If you feel like a quick getaway to the countryside and you crave fresh mountain air but can’t face a 2 hour drive or don’t have a car, Guangzhou’s outer districts of Huadu, Conghua, Huangpu and Zengcheng have plenty to offer. It is arguably Zengcheng’s farms and waterfalls that are the easiest to reach by public transport though.

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Zengcheng is often overlooked because of it’s more famous neighbour Conghua and it’s easy to mistake one for the other since they are so similar-mountains, clear streams, scenic trails, cool B&Bs and hot spring resorts. This north-eastern part of Guangzhou has lots of beautiful places in itself and you could spend many a weekend there without feeling the need to leave the district! To be honest though, it doesn’t really matter which district you’re in as long as you’re having a great time out in beautiful nature, right?

Last week all we wanted was to get away from the city, find a quiet location (not easy during a national holiday in China!) and for our child to have plenty of space to run around. Since we live in north Baiyun, we have the luxury of being close to the motorway and particularly close to Maofengshan (read about it here) but we were keen to see a new place. Our decision as to the exact location was most definitely influenced by the choice (and price) of accommodation still available since we left it last minute but we knew we wanted to stay in Zengcheng as we hadn’t been there for a long time (since our visit to the huge Baishuizai Waterfall) and we did not wish to stay in a large resort, as nice as they are.

While we did explore the possibility of staying at the elegant-looking Mehood Theatre Hotel (high standards at a very low price), I’m glad we didn’t. The location we stayed at was perfect and I would like to recommend it. It was a small B&B called Judao Xingzuo Homestay , with a clear stream running right next to it, mountains at the back and only a few houses around it. Peace and quiet is what we wanted and it’s exactly what we got! There were ducks, chickens, a lovely, long path created especially with kids in mind and a small waterfall within a 2 min walk. The hotel itself was quite basic but clean and pleasantly designed. What surprised us was the fairly big selection of books, especially those aimed at children and we even managed to find a few in English! Let me tell you, those books came in very handy when it rained the next morning! They also have a community space, which can be used for events, lots of bits and bobs to play with if you forgot your child’s favourite toy(tragedy!) and, most importantly, safe outdoor space with seating, grills and tables ready for barbecues. Toddlers will also love the sandpit!

Of course, that B&B is just an example of the type of accommodation you can find in Zengcheng and very cheaply too. It cost us 300rmb per night but bear in mind, we booked literally on the same day (yikes!) AND it was a holiday. The usual price is likely to be significantly lower. Don’t expect memory mattresses and resort-type breakfasts but I can confidently say that our stay was comfortable. It all depends on the level of comfort you wish to experience, right? I will say that breakfast was ok for us, as we love all kinds of Chinese breakfast snacks, but it was definitely basic, as it would be in most of these type of hotels, so it might be a good idea to bring your own breakfast items with you if you’re not too keen on steamed buns and fried noodles!

The immediate surroundings were enough to keep us happy for two days, my son loved playing by (and in!) the stream and, of course, he fell in and got his clothes soaked!Because, of course. He also liked watching the farm animals, seeing the beekeeper getting honey directly from the beehives and playing with whatever he could find-best thing about being out in the countryside? Your kids forget about their own toys, about cartoons and, best of all, use their imagination to entertain themselves. Then my husband discovered that nearby was an Ancient Olive Tree Garden, which I’ll be honest, didn’t sound like the kind of place to visit with a 5 year old but believe me-it turned out to be this amazing, mysterious, magical place!

As soon as we entered, we were overcome with the feeling that this forest was special, mythical and very old.

It’s the kind of place that makes you doubt science and wonder if a fairy could suddenly appear.

Perhaps the fact that it had rained earlier that morning enhanced the mysterious ambience. Luckily for us, there were only a couple of other people there and so it was serene, even eerily quiet but all my son cared about were the creepy crawlies and the wonderfully strange rocks/boulders, of which there were hundreds! Oh and sticks, let’s not forget the little boys’ love of sticks:)! On the surface, it may look like a boring place for kids but we spent a good hour there, climbing higher and higher, admiring the unusual-looking plants, ancient trees (some as old as 600 years! Black olives used to be exported to SE Asia and the olive pits were used in the heritage art of pit carving, examples of which can be seen at the Culture and Art Centre in Haizhu, which I will write about next!) bent in various shapes, terrace after terrace until it was time to head for lunch. If not for the hunger pangs, we would have definitely carried on further up. I can’t even pinpoint what it was that mesmerised us so much about that place, we were just hooked!If you’re on Xiaohongshu, you would have seen many photos taken there on sunny days, with rays streaming through the branches, making it even more visually-appealing. As we were leaving, we encountered many more people, which, truth be told, spoiled the atmosphere. For some reason we felt like we should be quiet, not only because we were in a forest but more because we should respect this special spot. Clearly, not everyone had the same feeling! My advice would be-go early.

