Zhuhai: from fishing villages to a coastal city of a hundred islands

Outside Zhuhai Airport. Photo: Joshua Lim, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Until the 1970s, Zhuhai was a group of fishing villages with a population of around 100,000. In 1980 the central government made it a Special Economic Zone, and since then it has grown into a fast-growing modern city of about 2.4 million people as of the 2020 census. Wikivoyage's guide still calls it smaller and less developed than its neighbours Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

The name means Pearl Sea: this is where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. The city sits in the Pearl River Delta, borders Jiangmen to the northwest and Zhongshan to the north, and lies just north of Macau. Hong Kong and Shenzhen are across the Pearl estuary to the east, and Guangzhou is about 150 km to the north. Its nicknames are the city of romance and the city of a hundred islands, and the guide puts the count of islands at 146.

A clean coastal city

The guide describes Zhuhai as one of China's cleanest and prettiest cities, with palm trees along the coast and many main streets, parks and open spaces, and a low population density compared with other Chinese cities. In 1998 it was awarded the International Award for Best Practices in Improving Living Environment by the United Nations Center for Human Settlements. The climate is sub-tropical: about 10 °C (50 °F) in winter, from December to February, and a hot, humid 35 °C (95 °F) in summer, from June to September, when typhoons are possible. The guide suggests spring and autumn as the best times to visit.

Cantonese is the main local language, but Mandarin is now the common language because of immigration from other parts of China over the past three decades. The dialect in Doumen district is similar to Taishanese and only partly understandable to a Cantonese speaker.

The districts, north to south

The islands

Each island, the guide says, has its own character: some have decent beaches, others are quiet fishing islands, and seafood is excellent. From Xiangzhou Port ferries reach the Wanshan Islands, including Dong'ao Island (diving and a beach), Outer Lingding Island (clear water and beaches), Hebao Island (less developed, good for wilderness) and Guishan Island (a sleepy fishing town). Yeli, Hengqin, Qi'ao and Gaolan islands can be reached by bus over a bridge or dam. The guide advises taking plenty of cash, because some islands may have no ATMs.

Getting there and around

Zhuhai Sanzao Airport serves Chinese cities but has no international flights, so most visitors from abroad fly to Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Macau or Guangzhou. From Macau you can walk across the border at Gongbei; the guide says the border is open from 06:00 to 01:00 the next day and that queues can add over an hour. Visitors coming only from Hong Kong or Macau can in theory get a special visa on arrival that allows up to 3 days in Zhuhai but no travel beyond the city limits.

The 50-km Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau link, a bridge and tunnel, opened on 24 October 2018. Shuttle buses use it, taking around 40 minutes from Hong Kong, and the guide thinks the shuttle is probably a better choice than driving, which needs special permits. Ferries from Hong Kong and Shenzhen arrive at Jiuzhou Port, and a bus from Guangzhou takes about 2½ hours.

An HZMBus shuttle bus between Hong Kong and Zhuhai/Macao. Photo: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Zhuhai is spread out, with clusters of development separated by hills and parkland. A bus ride costs ¥1 whatever the distance, and bus 10 runs across the whole Special Economic Zone, from Gongbei to Jinding. A double-decker sightseeing bus covers most areas between Gongbei and Jinding. The streets are mostly flat with extensive bike lanes, and shared bikes are common.

What to see

• Fisher Girl statue, Lovers' Road. The symbol of Zhuhai. The guide retells a legend of a fisher girl, once the daughter of the South Sea Dragon King, who dies to prove her devotion to a fisherman and is later revived.
• Lovers' Road. A path along much of the eastern coastline, good for walking or biking, with a view of the Macau skyline; the guide adds that the sea tends to be brown and muddy.
• New Yuanming Palace. An imitation of the destroyed Yuanming Palace in Beijing, covering 1.39 km² with 80,000 m² of lake, with boat hire, pagodas and evening stage shows.
• Meixi Royal Stone Archways. Built in 1886 and extended in 1891 under Emperor Guangxu, a memorial to the Qing consul Chen Fang; the former residence of Chen Fang, a few hundred metres east, can also be visited.
• Su Zhaozheng's former residence, Qi'ao Island. A museum on the early twentieth-century communist activist (1885-1929), with a wall made of oyster shells nearby; the guide notes that none of the information is in English.
• Jintai Buddhist Temple, Doumen. Built at the end of the Song dynasty and over 1,000 years old.
• Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, Hengqin. One of China's most popular theme parks, which the guide says includes the largest oceanarium in the world.
• Mangzhou Wetland Park and Qi'ao Mangrove Forest Wetland Park. Free parks for nature and birdwatching.

Jintai Temple in Doumen. Photo: Uvacavmatt (Wikivoyage), public domain.

Staying safe

The guide calls Zhuhai a safe and friendly city in general but warns of pickpockets, especially in the crowded shopping areas in Gongbei and on buses. It also advises against drinking tap water, warns of counterfeit notes, and says some tour guides take visitors to shops that pay them commissions. Unlike most Chinese cities, cars usually give way to pedestrians, and driving motorcycles is illegal in Xiangzhou District.

Sources

• Wikivoyage, "Zhuhai" (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Zhuhai), by its contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
• Photos: Joshua Lim (CC BY-SA 3.0); N509FZ (CC BY-SA 4.0); Uvacavmatt on Wikivoyage (public domain). Changed here: rewritten and shortened, with phone numbers, opening hours, prices, listings of shops, restaurants, bars and hotels, and map and listing data left out; each photo is credited as in the source.
• Wikivoyage, "Zhuhai" (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Zhuhai), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; rewritten in hubnx's own words.