Longing for a quick city break? How about exploring Guangzhou’s neighbouring cities? They offer history, local delicacies, interesting architecture, beautiful parks and kid-friendly attractions. Psst: The nice hotels are way cheaper there too!
I love to travel, shocking, I know. It’s such a niche interest, isn’t it? Anyway, that includes all sorts of travel-going abroad, flying across provinces, taking night trains to new cities or driving to further destinations. Equally, I do enjoy a cheeky staycation now and again. In a megalopolis like Guangzhou, one can very easily feel as if they’re in a complete different city just by visiting a rarely or never-before-visited district! After all, not so long ago, some of the city’s neighbourhoods were actually separate towns and cities so no wonder they have a distinct atmosphere to them. I know, I know, to some staycation seems ridiculous and I get that perhaps it is more common in the West(?) but I promise you, it doesn’t have to cost you much and it may be a fantastic break for your family with new adventures and experiences but without hours of travel.
Then there are city breaks.
Having said that, I do love a short getaway, of any type. Natural escapes have a special place in my heart but so do city breaks, especially to the smaller, quieter cities. Don’t ask me why but I always root for the underdog and feel like there is so much potential in smaller Chinese cities (smaller by Chinese standards!). Not only are they convenient to get to if you don’t have a car but often offer a wide choice of family activities, unique foods and very budget-friendly accommodation.
*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliated links, meaning I might earn a small commission from any booking/transaction you make through them at no extra cost to you. I only recommend places I have been to and genuinely enjoyed. Thank you!
Time is also a factor. Anyone working for a local Chinese company or with a local spouse will have felt the pain of not being able to go on a proper holiday when everyone around you seemed to be gushing about their next, exciting trip. Chinese companies don’t normally give annual leave longer than about a week, thus the insane crowds during national holidays. In addition, sometimes you just want to go somewhere new but without the hassle, especially if you’re traveling with young kids. We’ve all been there.
City breaks are the perfect solution.
No long hours of traveling, no need for a large suitcase, you can do as little or as much as you wish over just a weekend. Not enough to really get to know a place but long enough to escape from daily routine, re-awake curiosity, try new things and step out of your comfort zone, after all, this is China-anything could happen! But are city breaks suitable for kids? Will they be bored and whining the entire time? (every parent’s initial fear when choosing a holiday destination).
I am certain there are many more interesting towns and cities around Guangdong alone but here is my list of 9 cities, which I have visited before and highly recommend! All within a 2 hour drive/train ride from Guangzhou, how good is that?! I promise you, each one has fun stuff to do for kids. Note that this post focuses on the cities themselves, not so much the amazing attractions around them.
Zhongshan
Just an hour away from Guangzhou, this city in the south-west is historically very important as it is the hometown of Dr Sun Yat-Sen. Walk along the long, main street adorned with stunning Qilou (arcade-style) buildings, rest at a cool riverside gallery by an old railway track, visit quirky, small museums and feel the past seeping through the quiet and unassuming buildings of the Old Town. It is also a good base for exploring the surrounding ancient villages. Kids will enjoy the many parks and a very relaxed vibe of the place.
We stayed at the centrally located Sheraton hotel and it was perfect, not to mention half the Guangzhou’s price!Check out their Egyptian-themed Family Suite!
Jiangmen
Zhongshan’s close yet mostly forgotten neighbour, the least developed city in the GBA, is ridiculously underrated. The city centre’s architecture, though largely in poor condition, exudes history and local culture. Meander through the mysterious alleyways of the Old Town and admire the view from many rooftop cafes, enjoy a meal in an old, hidden mansion and visit the impressive Museum of Overseas Chinese. Kids will like getting lost in the labyrinth of small alleys lit up by colourful fish lanterns and cycling/riding a scooter along the quiet riverside. Parents will like the old-school, 90s feel of the place and seeing China without the glitzy malls and skyscrapers (though of course those are also there, just not in the city centre). The city is also a good base for a trip to Chikan Ancient Town, UNESCO’s Kaiping Dialolou and Geothermal National Geological Park.
We stayed at the Shanshui S hotel as we wanted something nice, clean and budget-friendly-this place ticked all the boxes.
