Qingyuan is in Guangdong, in South China.
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Guangdong · City Guide
Qingyuan, Yao Ridge Villages an Hour from Guangzhou.
Overview
Why Go
The Pai Yao of Liannan build along mountain ridgelines rather than in valleys, in stepped rows of grey tiled houses. Nangang is a large one among these settlements and parts of it have been lived in for centuries.
Ying stone from Yingde is one of the four rock types Chinese garden builders traditionally ranked high, quarried from the local limestone and used in rockeries and tray landscapes across the country.
Yingde black tea comes from cultivars selected here in the 1950s, not from an old tea district. It was developed for export, is malty and strong, and the estates around Yingde still ship much of it out.
The gorges here run commercial whitewater all summer and the prefecture handles a very large share of Guangdong's rafting traffic. Helmets and life jackets are provided and phones are not survivable.
See
A Pai Yao settlement built along a ridgeline in stepped rows, with stone lanes, a drum tower and long views over the valleys. Part restored, part lived in. Half a day, and there are steps throughout.
Dozens of karst peaks standing in farmland west of Yingde, with a river, old stone bridges and villages between them. Ideal on a bicycle or on foot rather than by car. A full day.
A large cave system with a boat section on an underground river and walkways through lit flowstone chambers. Cool year round. Two hours, and it pairs with the Huangchuan gorges nearby.
Estates on the low red hills around Yingde, several of which take visitors through picking, withering, rolling and fermenting. Black tea processing is quite different from green and worth seeing once. Half a day.
Shikengkong, at just over 1,900 metres on the Hunan border, with forest, waterfalls and a hot spring at the foot. Cold and often in cloud at the top. A full day from Yangshan.
A temple on the Bei River below wooded cliffs in the Feilai gorge, reached by boat from the city. The river approach is the point rather than the buildings. Half a day.
On the Map
Approximate locations of the attractions above, across Qingyuan.
Eat
A slow-growing local breed that Cantonese cooks ask for by name, usually poached whole and served cold with ginger and spring onion. The skin should be yellow and the meat firm rather than soft.
A malty, full-bodied black tea that takes milk better than many Chinese teas, which is what it was bred for. Estates sell graded leaf direct and will brew visitors several grades side by side.
Rice, cured pork and beans packed into a green bamboo tube and roasted over a fire until the tube chars and the rice takes the bamboo smell. Split open at the table. Yao village cooking.
Jujubes scored in fine lines, boiled in sugar and dried until pale and translucent, so the cuts open into ridges. A Lianzhou speciality sold in paper bags and used in soups as much as eaten plain.
Do
The village runs along the ridge rather than around a square, so seeing it means walking its length and back. Look at how each row's roof meets the next row's foundation.
The Pai Yao song-and-drum festival falls in the tenth lunar month, usually November, with long drum dancing and full dress. Dates vary by village; ask the county culture office ahead.
The lanes between the peaks are flat and quiet and bikes are rented in the villages. It is the sole way to get among the karst rather than driving past it.
Commercial runs go through in summer with helmets and jackets supplied. Visitors will be soaked and things will come out of pockets. Leave everything at the lockers, including the phone.
When
Dry, mild and clear, with the Yao festivals in November. The strongest window for the mountains and the karst.
Cool and often misty, with tea picking starting in March. Comfortable for walking and the quietest season.
Warm and wet with the plum rains, which fill the rivers. Rafting starts and the karst turns very green.
Hot, humid and the peak rafting season, with Guangzhou weekend traffic. Mountain counties are the cool escape.
Explore More
Qingyuan is in Guangdong, in South China.
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