥68; Peak Forest ¥68; Pengjia Ancestral Hall ¥40; Laohu Valley underground river rafting ¥138; Huanghua Creek bamboo raft ride ¥40; Time needed 5 hours — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/yingxi-peak-forest-corridor - **Baojing Palace** (★★★★): Admission ¥76; Opening hours 8：30—18：00; Time needed 2–3 hours — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/baojing-palace - **Huangchuan Three Gorges** (★★★): Admission ¥50; Opening hours 9：00—17：00 — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/huangchuan-three-gorges - **Guangdong First Peak** (★★★★): Admission ¥78; Time needed 1 day — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/guangdong-first-peak - **Lianzhou Underground River** (★★★): Admission ¥108; Opening hours 8：30—17：00; Time needed 1.5–2 hours — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/lianzhou-underground-river - **Sanpai Yao Village** (★★★): Admission ¥50; Opening hours 9：00—18：00; Time needed 0.5–1 day — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/sanpai-yao-village - **Gulong Gorge** (★★★): — https://cnatrip.com/en/places/gulong-gorge --- Source: China Self-Guided Travel 2025 (《中国自助游》, Tianjin Science & Technology Press, Aug 2024), pp. 2391–2400. Prices, hours and transport details are as printed in the August 2024 edition and may have changed. Always confirm with the venue before you travel.