12 Must-Visit Spots in Gu'an: Follow This Guide and Save It
Fifty kilometers directly south of Tiananmen Square in Beijing lies a charming small city, separated from Beijing by the Yongding River, built along the river and nestled by the water, with a history spanning over 3,000 years. It stretches along the imperial dragon vein of Beijing's south-central axis and was historically a fertile and strategically contested land. It has been officially recognized by national authorities as the 'Hometown of Hot Springs in China,' 'Hometown of Mineral Water in China,' 'Hometown of Folk Art in China,' 'Hometown of Fishing Tackle in China,' and 'Hometown of Flowers and Trees in China.' Its name is Gu'an.
Though small, the city is touching and gentle, exquisite and elegant, radiating a charming hue. This journey, I will step into this 'Southern Beijing Happy Valley · Charming Gu'an City' to explore its past, present, and future, and to feel its unique cultural atmosphere.
There are many things to do and see in Gu'an. It is recommended to drive here. Some compare Gu'an to Beijing's back garden because it is incredibly close to Beijing. For example, if two people start driving from the center of Beijing at the same time, one heading toward the North Fifth Ring Road and the other toward Gu'an, the one heading to Gu'an will arrive first.
Gu'an is a city of technology, as evidenced by its industrial new town. From a small glimpse, you can grasp the big picture. Gu'an Space City, Visionox (Gu'an), BOE, Dingcai Technology, Yiguang Technology, and many other high-end projects are concentrated here. High-end talents gather in Gu'an, realizing themselves and showcasing their value, driving the industrial new town to undergo rapid transformations. The 'treasure box'-shaped Gu'an Planning Exhibition Hall and the soon-to-be-opened Daxing Airport Gu'an City Terminal have become must-visit destinations for more and more travelers to Gu'an.
To understand a city, visit its planning exhibition hall. The Gu'an Planning Exhibition Hall, inspired by the 'treasure box,' weaves the future city light with this concept. Here, you can get to know Gu'an. First up is the 'Four Dishes and One Soup'—Beijing No. 8 Middle School Gu'an Branch, Happiness Hospital, Happiness Square, Happiness Harbor, and Big Lake Garden World.
Plan before acting; don't fight an unprepared battle. In 2002, at the start of the Gu'an Industrial Park's construction, global wisdom was introduced, inviting over 30 top domestic and international masters from eight countries to advise. With the goal of 'building an industrial new town,' they combined international successful experiences with the local situation to outline the park's development framework for the next 50 years.
Starting in 2002, the people of Gu'an spent 18 years forging a miracle of development! From 2002 to 2008, the park was established and high-point planning was made; from 2009 to 2012, the direction was anchored and development accelerated; from 2013 to 2019, the city was meticulously cultivated to boost takeoff; from 2019 to the present, strategic opportunities are seized and Gu'an sets off again... The people of Gu'an firmly believe that one term after another will work hard, and a single blueprint will be carried through to the end, securing a bright future for Gu'an.
I love traveling and believe the happiest time is on the road, enjoying endless beautiful scenery. But I don't want heavy bags and cumbersome luggage to become burdens on my journey. From this perspective, the people of Gu'an are so fortunate! The first cross-provincial city terminal of Daxing Airport is located here and will soon be operational.
Without leaving the city, you can enjoy one-stop check-in, one-minute airport access, and one-city service. Air passengers departing from Gu'an can complete check-in and baggage drop-off at the Gu'an City Terminal, then take the airport bus to Daxing Airport, go through security, and enter the waiting area. The convenience and efficiency of travel are beyond words, but the fact that you can travel light without handling bulky luggage will surely envy many.
No need to persistently ask; time will tell you the answers, and all the secrets are hidden here. Feel with your heart, and you will perceive the feedback of history from elegant music, calligraphy and painting, and every detail you encounter.
When you calm down to listen, the pulse of your heart will sync with the music. Gu'an Qujiaying Ancient Music has such charm. Qujiaying Ancient Music is significant—it is one of the four great ancient Chinese music traditions, alongside Xi'an Tang Dynasty Imitation Dance Music, Hubei Chime Bell Music, and Beijing Zhihua Temple Music. It is a 'treasure of Chinese culture.'
Simply put, Qujiaying Ancient Music is a type of wind and percussion music that appeals to both refined and popular tastes. It originates from the Qujiaying Concert, which sounds similar to modern concerts, but today's concerts are more of a performance form, while Qujiaying Concert is more like the name of a band.
The Qujiaying Concert was founded in the early Ming Dynasty, over 500 years ago. It originated from Buddhist temple music and is a product of musical exchange between north and south since the Song and Yuan dynasties. It combines the rustic boldness of northern music with the gentle elegance of southern music. Passed down among the people, it has rich and vivid folk content. The instruments used include: guan, di, sheng, nao, ling, cha, bo, dang, and yunluo.
