Tourism
Being richly endowed with tourist resources, Shaoguan is one of the earliest opening up tourist destination cities. Over 40 scenery spots, 53 star hotels, 12 hot spring resorts are opening to visitors.
With scenic spots and historical sites scattered all over the place, there are 6 National Key Cultural Relics Protection Sites in Shaoguan, such as Nanhua Buddhist Temple and Mantang Enclosed House. About 130 thousand years ago, the famous “Maba Man” prospered here and initiated the history of ancient men. Zhang Jiuling, the celebrated poet of Tang Dynasty, who wrote down the immortal verse “As the bright moon shines over the sea, From far away you share this moment with me”, was born in Shaoguan. Zhuji Lane and Meiguan Lane are known as the birthplace of people live in the Pearl River Delta and even residents of Hong Kong, Marco and southeast Asia. The Hakka enclosed houses witnessed the southward migration of Hakka People. As the junction area of Guangfu Culture and Hakka Culture, Shaoguan has become a resort for Lingnan People and overseas Chinese to visit and seek their family roots. With the combination of deep cultural accumulation and modern civilization, Shaoguan has formed a diverse, solid, inclusive and opening regional cultural characteristics.
1500 years ago, the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng, known as the Oriental Sakyamuni, promoted Buddhism in Shaoguan Nanhua Buddhist Temple and brought about the birth of Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, the only Buddhist scripture written by Chinese. Along with Confucius and Lao Tzu, Hui Neng is respected as the Three Wise Men of the East. Nowadays, the body of Hui Neng is enshrined in the temple. With old trees standing in great numbers and mountain stream murmuring inside and outside the temple, visitors can feel clean and refreshing in both body and mind. Apart from Nanhua Buddhist Temple, there are many other historical and beautiful temples in the city, such as Yunmen Buddhist Temple, Dajian Buddhist Temple, Biechuan Buddhist Temple and the Grand Buddhist Temple, for visitors to pray for blessings, pilgrimage and cultivate their moral characters.
As the world natural heritage， world geopark and the source of the name of Danxia Landform，the 292-square-kilometer Danxia Mountain， is deemed as “the Most Beautiful Place in China” by National Geographic . Danxia Mountain presents in a red bed peak forest structure, with the feature of deep red and gorgeous. Thus it is also named as “China Red Stone Park”. Among over 1200 currently found Danxia lanforms, Danxia Mountain spot area has the most typical development, the most completed types, the richest styles and the most splendid scenic.
Nanling National Forest Park is the largest old-growth forest as well as the biggest natural oxygen bar in the same latitude. Owning the biggest group falls and the highest peak in Guangdong, the park is an excellent summer resort.
The Guangdong Grand Canyon is 15 kilometers long and about 300 meters deep. The top surface of the canyon is highland grassland. And each valley is flanked on the both sides by precipitous rock faces and sheer cliffs, accompanied by a fall and a pool underneath. Among those group falls, the greatest fall cascades down over the 220-meter high sheer cliff, with spraying mist and dashing-thunder-like roar. An abundance of rare and precious plants and animals grow and live in the canyon.
Shaoguan used to be the soviet area and the melting pot of the revolutions in Lingnan Area. It was also the place where Sun Yat-sen took the Oath of Northern Expeditions twice and the office location of Guangdong provincial party committee during the period of the war of Resistance Against Japan . During the revolutionary war period, the proletarian revolutionaries of the older generation, such as Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Deng Xiaoping, left their marks here. The established Red Tourisms sites include the “Revolution House”, namely the old site of the office of north Guangdong provincial party committee, Shixing “Red Enclosed House”, Nanxiong Yaokeng Village and the Northern Expedition War Memorial Hall, Red Army Seventh Army Memorial Park .
Quantity of hot springs distribute all over Shaoguan. With beautiful ecological environments, Qujiang Caoxi Hot Spring, Fengwan Hot Spring, Ruyuan Ligong Hot Spring, Xinfeng Yuntianhai Hot Spring, Lechang Longshan Hot Spring, Nanxiong Longhua Hot Spring, and a group of hot spring resorts containing radon, sulphur and warm mineral springs, are good places for visitors to spend their vacation.
Yao Stockaded Village of Ruyuan City is the birthplace of Guoshan Yao(one of the branches of Yao nationality ) and overseas Yao Nationalities living in United States and other countries. In addition, visitor can relax their bodies and minds and enjoy rafting in Baizhang Cliff, Lingxi River and Yunmen Mountain. Apart from these, Guangdong cuisine, Hakka cuisine and other special cuisines await visitors to have a taste of the delicious Chinese food.
There’s a saying, “The sacred chants echo in Nnahua Buddhist Temple for thousand years, The eternity Danxia Mountain surpasses in Lingnan”. At present, a multiple tourist product system of Shaoguan is taking shape, which comprises landscape sightseeing, hot spring resort, Eco-experience, folk custom tour, historical and culture tourism and Red Tourism. The national tourism planning of the 13th five-year period has listed Shaoguan as Nanling Forest Eco-culture Tourist Zone and listed Danxia Mountain as National Mountain Tourist Destination. And according to the planning, Shaoguan will build a All-for-one Tourism Demonstration Zone. On request of the deployments and new development concepts of the structural reform of the supply front raised by central government and provincial party committee, Shaoguan will put forth effort on promoting tourism as an important emerging pillar industry, so as to make Shaoguan a “Garden of Guangdong” and establish North Guangdong Special Ecological Conservation Zone.
