Lonely Planet China
Page 116
CANTONESE OPERA
Cantonese opera is a regional form of Chinese opera that evolved from theatrical forms of the north and neighbouring regions. Like Peking opera, it involves music, singing, martial arts, acrobatics and acting. There’s elaborate face painting, glamorous period costumes and, for some of the roles, high-pitched falsetto singing. But compared to its northern cousin, it tends to feature more scholars than warriors in its tales of courtship and romance.
You don’t have to understand or even like Cantonese opera to appreciate it as an important aspect of Cantonese culture – there’s no shortage of related attractions, such as Bāhé Academy and Luányú Táng in Guǎngzhōu, a festival, and a props speciality shop in Cháozhōu.
If you do decide to catch a show at Culture Park in Guǎngzhōu, those exotic strains could years later become the key that unlocks your memory of your travels in China.
CANTONESE CUISINE
There’s a saying ‘Good food is in Guǎngzhōu’ (食在广州; shí zài Guǎngzhoū). Regional bias aside, Cantonese food is very good. The most influential of the eight major regional cuisines of China, it’s known for complex cooking methods, an obsession with freshness and the use of a wide range of ingredients.
Many Cantonese dishes depend on quick cooking over high heat – these require skills (versus patience over a stew) that are less common in other regional cuisines. Cantonese chefs are also masters at making new techniques sizzle in their language. Dishes such as sweet-and-sour pork, crab shell au gratin and tempura-style prawns show an open-mindedness to foreign ideas.
When it comes to haute cuisine, even northern cooks would acknowledge the superiority of their Cantonese colleagues in making the best of expensive items such as abalone. Also, much of the costliest marine life to grace the Cantonese table, such as deep-sea fish and large prawns, simply doesn’t grow in inland rivers.
Kāipíng 开平
%0750 / Pop 680,000
Kāipíng (开平), 140km southwest of Guǎngzhōu, is home to one of the most arresting human-constructed attractions in Guǎngdōng – the Unesco-crowned diāolóu (碉楼), eccentric watchtowers featuring a fusion of Eastern and Western architectural styles. Out of the approximately 3000 original diāolóu, only 1833 remain.
Downtown Kāipíng is pleasant, especially the section near the Tánjiāng River (谭江), where you’ll see people fishing next to mango and wampee trees.
Kāipíng is also the home of many overseas Chinese. Currently, 720,000 people from the county are living overseas – 40,000 more than its local population. Chinese tourists abound and it's worth dedicating at least one whole day to diāolóu hunting as most require renting a bike or taxi.
1Sights
A combo ticket for seven sights, including Lì Garden and the villages of Zìlì, Jǐnjiānglǐ and Mǎjiànglóng, costs ¥180. It's only available at Lì Garden and Zìlì village. The price for just Lì Garden and one village is ¥150. A village alone costs from ¥50 to ¥80. Some towers charge an extra ¥5 to ¥10 to let you in.
oZìlìVILLAGE
(自力村; Zìlì Cūn h8.30am-5.30pm)
Zìlì, 11km west of Kāipíng, has the largest collection of diāolóu historic watchtowers in the area, though only a few of the 15 are open to the public. The most stunning is Míngshí Lóu (铭石楼), which has a verandah with Ionic columns and a hexagonal pavilion on its roof. It appeared in the film Let the Bullets Fly. Yúnhuàn Lóu (云幻楼) has four towers known as ‘swallow nests’, each with embrasures, cobblestones and a water cannon.
Jǐnjiānglǐ Historic VillageVILLAGE
(锦江里; Jǐnjiānglǐ Cūn h9am-5pm)
The highlights in this village, 20km south of Kāipíng, are the privately run Ruìshí Lóu and Shēngfēng Lóu (升峰楼). The former (c 1923) is Kāipíng’s tallest diāolóu and comprises nine storeys, topped off with a Byzantine-style roof and a Roman dome. The latter is one of very few diāolóu that had a European architect.
Ruìshí LóuTOWER
(瑞石楼 ¥20)
One of the most marvellous of the towers around Kāipíng is located behind Jǐnjiānglǐ village (锦江里), 20km south of Kāipíng. Built in 1923, the privately owned tower has nine storeys with a Byzantine-style roof and Roman dome supported by elaborately decorated walls and pillars.
Nánxìng Xié LóuHISTORIC BUILDING
(南兴斜楼; Leaning Tower )F
In Nánxìng village, Nánxìng Xié Lóu was built in 1903 and tilts severely to one side, with its central axis over 2m off-centre.