The Gu'an Liu Lingcang Guo Muxi Art Museum is an art museum hidden in the city. Here, you can trace the origins of many outstanding artists in the Chinese painting world.
Liu Lingcang and Guo Muxi were masters of Chinese gongbi heavy-color painting. Mr. Liu Lingcang was the teacher of famous calligrapher Liu Bingsen and painter Fan Zeng. The images of Li Bai and Qu Yuan in middle school textbooks, as well as the 'Monkey King's Havoc in Heaven' in Journey to the West comic strips, were all created by him. The Liu Lingcang Guo Muxi Art Museum is the first private public-interest art museum in Hebei Province, the first privately built but publicly supported art museum in Hebei, and the largest professional Chinese painting and calligraphy art museum in the province. Currently, it houses nearly 200 authentic works of Liu Lingcang, over 300 authentic works of Guo Muxi, and more than 2,000 works by modern and contemporary Chinese masters.
If the Gu'an Planning Exhibition Hall and Daxing Airport Gu'an City Terminal show the technological and modern side of Gu'an, and the Qujiaying Music Hall and Liu Lingcang Art Museum reflect the inherited and charming Gu'an, then the Xing'an Lake Ecological Sports Park, Gu'an Central Park · Electric Music Park, and Feicui Big Lake present the dynamic and light-and-shadow Gu'an.
The Gu'an Xing'an Lake Ecological Sports Park was expanded from the original Yongding River Cycling Sports Park, increasing from 500 mu to over 2,000 mu. More fun projects have been added to the original cycling theme. When it comes to cycling, everyone seems to have a few tricks. Although cycling is no longer the only travel choice, it has gained popularity as an aerobic exercise.
The Xing'an Lake Ecological Sports Park is large, with various terrains and roads. You can bring your own bike or rent one. The bikes are TREK, in good condition, and include a helmet. In the crisp autumn, ride a bike along the lake with sparkling water, clear sky, and fragrant flowers, letting your mood soar.
Gu'an Central Park · Electric Music Park is the first gift of the 2020 Gu'an Culture Light and Shadow Festival to friends. First-time visitors can start their light-and-shadow cool journey here, listening to the electric music field and enjoying a night of fun!
Dreamy flying house balloon house, dot-matrix light pillars, music box 'FM Gu'an,' light seesaw, light interactive piano, 100-meter colorful slide, oversized light swing... Angel wings, interactive heart, leisure entertainment, parent-child interaction, trendy check-ins—everything you can think of is ready for you to visit.
'Everyone volunteers, unity is strength.' The Happiness Dinner is a special meal prepared for us by Gu'an volunteers in a shared kitchen. Today, Gu'an is a city of volunteers in China! In 2015, the Gu'an Happiness Volunteer Service Association was established. As of now, the number of registered volunteers in Gu'an has reached 80,000, exceeding 12% of the permanent population.
The shared kitchen is a sharing and exchange space and community public welfare project created by Gu'an volunteers, connecting kitchens, cooking skills, food sharing, community life, happy neighborhoods, and volunteer culture. It is open to Gu'an volunteers and community public welfare groups, providing a space for volunteers to exchange and share services, and for groups with common interests to interact, building trust and new connections through cooking.
From the farming era of 'working at sunrise and resting at sunset' to modern life where every second counts, the night has been extended and lengthened. The light festival emerged as a result, making Gu'an's industrial new town even more charming.
As night falls, the sky of Gu'an's industrial new town is lit by neon lights, like a dazzling rainbow spreading from the core city buildings to Central Park, from Central Avenue to Peacock Lake. Cicadas, cars, vendors, children's laughter, people's conversations, wind, water... intertwine to form a touching dance that intoxicates and relaxes one's nerves. I say life is slow here; this might be what life should be.
Light-sensing city, light park, light market, light halo treasures, light sculpture square, light show, light lake... colorful lights accompany the journey, with beautiful scenery along the way. With Central Avenue of Gu'an's industrial new town as the vertical axis, connecting Central Park Square in the south and Peacock Lake in the north, running through the lakeside road, light nodes make the entire industrial new town glittering and colorful, turning Gu'an into a 'night tour secret realm' for cultural tourism in southern Beijing.
What is the life of a pastoral hermit like? Is it Tao Yuanming's 'Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely seeing the southern mountains'? Or Zhuge Liang's 'I was a commoner, farming in Nanyang'? Perhaps everyone has an answer, but they share a commonality: mountains, water, fields, and rustic life. Gu'an is such a place.
Fields, opera, homes... making the countryside dramatic and life interesting! This is Gu'an Zhoujiawu Peking Opera Rural Town, a 'grand opera garden' growing in rustic fields.
