Located on the coast of Southern China, Zhuhai offers visitors a laid-back environment, sightseeing and a relaxing coastal escape. Zhuhai is quite popular with domestic holidaymakers, offering a nearby escape for residents of Southern regions, and also offering great value for those living in Macao, and even Hong Kong, who want to stretch there dollar further.
Outside of public holiday periods and weekends, Zhuhai offers a lot more value when it comes to accommodation, services and eating out in comparison to that found in Hong Kong or Macao, albeit the three destinations offering vastly different experiences.
The city has a few attractions, but it’s most popular for it’s relaxing coastal lifestyle, islands and vibrant nightlife.
Sights to see include the famed Fisher Girl Statue, Zhuhai City Museum, New Yuanming Palace (a recreation of the Summer Palace in Beijing), Mao’s old plane at Jida, Lianhua Road for shopping during the day and bars at night, and the massive underground shopping mall right at the Gonbei Port. Outside of the city there is also a temple and large resort, two things I hope to catch on my next visit to the area.
On a beautiful clear day, not to be missed is the simple relaxation of walking along the coastal road, referred to as ‘lovers road’ to take in the views of the outlying islands. Bus number 99 runs along this long stretch of coast and can take you to the Fisher Girl statue. There’s no much to do at the statue, but it’s a seemingly popular place to hang out and take photos. For another escape from the hustle of the city head inland and try Bailiandong Park (aka White Lotus Cave Park) which offers peaceful gardens, lake, temples and walking tracks around the small mountain.
As a tourist, the three main areas of interest are Gongbei, Jida, and Xiangzhou. At Gongbei is the border crossing to Macau, the large underground shopping mall, and the shopping street/bar street Linhua Lu. At Jida there’s the Jiuzhou Port, Jiuzhou City (shopping), Zhuhai Museum, Lovers Road, Fisher Girl Statue and more. I didn’t explore Xiangzhou this time around.
The Zhuhai Museum is an area that’s been getting a big facelift. Across from the museum is the Guomao (International Trade) Shopping Center which features many western name restaurants and coffee houses. The museum features local history plus ceramics, jade, bronze works and much more.
Coming from Shenzhen, the ferry arrives at Jiuzhou Port from where you can catch a free bus to Gongbei bus station near to the Gongbei port. To find the free bus walk past the ferry ticket desk to the bus ticket desk and show your ferry ticket.
As for getting around, I made regular use of the number 1 bus, 2 bus for traveling short trips up and down Ying Bin Nan Lu. Both of these buses run up and down Ying Bin Nan Lu from Gongbei Port, when they reach Jiu Zhou Da Dao the 1 bus goes left towards New Yuanming Palace and 2 bus goes right towards Jida. For heading up and down the coast road from Gongbei, Lovers Road, to Jida Beach, Ma Zedong’s old plane and Fisher Girl statue, the 99 bus was perfect. The buses are fixed fare, so you just put 2 RMB in the slot as you get on at the front of the bus and get off at whichever stop you like.
The first hotel I stayed in was the Overseas Chinese Hotel, a 15-minute walk from Gongbei Port and conveniently located next to a bus stop where you can catch the number 1 or number two tourist buses. The hotel is most certainly aging, but it serves its purpose. The bed is clean, comfortable, it even had a bathtub and the room was reasonably quiet. What makes the place worthy is the staff at the front desk, surprisingly they all spoke some level of English.
I also stayed at the Starway Hotel Silver Zhuhai in Jida, again very reasonably priced and quite new. Extremely comfortable bed with soft pillows and overall very clean hotel. It also had a breakfast buffet which included noodles, dumplings, buns etc. plus coffee, toast, and jam. Staff at the front desk there spoke English too.
The Top Ten Attractions in Zhuhai
1. Lovers’ Road (情侣路) and the Fisher Girl Statue
Address: Lovers’ Road
Admission: Free
2. New Yuanming Palace (圆明新园)
Address: Jiuzhou Road, to the northwest of Zhuhai City
Admission: CNY120 before 6:30PM and CNY60 after
3. Jintai Buddhist Temple (金台寺)
Address:
Admission: Free
4. Shopping at Underground shopping complex (拱北地下广场)
Address: at Gongbei border
Admission: Free
5. Flying Sandy Beach (飞沙滩)
Address: southeast of Gaolan Island, Zhuhai
Admission: CNY 38 (hot season) CNY 28 (low season)
6. Dong’ao Island (东澳岛)
Address: Dong’ao Island, Wanshan Isle, Zhuhai
Admission: CNY 50
7. Huangyang Mountain
Address: middle and west of Doumen District, Zhuhai
Admission: CNY 30
8. Jiuzhou City
Address: No. 142, Middle Jiuzhou Road, Jiuzhou Economic Development Zone, Zhuhai
Admission: CNY 10
9. Baishi (White Stone) Street
Address: Qi’ao Island, Tangjiawan, Zhuhai
Admission: CNY 10
10. Meixi Royal Stone Archways (梅溪牌坊)
Address: Meixi Village of Zhuhai City
Admission: 65 Yuan
Zhuhai also has theme parks including Chime-Long Ocean Kingdom, Agricultural Scientific Academy, and Dream Water Park along with themed areas such as Lianjiang Ecological Conservation Area. Also, the area is famous for hot spring resorts with the most notable being Yu Wen Quan Imperial Hot Springs.
Zhuhai’s Islands
The area is renowned for its beautiful islands and here are the top ten
Yeli Island – Transport: Bus No 9, 99
Dong’ao Island – Transport: Bus 11 or 56 to Xiangzhou Port; ferries depart at 9:10 am and 2:40 pm.