Lunch proved to be an unexpected but wonderful encounter with a local family. Now, of course these type of meetings are only possible if someone in your group speaks Chinese well because even if you’re not interested in the conversation with the chef at his home restaurant, there is no menu! It was strange leaving the choice of dishes to the chef, who prepared them with only the slightest guidance from us, but the food was delicious! Simple but so tasty and different because the family were Hakka people (you’ll find many countryside restaurants specialising in Hakka cuisine [ke jia cai] but dishes they serve vary from what we ate). The restaurant consisted of two rooms in this family’s backyard, the chef immediately served us tea and traditional Qingming Festival snacks his wife made and then let our son watch him prepare food (not for the faint-hearted as killing fish was involved). All the meals we had during our trip were tasty ( there are two restaurants within a 5min drive from the B&B) but eating lunch in someone’s yard certainly made it much more memorable!

Unwilling to end our weekend getaway, we decided to visit a random ‘scenic spot’ on the way back to the city. I find that you never quite know what you’ll find with these spots. As we were nearing the tower blocks, we took a turn and suddenly found ourselves deep in the countryside again. I say deep but we were about 5min drive away from a residential community, which makes it surreal knowing just how tranquil and country-like Baishui Park was (NOT part of Baishuizai Forest Park near the waterfall)

It is a fairly new ‘attraction’ that doesn’t really seem to have much to offer unless, like us, all you wish to do is hike and walk through farmlands, breathing in the aroma of lychee trees (Zengcheng is famous for lychees, there are thousands of trees around, visit in June when fruits are ripe and locals sell them cheap!)and enjoying the outdoors. We knew nothing about the place but parked our car (free) and started to hike up. There was hardly anyone there, which was perfect! On the other hand, I’m happy that we did meet some locals as they informed us it would take 4 HOURS to reach the top! Ehmm, no. So instead we took a path down, into the valley, full of tiny allotments and took a relaxing stroll into the village. There we found yet another beautiful stream, simply made for tracing, with a walkway running alongside it, which led us directly back to the car park. Was the place amazing? No. Did we enjoy ourselves? 100%.

Honestly, we did not want to return home, the weekend was so successful, despite the weather! I should point out though that the type of places we visited might not be appealing to some and especially children might be disappointed and would prefer more family-focused areas with more entertainment, such as Jiangxia Village in Huangpu. Luckily, 5min drive from our B&B there is exactly that kind of place, too! We didn’t feel the need to enter the Stargazing Town but many families seemed to be interested in the multiple attractions it had to offer-at a steep price-so you could still stay in that area AND go there instead of the olive garden, if that’s not your thing.

I’m sure there are hundreds of places similar to the ones I described with tranquil villages and unknown scenic spots that you can only find after zooming in real close on the map. If you’re craving a quiet weekend in the countryside, head to Zengcheng and within less than an hour (from most places in Guangzhou), you could also be drinking honey scraped directly from the honeycomb and eating spinach straight from someone’s garden!

Have you visited any of the spots I mentioned in this post? Feel free to share other cool places in Zengcheng!

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Info:

Address of the B&B: Denghshan Village(邓山村), Xialou Town, Zengcheng, Guangzhou.

Address of The Ancient Olive Garden: Dengshan Village, Xiaolou Town, Zengcheng, Guangzhou.

Getting there: as with anywhere in the countryside, self-driving is your best option, follow the signs to Dengshan Stargazing Town, BUT if you don’t have a car, you could still stay at the B&B and visit the olive garden as they are within a walking distance of each other and there is a restaurant nearby. All you need to do is take metro Line 21 to Zengcheng Square station and take a taxi from there. I should think getting back to the metro wouldn’t be a big problem either but we did drive so this is all assumption. I also saw public buses stopping at the village, Zengcheng 19 line, but it leaves from Xiaolou town, not from outside metro station in downtown Zengcheng. As a side note, taking this bus seems like a great way to explore the area because it stops at various scenic spots!

Parking: FREE in all places mentioned above.

Price: Entry to the Olive Garden and Baishui Park is free.

Food: There is a simple restaurants next to the B&B and a couple more up the mountain, near the olive garden. More restaurants can be reached with a 5-10min drive. No shops in the village or in the nearest vicinity. You can also bring your own food and have a BBQ, grills are provided but I’m not sure about coal and other stuff needed.

Facilities: B&B does not have a lift (not many would in that area, if any) but it’s only 2 storeys high. Most restaurants are on ground floor and have bathrooms. Cleanliness standards vary drastically between eating establishments but I found public toilets in the villages actually really clean. No public toilet near the olive garden but there are toilets at the entrance to the Baishui Park. This being the countryside, there are no baby changing facilities.

Age: Most suitable for kids up to 10 years old but it all depends what your kids are like. If you have teens who enjoy hiking-take them. If they like reading in peace and quiet, they might like the place too. Perfect for nature-lovers and those who need to get away from their devices:)