Lì GardenHISTORIC SITE
(立园; Lì Yuán h8.30am-5.30pm)
About 15 minutes by taxi from Kāipíng, Lì Garden has a fortified mansion built in 1936 by a wealthy Chinese American. The interiors featuring Italianate motifs and the gardens, with their artificial canals, footbridges and dappled pathways, are delightful.
Diāolóu here include the oldest of the historic towers, Yínglóng Lóu (迎龙楼), found in Sānménlǐ village (三门里), and the fortified villas of Mǎjiànglóng (马降龙) village.
ChìkǎnVILLAGE
(赤坎 )
The charming old town of Chìkǎn, 10km southwest of Kāipíng, has streets of shophouses with arcades on the ground floor flanking the Tánjiāng River (潭江). These distinctive qílóu (骑楼) buildings were built by overseas Cantonese merchants in the 1920s. Bus 6 from Yìcí bus station terminates at Chìkǎn.
KāIPíNG’S BIZARRE TOWERS
Scattered across Kāipíng’s 20km periphery are diāolóu – multistorey watchtowers and fortified residences displaying a flamboyant mix of European, Chinese and Moorish architectural styles. The majority were built in the early 20th century by some of the villagers who made a fortune working as coolies overseas. They brought home fanciful architectural ideas they’d seen in real life and on postcards, and built the towers as fortresses to protect their families from bandits, flooding and Japanese troops.
The oldest diāolóu were communal watchtowers built by several families in a village. Each family was allocated a room within the citadel, where all its male members would go to spend the night to avoid being kidnapped by bandits. These narrow towers had sturdy walls, iron gates and ports for defence and observation. The youngest diāolóu were also watchtowers, but ones equipped with searchlight and alarm. They are located at the entrances to villages.
More than 60% of diāolóu, however, combined residential functions with defence. Constructed by a single family, they were spacious and featured a mix of decorative motifs. As the builders had no exposure to European architectural traditions, they took liberties with proportions, resulting in outlandish buildings that seem to have leapt out of an American folk-art painting or a Miyazaki animation.
These structures sustain a towerlike form for the first few floors, then, like stoic folk who have not forgotten to dream, let loose a riot of arches and balustrades, Egyptian columns, domes, cupolas, corner turrets, Chinese gables and Grecian urns.
4Sleeping
Tribe of DiāomínHOTEL$
(碉民部落; Diāomín Bùluò %0750 261 6222; 126 Henan Lu, Chìkǎn; 赤坎镇河南路126号 dm per person ¥40-50, r ¥140-230; aW)
An old building right by Tánjiāng River in Chìkǎn has been turned into a pleasant backpacker hostel by a bicycle club. The dearest private rooms are given a rustic-China styling in another building. You can rent one of the 100-plus bikes for a full day of sightseeing with provided maps for ¥50 to ¥80. Free laundry use. Bus 6 terminates nearby.
Pan Tower HotelHOTEL$$
(潭江半岛酒店; Tánjiāng Bàndǎo Jiǔdiàn %0750 233 3333; www.pantower.com; 2 Zhongyin Lu; 中银路2号 r ¥700-1700; ai)
The place to stay in Kāipíng. It’s on an islet on the Tánjiāng River and only accessible by taxi (¥15 from Chángshā bus station, five minutes away). Offers discounts of 40% to 60%.
5Eating
Zhōnghuá DōnglùCHINESE$
(中华东路 claypots ¥11-15; h11am-8pm)
A short
walk east of central Chìkǎn are over half a dozen stalls serving Kāipíng's speciality bāozifàn （包子饭): rice and meat or eel cooked directly in individual claypots, making for a distinctive crispy rice skin inside – and good street theatre. Ingredients are on display too so point at what you fancy. From Chìkǎn bus terminus it's two stops on bus 6.
Cháojiāngchūn RestaurantCHINESE$$
(潮江春酒楼; Cháojiāngchūn Jiǔlóu %0750 221 9963; 114 Guangming Lu; mains ¥28-98; h11am-10.30pm)
This excellent restaurant serves the local speciality – braised wild-grown goose (狗仔鹅; gǒuzǎi é). The steamed tofu with shredded taro and ground pork (肉碎芋丝蒸豆腐; ròusuì yùsī zhēng dòufu) and salt-baked chicken (手撕鸡; shǒusījī) are also delicious.
