Published : 2023-04-01
If you want to take a short trip to the Greater Bay Area on a weekend or holiday, Zhaoqing (肇慶) is the perfect destination.
Apart from the Seven Star Crags and Dinghu Mountain, what other attractions in Zhaoqing are worth visiting? Check out the information down below.
No.1 Wonders of Lingnan at Seven Star Crags
As one of the most popular tourist attractions in Zhaoqing, the name of Seven Star Crags (七星岩) may sounds familiar to most of Chinese people. But every time you visit there, you will certainly be shocked by the beauty of the picturesque landscape.
The Seven Star Crags Scenic Area is located in the Star Lake district of Zhaoqing. It is named after the seven limestone peaks in the local area, which are arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper in the sky. It is a national 5A scenic spot.
Seven Star Crags is a combination of peculiar mountains and beautiful waters, with the main attractions including peak forests, caves, lakes, and inscriptions. The scenery is charming and is known as the "No.1 Wonders of Lingnan".
As we look around, the scenery of the lakes and mountains, along with the surrounding greenery and ancient buildings reflect each other, and the smoke dazzles, just like the fairyland of Penglai.
As the distance around the lake is about 10 kilometres, apart from walking or taking a scooter, it is also recommended to take a boat trip to enjoy the magnificent scenery of the Seven Star Crags from a close distance and experience the feeling of "swimming in a painting".
Read more: GBA Travel｜Short Trip Choice! Nan‘ao Island in Shantou: See the endless seascape!
Seven Star Crags
Address: No. 1, Qixing Road, Duanzhou District, Zhaoqing City
Opening hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Explore the celestial phenomenon at the Thousand-Year-Old Rive Cave
In Zhaoqing Seven Rock Crags Scenic Area, there is another magical attraction, which is the cave located in the Lion's Head Rock north of the Fairy Lake, called the Rice Cave, also known as Taiji Cave.
The cave is a karst natural cave with two "skylights", called "Yin Cave" and "Yang Cave", from which the name "Taiji Cave" is derived.
Inside the cave, there is plenty of light, and the cave is permeable from north to south. Around the summer solstice every year, you can see a heavenly spectacle which is formed when sunlight shines into the Yang Cave. During the winter solstice, you can see the moon shining into the Yin Cave, which is a very special phenomenon!
Read more: Zhaoqing Rice Cave's magical astronomical phenomena. Where does it come from?
Rice Cave at Zhaoqing Star Lake Wetland Park
Address: Star Lake Avenue, Duanzhou District, Zhaoqing City
Opening hours: 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Feel the original ecological landscape at Dinghu Mountain
There are four famous mountains in Lingnan, and Dinghu Mountain in Zhaoqing is foremost among them, with the reputation of "a green emerald on the Earth's Tropic of Cancer" because of its magnificent and beautiful natural landscape.
In addition, the air negative ion content of Dinghu Mountain is the highest in the country, and it is indeed a "natural oxygen bar". When you are there, you can see that the peaks are superimposed on the green mountains, the rivers are gurgling, and the lakes and mountains are confronting each other, which is spectacular.
The main attractions of Dinghu Mountain include Qingyun Temple, Baoding Garden, Feishui Pond, Butterfly Valley and others. There are also two "World's Best" in the Baoding Garden, namely the Zhaoqing Kowloon Baoding and the Duanxi Longhuang Inktone.
Read more: The "Living natural museum": Guangdong's Zhaoqing Dinghu Mountain
Suggested time for travelling to Dinghu Mountain is half a day.
When visiting Dinghu Mountain, a recommended visit timetable is half a day. Firstly, you can take a car and start at the entrance of the mid-levels walking route, and then walk up the stream, the first stop will be the Feishui Pond, you can bring slippers to play in the pond first.
Next, you can go to Qingyun Temple. After the visit, you can take a bus to Butterfly Valley and then to Baoding Garden. Finally, the trip to Dinghu Mountain can be finished by taking a car down the mountain.
Dinghu Mountain
Address: Dinghu Mountain Scenic Area, Zhaoqing City
Opening hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (entry stops at 5:30 p.m.)
The only and most complete Song Dynasty brick city wall in Guangdong
Apart from the beautiful scenery of Zhaoqing, there are also many cultural attractions with a long history that are worth visiting, one of which is the Ancient City Wall located in the Old Town area.
The ancient city wall of Zhaoqing was built during the Song Dynasty (1053 AD), thousands of years ago. Although it has undergone more than 20 repairs, the location of the wall and its gates have remained unchanged and are still in their most complete form.
In addition, Zhaoqing's ancient city wall is the only brick wall of the Song Dynasty in Guangdong, which is very rare in the whole country!
At the highest point of the northwestern section of Zhaoqing's old city wall is the three-storey Piyunlou (披雲樓), which was built during the Northern Song Dynasty and consists of a mezzanine and a turret.
Piyun Tower is located at the highest point of the ancient city wall, it is always surrounded by clouds and mist, and in ancient times, there were often white cranes circling around the tower, which is one of the eight ancient scenic spots in Zhaoqing.
Zhaoqing Ancient City Wall
Address: No. 6, Zhengxi Road, Duanzhou District, Zhaoqing City
Opening hours: 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The 800-year-old village of Licha
Final stop, we will visit a magical ancient village - Licha Ancient Village.
Licha Ancient Village is located in Gaoyao District, Zhaoqing. It has been over 800 years since the village was established in the Southern Song Dynasty. When viewed from above, it looks like an "Eight Trigrams" with a very unique shape.
The unique layout of the building is in fact a hidden secret!
The eight trigrams layout of the Lichuan village not only protects against floods and tides, but also prevents invasions by soldiers and bandits, which demonstrating the wisdom of the ancients.
For hundreds of years, most of the houses in Licha Village still maintain the original appearance of the Song Dynasty. You can take a peek into the old Lingnan village of Zhaoqing in the past while roaming around the ancient village.
Read more: 800-year-old Licha ancient village: Decoding the mystery of the eight diagrams formation
Licha Village
Address: Huilong Town, Gaoyao District, Zhaoqing City (about 30 kilometres from the city centre)
Opening hours: 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