Wailingding Island – AAA Level scenic spot – Traffic: Take Bus 11 or 56 to Xiangzhou Port; ferries depart at 8:40 am, 9:50 am (on Monday and Wednesday), 11:20 am and 2:20 pm.
Dan’gan Island – Transport: Bus 11 or 56 to Xiangzhou Port; ferries depart at 9:50 am on Monday and Wednesday.
Wanshan Island – the largest island – Transport: Take Bus 11 or 56 to Xiangzhou Port; ferries depart at 9:10 am and 2:40 pm.
Qi’ao Island – Transport: Buses 3, 10, 68 or 69 to Tangjia stop and transfer to Bus 85.
Guishan Island – Transport: Bus 11 or 56 to Xiangzhou Port; ferries depart at 8:40 am, 9:10 am and 2:20 pm.
Hebao Island – Transport: Buses K8 or 605 to Zhuhai Port, and transfer to Bus 706 to get to Gaolan Island; take a ferry at the terminal for Hebao Island.
Hengqin Island (Hengqin New Area) – Transport: Buses 14, 62, 63, 86, 151, 152, K10, K11
Gaolan Island – Transport: Buses K8 or 605 to Zhuhai Port, and transfer to Bus 706.
Miaowan Island – one hotel and tents available – Transport: Bus 11 or 56 to Xiangzhou Port Passenger Terminal on Central Lovers Avenue. The travel time is three to four hours.
Zhuhai Map featuring the top ten attractions, top hotels, islands and theme parks.
Xiangzhou Qu, Zhuhai Shi, Guangdong Sheng, China
Zhuhai, Guangdong, China, 519000
Guangdong Sheng, Zhuhai Shi, Xiangzhou Qu, Changlong Ave, 横琴长隆国际海洋度假区珠海长隆海洋王国
Xiangzhou Qu, Zhuhai Shi, Guangdong Sheng, China, 519000
Xiangzhou Qu, Zhuhai Shi, Guangdong Sheng, China, 519015
Zhuhai
Xiangzhou Qu, Zhuhai Shi, Guangdong Sheng, China, 519020
Zhuhai, Guangdong, China
Xiangzhou Qu, Zhuhai Shi, Guangdong Sheng, China, 519020
Xiangzhou Qu, Zhuhai Shi, Guangdong Sheng, China, 519015
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Zhuhai
Zhuhai
Zhuhai
Zhuhai
Zhuhai
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Zhuhai
Xiangzhou Qu, Zhuhai Shi, Guangdong Sheng, China, 519000
Transport
Flights
Zhuhai Jinwan Airport handles domestic flights only to cities including China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Xian, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Kunming, Qingdao and Urumqi. The airport is located 33KM from the city center and is serviced by several shuttle routes with prices ranging from CNY25 and up. A taxi to the airport from the city center would cost around CNY140.
Trains
Zhuhai has two train stations, Zhuhai Railway Station and North Railway Station. Both are on the same line that connects to Guangzhou South Railway Station via High Speed Trains. A train to Guangzhou from Zhuahai would take between 50-80 mins depending on the number of stops.
Ferry
There are four main passenger ferry ports being
Jiuzhou Port – servicing Hong Kong, Shenzhen. Address: No.599, South Qinglu Road, Xiangzhou District
Doumen Port – servicing Hong Kong. Address: Baijiao Town, Doumen District
Wanzai Port – servicing Macao. Address: South Nanwan Road, Wanzai, Xiangzhou District
Xiangzhou Port Beidi Passenger Terminal – servicing eastern islands. Address: Central Lovers Avenue (Qingli Zhonglu)
Bus
There are three tourist/Sightseeing bus lines
Dang-dang Trolley Sightseeing Bus (Bus Line L1)
Ticket: CNY 3 Hours: 09:00 – 20:30 Frequency: 10-20 minutes
Route: Haihong General Bus Terminal – Sun Yat-Sen University Hospital – Haitian Park – Haitian Park East – Xiangzhou Port West – Grand Theatre – Xianglu Bay – City Balcony – Fisher Girl Statue – Waterfront Swimming Pool – Jiuzhou Bay – Jiuzhou Port – Qinglünanlu North – Qinglünanlu Middle – Kingward International Hotel – Qinglünanlu South – Rihua Huayuan Community – Macau Viewing Platform – Gongbei Port
Sightseeing Bus East Line
Ticket: CNY 3 Hours: 07:00 – 21:00 Frequency: 30 minutes
Route: Dajinding – Jinding Market – Zhuhai International Motor Racing Circuit – Pearl Land Amusement Park – Tangjia – Sun Yat-Sen University – Dieshi – Sanatorium – Qiyeling – Xiangzhou Port – Xiangzhou Department Store – Martyrs’ Park – Mingting Park – Fisher Girl Statue – Lingjiaozui Swimming Spot – Jiuzhou New Village – Jiuzhou Port – Qinglünanlu North – Rihua Huayuan Community – Gongbei Hotel – Gongbei Port – Gongbei Market – Overseas Chinese Hotel – Zhuhai Hotel (Jiuzhou City)
Sightseeing Bus West Line
Ticket: CNY 2. Hours: 07:00 – 21:00 Frequency: 20 minutes
Route: Fenghuang Mountain Scenic Area – Dongkeng Park – Agricultural Scientific Academy – Meixi Royal Stone Archways Tourist Area – Shangyongcun – Mingzhu North – Cuiwei – Cuijing Industrial Park – Jinji Crossing – Qianshanximen – Lost City – New Yuanming Palace – Lanpu – Bailiandong Park – Lianhua Mountain – Jida Commercial Area – Zhuhai Hotel (Jiuzhou City)
Taxi
Flagfall is CNY12 and CNY2.8 for each KM after the first 3KM (some taxis are slightly cheaper ie EV taxis)