8Getting There & Away
Kāipíng has two bus stations (www.bus.ko.com.cn) that are linked by local buses 7 and 13: Yìcí bus station (义祠汽车总站; Yìcí Zǒngzhàn %0750 221 3126; Mucun Lu) and Chángshā bus station (长沙汽车站; Chángshā Qìchēzhàn %0750 233 3442; Xijao Lu). Both run frequent services:
AGuǎngzhōu (Fāngcūn bus station) ¥58, 2½ hours, every 40 minutes (6.30am to 7pm)
AHong Kong HK$160, four hours, three to four times daily
AShēnzhèn ¥92, three to 3½ hours, every 45 minutes (7.30am to 7.30pm)
AZhūhǎi ¥50 to ¥70, 2½ to three hours, every 40 minutes (7am to 7.43pm)
8Getting Around
From both Yìcí and Chángshā bus stations, local buses (from ¥4) go to Chìkǎn and some of the diāolóu. But as the diāolóu are scattered over several counties, your best bet is to hire a taxi for the day. A full day costs around ¥600, but you can negotiate. Otherwise hiring a bike is possible to see a handful of diāolóu.
Yángjiāng 阳江
%0662 / Pop 2.4 million
Yángjiāng (阳江) is a city on the southwestern coast of Guǎngdōng. While downtown Yángjiāng is unexciting, picturesque Hǎilíng Island (海陵岛; Hǎilíng Dǎo), located 50km or an hour’s drive away, is home to the Maritime Silk Road Museum and some of the finest beaches in the province.
1Sights
Shílǐ YíntānBEACH
(十里银滩 Hăilíng Island, Jiāngchéng District; 江城区海陵岛南面 h6.30am-6pm summer, 8am-7pm rest of year)
Literally '10 miles of silver beach', this is the most beautiful and the longest stretch of coastline in the area. On the southern shore of Hăilíng Island, it's where you'll find the Maritime Silk Road Museum of Guǎngdōng.
Maritime Silk Road Museum of GuǎngdōngMUSEUM
(广东海上丝绸之路博物馆; Guǎngdōng Hǎishàng Sīchóu Zhīlù Bówùguǎn %0662 368 1111; www.msrmuseum.com; ¥80, English audio guide free; h9am-5pm, closed 1st & 2nd Mar & Nov)
Sitting right on Shílǐ Yíntān (十里银滩) beach, this museum was purpose-built to house an 800-year-old Song dynasty shipwreck that was wholly salvaged near the island. The remains of the 30m-long merchant vessel (Nanhai No 1; 南海一号), and much of the 70,000 pieces of merchandise on board, now rest in a sealed glass tank. The displays are supplemented by temporary exhibitions of treasures from dynastic China.
4Sleeping & Eating
If money is not an issue, stay on Hǎilíng Island – in the up-and-coming resort area near the museum or in lively Zhápō (闸坡) resort town. Downtown Yángjiāng, though, has the cheapest sleeping options.
Zhápō on Hǎilíng Island has plenty of seafood restaurants that are all quite similar. Pick what you want from the tanks, agree on prices, and it’ll be cooked for you. Generally, seafood items cost ¥30 to ¥230 per 500g/1 catty (斤; jīn); nonseafood dishes are between ¥20 and ¥90. Most eateries pay drivers commission for bringing customers – it's better to choose a restaurant yourself.
7 Days InnHOTEL$
(7天连锁酒店; Qītiān Liánsuŏ Jiŭdiàn %0662 321 7888; www.7daysinn.cn; 37 Dongfeng Erlu, 东风二路37号 r ¥127-187; aW)
Located in Yángjiāng, this place has cheerful rooms.
Jīnhǎilì HotelHOTEL$$
(金海利大酒店; Jīnhǎilì Dàjiǔdiàn %0662 389 6688; fax 0662 389 5599; 23 Haibin Lu, Zhápō Town; 闸坡市海滨路23号 r ¥265-320)
This affordable option in the upmarket Zhápō area has a gloomy lobby but big, decent rooms (it's a designated host for government officials). In July and August, prices go up by 30% on Fridays and double on Saturdays.
Hăilíng Crowne PlazaHOTEL$$$
(海陵岛皇冠假日酒店; Hăilíngdăo Huángguān Jiàrì Jiŭdiàn %0662 386 8888; www.ihg.com/crowneplaza; Shílĭ Silver Beach; 十里银滩 ¥2628-3800; paiWs)
The most luxurious place to stay in Yángjiāng offers 313 top-notch rooms, its own stretch of beach, a spa, swimming pools, barbecues and child-minding services. In July and August, expect to share all of the above with hordes of moneyed local tourists who follow rules of etiquette that may be different from yours. Packages and off-season discounts are often available.
