One of the most beautiful parks in Guangzhou. This is the place to leisurely stroll around with your kids, get them bird watching or wildlife spotting, kayaking and when you need a break, enjoy delicious dim sum on one of the largest lakes in the city!

Located in Yuexiu district, within walking distance from the multicultural Xiaobei area and Yuexiu Park, Luhu Park is a wonderful, relaxing place to go on a stroll with your kids. While this isn’t a swings and slides kind of park, we have always enjoyed it as a family and, in my opinion, even without the children’s facilities it is still a very family-friendly place.

The park has both concrete roads, and there aren’t many cars using them so it is quite safe to use those with a stroller, and wooden plank paths, which take you right over the water-a perfect way for kids to try and spy some water creatures. Last time I took my son there, we witnessed a security guard trying to grab the largest wild crab I have ever seen in order to put it back in the lake. I kid you not, it was a giant! Let me tell you, as entertaining as it was to watch the crab try his best to pinch the guard’s hand, I appreciated the effort the man put in as it was not an easy task!

If your child is into nature or animals, they’ll enjoy watching birds (interesting to see so many older folk with their massive, professional cameras ready to snap as soon as, I assume, the rarer birds appear). We pretended to be National Geographic photographers and tried to spot birds before the actual photographers did, which was fun as my son is quite competitive!

Aside from crabs and birds, you’ll see many ducks, turtles and of course various types of fish. It is the nature that draws us there again and again, not so much the zig zag bridges or viewing platforms, pretty as they are. Admittedly, you might not be able to run around with a kite here or get your kids happily exhausted with playground stuff but there’s plenty of space for doing all sorts of other kiddie activities and you’ll be rewarded with beautiful views and a very chilled atmosphere.

Once you get tired, and you will get tired as the park is quite large, feel free to take a rest in the famous Cantonese LU MING restaurant (pictured below) serving yummy dim sum lunch and afternoon tea (after 2pm, limited menu). My son thoroughly enjoyed his favourite dumplings and sweet treats while soaking up the sun at one of the outside tables by the water. I didn’t mind lazily sipping on my chamomile tea, either:) Just remember that this place is VERY popular and you may need to either wait for a table in your preferred location or be flexible in terms of where you sit.

If you’re family is up for it, or if you’re anything like me you manage to trick/bribe your child to do a bit more walking, go to Xian Xinghai Garden (named after the same composer as the Xinghai Concert Hall on Ersha Island), located right next to the restaurant. You might have also noticed a tall pagoda(Honghao Tower) up on a hill in the backdrop of one of my photos above. The walk up isn’t as tiring as you might dread. I know some kids consider climbing stairs a form of torture but they’ll forget all about the effort once at the top, looking at Guangzhou from above and feeling the glorious breeze. If not, just blame me:)

Interestingly, Luhu Park is also connected to Sculpture Park so if you’re into art, head in that direction. My son went there with his kindergarten class recently and kids had so much fun discussing the various art pieces!

Have you heard of the Cloud Pathway (Yundao), a 8km long, elevated path running through 3 parks and several famous spots? Luhu Park is one of them so if you’re feeling particularly energetic or want to punish your kids some more, you could join that. I recommend going in the evening as the path is illuminated and open till 9pm, making it a very special evening family walk. Bear in mind, this path is not pram-friendly as there are quite a few stairs and so it also isn’t suitable for bikes or mini scooters. More info here.

A few years ago, a fun, raised platform was added to the park, together with a resting area and gosh, did my son love this place! Ah the pure joy of running down a slope at full speed into the safe, if tired, arms of your parent:) Not sure what the point of this platform is apart from looking cool but this part of the park is perfect for picnics (which we enjoyed during Covid restrictions!), badminton games and other, typical outdoor activities. We reached it right at the end of the day, which was just as well because if we had started there, I’m not sure my son would have let me take him anywhere else in the park! This and Jufang Garden, with its vast lawns and fun natural sculptures at the north end of Luhu Park, are definitely the most appealing parts of this park when it comes to the little ones.

Just as we thought our daytrip to Luhu Park was done and dusted and started to head back to the metro, we stumbled upon this absolute gem-Guangzhou People’s Art Centre! I’ve been meaning to go and since we were already there (it is right outside the park, near the aforementioned platform) and to my utter shock, my child did not whine about returning home yet, we popped in to have a quick look. It looks kind of drab from the outside but we loved it!

This place deserves a post of its own because it really is great for the whole family! What a wonderful end to our adventure it was.

What is your impression of Luhu Park? Have you been for dim sum there or up at the pagoda?

Info:

Address: Lu Hu Park (gong yuan), Yuexiu district, Guangzhou

Getting there: Nearest metro station is Xiaobei on Line 5, exit C, about 5min walk from the platform area or the park. Alternatively take Line 6 to Ouzhuang, it’s a 10min walk from the park. Bikes are not allowed inside the park though you can cycle on the roads running around it, I don’t think there are bicycle paths though. Luhu Park metro station is nearly completed so soon it will be even easier to get there.

Parking: We usually park at the dim sum restaurant (paid) but there is an official car park on the west side of the park (also paid).

Food: No food outlets inside the park apart from LU MING restaurant. There are a couple of small convenience stores and shops selling locally produced yoghurt but that’s about it. If we don’t feel like dim sum, we get a takeout from one of the Turkish/Arabic restaurants in Xiaobei and have a picnic:)

Facilities: Public toilets are of good standard.

Age: All though probably less suitable for toddlers unless you stick to Jufang Garden part of the park or in a pram, due to a lot of walking.

Tip:

Luhu Golf and Country Club is located next to the park and you can spot golfers in action while crossing the big bridge.