Dongguan
Guangzhou’s eastern neighbour, once famous for cheap manufacturing, is a very family-friendly city. Its biggest attraction is the huge Songshan Lake-feel free to rent family bikes and cycle around it whilst in awe of the attached gigantic Huawei site, resembling a European town. Just the lake will take you an entire day as it has many attractions. Dongguan is also known for its night food markets, the kid-friendly Opium War Museum and is the south China capital of animation. Why not take your kids to one of many animation and toy exhibitions/shows there or the Comic Museum? Alternatively, you could use the city as a base for fantastic hiking trips (there are many forest parks there, ideal for a family trip!). My favourite ancient village near Guangzhou-Nanshe-is there, too, with hundreds of, mostly abandoned, buildings and ancestral halls. Kids will like the colourful Cantonese Opera performances and local festivals celebrated there. Best thing is that Dongguan is linked to Guangzhou by ordinary trains, many frequent coaches and a newly opened inter-city railway network and soon they will be connected by metro!
I can’t recommend a specific hotel there since we stayed at a really basic one (this is what happens when you leave hotel booking to your husband:P) but please know that all the big brands (Intercontinental, Wyndham, etc.) have hotels there, mostly around Songshan Lake, and are WAY cheaper than in Guangzhou, we’re talking 4* for 250rmb a night! Mission Hills Resort is the one you want if you’re after accommodation that has a lot for kids and is surrounded by nature.
Qingyuan
To the north of Guangzhou, surrounded by mountains, lies quiet Qingyuan, known for natural beauty and thrilling attractions (white water rafting or a super high glass bridge, anyone?) around it. It is a great base with loads of high-quality yet very affordable hotels and offers some pretty and very chilled spots, like the island joined to the riverside park by a bridge, where locals swim in the river at summertime.
Slow city living in its true form.
Both kids and parents will love the bookstore cafe on the island, which surprisingly even has children’s books in English!It’s also a fab place to try your hand at golf as it has several courses, all much cheaper than Guangzhou ones! I visited the Mayland Resort and was very impressed by their facilities-next time want to try their water park!The new Chimelong Safari Zoo has just opened there too!
Every time we’re in Qingyuan, we stay at the Sheraton Lion Lake resort, which has huge grounds, plenty of fun things to do for kids and even its own musical fountain show at night!
Foshan
Ahh Foshan, my absolute favourite on this list. I like it so much that sometimes I seriously wonder if I prefer it over Guangzhou (shock, horror)! Enormous amount of culture and history, countless interesting museums (e.g. Science Museum), ancient kiln with tiny artist studios, stunning Qinghui Garden displaying traditional Lignan characteristics, delicious local food (double-skinned milk), boat trips along canals, stunning Lignan architecture, excellent shopping malls, exciting and very kid-friendly night markets (best one I’ve been to so far, awesome live music), best children’s playground and wonderful parks. Foshan is a magnificent city, period. Most only stop at Zumiao/Lignan Tiandi and those are wonderful but there is so much more to this city. Kids will love Snoopy Theme Park, OCT Harbour’s theme park and all the parks!
I have been to Foshan many times and stayed in various hotels but the nicest stays were at Marco Polo hotel (now called Cordis) right bang in the city centre and at Sheraton in Shunde district, which is known all over China for its yummy food and being the home of Bruce Lee!
Zhaoqing
Located only 45min away (by high-speed train) to the west of Guangzhou, Zhaoqing’s main allure are its natural attractions, from wonderful Seven Star Crags on Star Lake, which includes a boat ride through a cave (guaranteed kid pleaser), to China’s first Nature Reserve and a Buddhist sacred place-Mount Dinghu, where your kids can enjoy the waterfalls though be aware, the hiking trail is not suitable for the very little ones but there is a shuttle you can take instead! If your child is anything like mine, they will have fun climbing and walking the Ancient City Wall and admiring the colourful caves; parents are sure to find Qingyun Temple, which boasts over 100 halls, fascinating. For the most stylish accommodation, stay in one of the B&Bs located by the lake-stunning sunsets guaranteed!
Zhuhai
The winner in the most relaxing city category. We love to cycle around the beautiful Yeli Island and along Lovers’ Road, especially at sunset. Needless to say, the long beach itself will satisfy most kids though enter water at your own risk. Such a shame that the water quality is pretty bad there though I heard it’s much better around the islands, such as Wailingding (as good excuse to rent a boat/yacht?). My family always makes sure to visit at least one of the city parks too as they are lovely and Jingshan Park even has a cable car-a perfect way to see the coast from above though not for the little ones or the faint-hearted as it’s more of a ski lift. Aside from that, do I even need to mention the absolutely amazing Ocean Kingdom? Or the new-ish Chimelong Spaceship, world’s largest indoor theme park, which I haven’t visited yet but which looks out of this world?!
