14 Days in Zhongshan

In by intercity rail (the Guangzhou-Zhuhai line, 2011) or the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, the 24-kilometre crossing of June 2024; an evening loop of the shipyard-turned Qijiang Park sets the tone.

1. zhongshan qijiang park

The museum marks where Sun Yat-sen was born on 12 November 1866; the two-storey house of 1892 and the surrounding lanes are the substance of the visit. Free entry with an online reservation.

1. zhongshan sun yat sen former residence
2. zhongshan cuiheng village

Early-20th-century street sets in the morning; by late afternoon the common-row rice fields of Yakou and its village canteens for the day's catch.

1. zhongshan film city
2. zhongshan yakou village

Zuobu's old houses and its own stretch of rice paddies first, then the working harbour at Hengmen — seafood markets, ferry slips and the widest sky in the prefecture.

1. zhongshan zuobu village
2. zhongshan hengmen fishing port

The arcade street renamed for Sun Yat-sen in 1925, the merchant museum in its restored arcade building, and the seven-storey pagoda of 1608 on Yandun Hill at golden hour.

1. zhongshan sunwen west road
2. zhongshan xiangshan commercial museum
3. zhongshan yandun hill pagoda

Museum halls in the morning, Zimaling's lakeside loop after lunch, and the Shiqi roast-pigeon streets for dinner — order the bird that made the town's table famous.

1. zhongshan city museum
2. zhongshan zimaling park
3. zhongshan shiqi food streets

Zhan Garden, billed as the largest private classical garden in Lingnan; the hot-spring resort opened in December 1980; the short Luosanmei climb where Deng Xiaoping spoke of not turning back in 1984.

1. zhongshan zhan garden
2. zhongshan hot springs
3. zhongshan luosanmei mountain

The main peak reads 531 metres; the Xiaoyao Valley trail keeps to shade and streams, and the higher ridges stay quiet on weekdays.

1. zhongshan wugui mountain
2. zhongshan xiaoyao valley

Chrysanthemum Xiaolan — autumn shows each year, a grand gathering every 60 years, the latest in 2014 — and lighting-town Guzhen, whose showrooms claim some 70 per cent of the national trade.

1. zhongshan xiaolan chrysanthemum
2. zhongshan guzhen lighting

Labelled as a neighbouring-city day — half an hour south, Lovers' Road runs about 28 kilometres past the 8.7-metre Fisher Girl of 1982 and the shell-shaped opera house of 2017.

1. zhuhai

A cross-border day, labelled as such — exit-and-entry formalities at Gongbei or Hengqin (round-the-clock at the latter); verify current permit and visa rules before setting out.

1. macao

South-west to Shenwan, the small town whose pineapple fields have fed local markets for generations; try it fresh, candied, and cooked with duck at a town-table restaurant.

1. zhongshan shenwan pineapple country

Market morning, the arcades once more at an unhurried pace, a last riverside sit at Qijiang Park, and packing with time to spare.

1. zhongshan city markets
2. zhongshan qijiang park

One more breakfast in the market lanes, then the intercity rail from Zhongshan or Zhongshan North, or the 2024 Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link towards Bao'an airport.

1. zhongshan city markets