8Getting There & Away
Yángjiāng's main bus station (阳江汽车客运总站, Yángjiāng Qìchē Kèyùn Zǒngzhàn %0662 316 9999; Xiping Beilu) has direct services to the following:
AFóshān ¥98, three hours, six daily (8.30am to 4.50pm)
AGuǎngzhōu ¥70 to ¥95, 3½ hours, frequent (6.05am to 7.20pm)
AHong Kong ¥170 to ¥260, six hours, four daily (8am to 5pm)
AShēnzhèn ¥120, four to five hours, 14 daily (8am to 8.30pm)
AZhūhǎi ¥90, 3½ to four hours, frequent (8am to 7.30pm)
Yángjiāng's No 2 bus station (阳江二运汽车站; Yángjiāng Èryùn Qìchēzhàn %0662 342 9168; 666 Shiwan Beilu) has direct services to the following:
AGuǎngzhōu ¥85, three hours, frequent (6.10am to 7pm)
AKāipíng ¥40, two hours, five daily (8.20am to 4.40pm)
AShēnzhèn ¥135, four hours, 11 daily (7.40am to 8.30pm)
Kāipíng’s Yìcí bus station has two buses daily (12.55pm and 5.15pm) to Yángjiāng’s main bus station and six (from 8.45am to 4.10pm) to its No 2 station (¥40).
8Getting Around
Local buses run every 20 minutes to Zhápō from No 2 station (¥13, one hour, 6.30am to 9pm) and the main station ( ¥13 to ¥20, one hour, 6am to 9.30pm).
Zhápō and the museum area on Hăilíng Island are connected by pedicabs (¥10 to ¥15, 10 minutes). A taxi from downtown Yángjiāng to the Maritime Silk Road Museum of Guǎngdōng costs ¥100 (one hour).
Zhàoqìng 肇庆
%0758 / Pop 3.9 million
Bordered by lakes and limestone formations, the leisurely town of Zhàoqìng (肇庆) in western Guǎngdōng province was where Jesuit Mateo Ricci first set foot in China in 1583.
Zhàoqìng
1Sights
1Seven Star Crags ParkC1
2Zhàoqìng City WallsB4
4Sleeping
3Shānshuĭ Trends HotelA3
5Eating
4BōhǎilóuB1
5Kuàihuolín RestaurantA2
1Sights
Seven Star Crags ParkPARK
(七星岩公园; Qīxīng Yán Gōngyuán MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0758 230 2838; ¥78; h8am-5.30pm)
The landscape of limestone hills, grottoes and willow-graced lakes in this massive, busy park is beautiful, so it’s a pity the authorities try so hard – the caves are illuminated like nightclubs and boat rides cost extra (¥15 to ¥60). The easiest way to navigate between sights is to use the battery-operated carts (¥15 to ¥30 per person). If you just want a quick jaunt, it's possible to walk around the lake without entering (or paying).
Zhàoqìng City WallsHISTORIC SITE
(古城; Gǔ Chéng MAP GOOGLE MAP )
Zhàoqìng’s city walls were built during several periods – the lowest part with large mud bricks are Song dynasty; above that is Ming; then a Qing extension featuring smaller bricks. Anything above that was built yesterday. Interestingly, there are alleyways and dwellings at the top. The River View Tower and Cloud-Draped Tower here are only open for digni
taries.
4Sleeping & Eating
For around ¥180, you can bed down at one of the lower-midrange hotels near the boats to Seven Star Crags Park ( GOOGLE MAP ), which is also near the main bus station.
If you're hankering for local delicacies such as sticky rice dumplings (裹蒸粽; guǒzhēngzòng) filled with chestnuts and egg yolk, head to Bōhǎilóu (波海楼 MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0758 230 2708; Xinghu Xilu, 星湖西路 dim sum ¥6-32; h11.30am-1.30pm & 5.30-7.30pm).
Shānshuĭ Trends HotelBUSINESS HOTEL$$
(山水时尚酒店; Shānshuĭ Shíshàng Jiŭdiàn MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0758 285 9999; 36 Xijiang Beilu; 西江北路36号 d & tw ¥178-318, tr from ¥338, ste from ¥438; naiW)
A decent option for the price and location, if you don't mind slightly thin walls (pray for a quiet neighbour) and small TV screens. There are more than 200 rooms in this hotel that's adjacent to a shopping centre.
Kuàihuolín RestaurantCANTONESE$
(快活林食家; Kuàihuolín Shíjiā MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0758 285 1332; Xijiang Beilu, next to fruit market; 西江北路, 水果市场侧 mains ¥20-40; h11am-2.30pm & 5pm-2am)
If you're hankering for seafood, this restaurant near a fruit market will overwhelm with its options. It's wildly popular and, at peak times, can get slightly chaotic. But the food is great. Try the broiled shrimp (白灼沙虾; báizhuó shāxiā; ¥24) and the fish soup with tofu and parsley (芫茜豆腐黄骨鱼汤; yánqiàn dòufu huánggŭyú tāng; ¥37). Chinese picture menu.