Hotel I wouldn’t recommend in Zhuhai is Marriott Hotel(Lovers Road)-dated, bad service, poor food quality, sub-standard. Not horrible, just not worth the price. If you don’t mind splurging a bit, I’d strongly recommend the Angsana Zhuhai Phoenix Bay, which has a private beach and feels very luxurious. Kids might prefer to stay at the Chimelong Penguin Hotel though, I know my son loved it!
Chaozhou
Ok, so I’m stretching the truth a bit with this one saying it is within a 2 hour drive/train ride as currently it takes around 3.5 hours by high-speed train BUT in my defence, the new railroad, which is supposed to start operating next year, will shorten the time to around 2 hours! This ancient city is an absolute gem! I cannot recommend it highly enough. Read all about it in my post here.
Huizhou
Most stick to the beach in Huidong district when traveling to Huizhou, which is actually very far from the city. Though quite small in size, Huizhou boasts a beautiful, large West Lake, similar to its Hangzhou namesake. Stroll along the Old Town and admire past glamour of derelict villas and relax at old houses converted into stylish cafés and boutiques. Kids will like Chaojing Gate-imposing, city wall-like structure and playing hide-and-seek in long Qilou-style buildings lining many of Huizhou’s central streets. And if you feel like something quite different, how about a trip to a fake Austrian town of Hallstatt?
We stayed at the Kande International hotel and thoroughly enjoyed it as it was very conveniently located, super clean and staff were nice.
There are, of course, many other cool cities in Guangzhou that are absolutely worth a visit: Meizhou, Shantou, Yangjiang, to name a few and there is A WHOLE LOT MORE to each of the above-mentioned cities but I hope this list gives you some idea of what Guangzhou’s neighbouring cities have to offer for families and most importantly, inspires you to book those train tickets and go!
*You might have noticed that one, very well-known, very big neighbour is missing from this list. Indeed, I specifically skipped Shenzhen. Why? Because on this occasion I’d rather focus on the less-known cities but fear not, I will definitely write about this uber-modern and super family-friendly city at some point soon.
I should mention, that every place I had described above was very safe and my family genuinely loved spending time in the particular cities; returning to Guangzhou wishing we had more time and wanting to return asap! I do plan on writing separate posts about each of those cities so as to save you time searching for information. If you have any questions, let me know!
Have you visited any of the cities in this post? If so, let me know what you thought about them!
Tips:
-All of these cities can be reached by high-speed train or normal train within 2 hours, in fact, most can be reached within 1 hour!
–Qingyuan is the nearest one and it only takes 30min to reach it if you start your journey at Guangzhou East station.
-Please bear in mind that the high-speed (gao tie) train stations are located outside the city centres and so even though you might reach the actual city quickly, you will then need a taxi to take you to your hotel/city centre, which can take another 30 minutes in some cases.
-As these cities are smaller and not as multicultural as Guangzhou, as a foreigner you might find yourself attracting a lot more attention, however in my experience, the locals have never been anything but very friendly and actually more dismissive (in a good way!).
-In terms of Western food options, with the exception of Foshan, the other cities, unsurprisingly, do not offer a great variety of options but you will still definitely find the typical Pizza Hut, KFC and McDonalds there, with the occasional Commune or Dominos if Asian food is not your favourite.
-While smaller cities may lack a Starbucks on every corner, they might actually surprise you with their choice of quirky and unique privately-owned coffee shops and cafes. We have stumbled upon some really wonderful ones!
-To book train tickets, use 12306, China Railways’ official booking website in English.
-If you have never taken a train in China, remember to always travel with your passport/any identity document (every member of your family) and get to the station way ahead of departure time as luggage check and document check may take a while. Then, you still need to find your platform and once you’re there, the staff will only open the entry to the platform at a specific time and you will only have a certain amount of time to board the train.
-Nowadays you also need to present a passport/form of ID for EVERY member of your family, not just adults. We did not know this and hadn’t brought our son’s passport on our recent stay in Foshan but the hotel staff were very accommodating and accepted a photo of it. I wouldn’t take a risk though, just bring a passport.
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