A friend recommended this park and wow am I glad we finally made it there as it has now become one of our favourite places in Guangzhou!

I love cycling, my husband loves cycling and my son enjoys it too, however for now he can only use a bike with support wheels, which makes it a bit tricky to go on a family bike ride. Possible but tricky. Therefore we are always on the lookout for parks, where family bike rental is available and there are some around Guangzhou, but not many. I will write a post about the best and most well-known cycling place-Dafu Mountain Forest Park, a.k.a. Dafushan-soon but for now let’s explore our new discovery-Huadu Lake Park.

First of all, this park is way bigger than I thought!It is located, as the name suggests, in Huadu district, in the north-west of Guangzhou, which isn’t normally associated with green recreational spaces. Even though it has a lot to offer, it remains mostly industrial and the attractions there are less known than those in other districts but I will try to write a few posts about the interesting family spots we have been to in that area and so hopefully more families will consider traveling north:)

It took us 40min to drive there (from Baiyun) but you could also take the metro as Liantang station, Line 9, is not far from the park. In fact, if it’s your first visit, I would suggest you either take a Didi or metro as driving, though convenient, means you’ll need to either wait in a looong line of cars to enter the park’s car park or will have to find on-street parking (which is what we did and it was free but a 10min walk away from not-so-easy-to-find park entrance). This might not seem like such a big issue but if you’ve ever had kids in the back eager to get out, run around and not wanting to waste any minute longer waiting for you to find a parking spot, you understand my suggestion.

Right, cycling! After all, that’s why we went all the way there. There are several options: you can hire individual bikes (mountain bike, ladies’ bike and kids’ bikes), a tandem bike or a family bike with a roof-type cover.

We chose a tandem bike as it allows for way more flexibility than a family one, you can take sharper turns and go faster, should you wish to. All that is great if only I wasn’t tall and if only the back seat could be extended higher…Needless to say, I was not comfortable and next time we’ll go for another type of bike. If you don’t suffer from tall-people problems though, you’ll love it. I will say, however, that driving a tandem bike is very tiring for the driver. But hey, kids love it, as in screaming-at-the-top-of-their-lungs happy so that’s all that matters really, right :)?

Individual and tandem bikes can be rented at a shop next to the park’s car park entrance. Deposit is 300rmb, and the rental fee for a tandem bike is just 20rmb for unlimited time! Family bikes can only be hired inside the park by scanning a QR code and are more expensive, I believe 40rmb per hour, but since we did not use one don’t quote me on that. Of course, you can also bring your own bikes and cycle around:) I saw very young kids on mini scooters and balance bikes enjoying the safe lanes and all that this park has to offer…

We might have come to cycle but who could say no to a big playground?! I must say, this is one of the best playgrounds I have seen in a public park in Guangzhou, aside from Children’s Parks. My son had a fantastic time there climbing and sliding and the good thing about its location is that it is not too far from the entrance so even if you just came for a walk and opted not to ride a bike, you can reach it pretty easily and there is a small lawn right opposite-kids play, parents relax:)

Right next to the playground is this educational and fun sculpture park, with statues representing various countries/regions, from Australia to The Netherlands. My son’s favourite part of the sculpture park were not the statues though, it was…

…the water gun. Of course it was:) You scan the QR code and choose the time-1 minute, 2 minutes…up to 5 minutes of constant spray of water. Silly us, chose 5 minutes and that pleasure cost us a staggering, in my eyes, 27rmb! Word of advise-don’t go for 5 minutes, you end up wet and your child fed up.

Huadu Lake Park also has some interesting buildings and family-friendly hiking trails. We enjoyed walking up to Huadu Pavilion, which is beautifully decorated. Shame it was closed but to be honest, I’m not sure if there’s even anything to see inside.

Finally we reached the main lawn, where one can relax, enjoy a picnic and play games. There is a ‘food-truck’ serving cold drinks and hot snacks as well as freshly-made hot/cold mung bean soup (Pinyin: ‘lv dou tang’), which we thoroughly enjoyed while lounging on the provided camping chairs whilst enjoying a beautiful evening. Tip-do NOT get the bubble waffles, not good quality.

Note that bikes are not allowed to enter this part of the park, for safety reasons. You park your bike next to the sculpture park and continue on foot. Trust me, there is A LOT of walking to be done there! Those, who say Huadu Lake is a place for 1-2 hours, have either not been there or maybe just cycled without stopping anywhere along the way.

The park has many winding wooden bridges, which apparently are beautifully lit up in the evening, if the photos are to be trusted, but we didn’t get to see that as we left before it got dark in order to return our bike and get some dinner. On our way back, we passed this lovely Marriage Registry office. Isn’t it gorgeous?

We already know we’ll be back again as there is still a lot we didn’t get to see and as an added bonus, this park is close to YuanXuan Taoist Temple, which I have been wanting to see since our last trip to Huadu to visit Lotus Peak.

Ahhh time for dinner:)

Info

Opening hours: 6.30-10pm

Getting there: Self-driving, Didi (Huadu Lake/Huaduhu, Xinhua Rd) or Metro Line 9, Liantang station+walking.

Parking: On site but busy on weekends. Can park for free by the restaurants opposite the car park entrance.

Entrance: There is no main gate as such but several side entrances, however bikes are only allowed to enter through one gate in the east of the lake(see map I attached)

Bike rental: Very easy to arrange even with limited Chinese skills. Tandem bikes-300rmb deposit, 20rmb per day; family bikes-40rmb per hour?

Facilities: Plenty of toilets; The area is mostly flat and thus suitable for those using wheelchairs/with pushchairs

Food: Food-truck in the main lawn and a snack shop outside the playground(where else!); several restaurants within walking distance, serving e.g. Hakka food, North-Eastern food (dumplings) or Beef Congee hot pot, where we ate.

Age: Suitable for all ages

!If you’d like to see some videos of this lovely place, head over to my Instagram. I also post on X and while my posts are about places and things to do in Guangzhou, they may not be related to kids .

Have you visited Huadu Lake Park? Do you know of any other attractions in that area?