Zhoujiawu Peking Opera Rural Town is based on industry, with culture as the soul and experience as vitality, creating a sustainable development model for positive urban-rural interaction. As a village of opera, Zhoujiawu actively explores the integration of agricultural development and traditional opera culture. Opera injects soul into Zhoujiawu's cultural revitalization, and Uncle Carl's Happy Farm, a key agricultural industrialization enterprise relying on Zhoujiawu, vigorously develops agricultural planting, leisure picking, and specialty tourism. Thus, the 'agricultural planting + opera culture tourism + rural boutique B&B' comprehensive development model of Zhoujiawu cultural countryside has taken shape.
Apilang Paradise is a large outdoor parent-child park for young children. Dozens of original immersive play projects create a space environment suitable for children's physical and mental growth. Surrounded by a hundred mu of flower sea and farmland, the beaver Kaka is the park's IP cartoon image, appearing everywhere, each adorable. The theme song of beaver Kaka plays in a loop, with angelic children's voices and cute cartoon figures distributed organically in the park, making one feel like in a fairy tale.
The 'Gear Forest' is 7 meters high and 18 meters wide, the largest outdoor gear installation in China. It is safe and interactive. At every hour, the installation on the gear starts. Many children are fascinated by the Gear Forest, even setting times for their parents to bring them to see the gear turn.
The Apilang Planet area features the super cool 'Rotating Earth' facility, which has the most rides among the five zones! Space swing, microgravity trampoline, planet slide, space motorcycle, flying saucer tunnel—so much fun you can't stop. During play, children exercise physical strength and cultivate creative imagination.
Travel involves clothing, food, shelter, and transportation. After talking about so many fun, beautiful, and delicious things, you might be itching to go to Gu'an now. So the question is, where to stay? If you want a hotel experience with hot springs, I recommend Yiyun Hotel. If you want an authentic B&B with rural life, Fenglin Manor is a good choice.
Gu'an Jingxiong Hot Spring Valley · Jinhai Yiyun Hot Spring Hotel is a secluded place where you can feel 'warm' throughout your entire trip!
Gu'an is rich in geothermal and mineral water resources, one of the largest geothermal fields in northern China, alongside the Paris Basin in France, Akita Prefecture in Japan, and Beijing's Xiaotangshan, known as one of the world's four major hot regions. It has been officially named 'Hometown of Hot Springs in China' and 'Hometown of Mineral Water in China' by national authorities.
Jingxiong Hot Spring Valley is a hot spring business tourism development project jointly developed by villages and enterprises, targeting tourists and high-end individuals. It features a national standard swimming pool, authentic German cuisine, green organic farm dishes, conference center, basketball, tennis, table tennis, badminton courts, and a gym. Soaking in Gu'an's hot springs is suitable for all ages year-round, starting a light luxury health trip.
If you want to experience natural rural scenery and a beautiful village life, come to Fenglin Manor. The B&B here has a nice style, which I like. Even in summer, there is a cool breeze, and in autumn, the fragrance of fruits and melons fills the air. With the courtyard gate open, you connect with the world; with the gate closed, you have your own world, enjoying natural tranquility.
Fenglin Manor is a southern Beijing parent-child science education base integrating rural leisure, dining and entertainment, science education, parent-child experience, and sports expansion. It is divided into three themes: local customs, health preservation, and artistic creativity. The 'sixth industry' integrates primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, using rural production, life, and ecology as basic resources, incorporating culture, leisure, art, and wellness. Whether for family trips, outings with kids, or solo stays, you will have a good experience.
In golden September, fruits and melons are fragrant, and the season turns the earth golden. In this harvest time, go 50 kilometers directly south of Tiananmen Square to experience Gu'an's youth, vitality, health, sunshine, and fashion. Make an appointment with the season to witness Gu'an's unique light and shadow.
Travelogue Directory: 1. [Origin] 2. Technology Gu'an, Modern Gu'an 3. [Gu'an Planning Exhibition Hall] 4. [Daxing Airport Gu'an City Terminal] 5. Inherited Gu'an, Charming Gu'an 6. [Qujiaying Music Hall] 7. [Liu Lingcang Art Museum] 8. Dynamic Gu'an, Light and Shadow Gu'an 9. [Xing'an Lake Ecological Sports Park] 10. [Gu'an Central Park · Electric Music Park] 11. [Happiness Dinner] 12. [Big Lake Nightscape] 13. Pastoral Gu'an, Rustic Gu'an 14. [Zhoujiawu Peking Opera Rural Town] 15. [Apilang Creativity Paradise] 16. Wellness Gu'an, Leisure Gu'an 17. [Yiyun Hotel] 18. [Fenglin Manor] 19. [Afterword] Travel Information: Hotel Guide, Itinerary Guide, Ticket Guide, Website Navigation, Travel Guide, Cruise Guide, Corporate Travel Guide, Franchise Cooperation, Distribution Alliance, Friendly Links, Corporate Gift Card Purchase, Insurance Agency, Agency Cooperation, Hotel Franchise, Destination and Attraction Cooperation, More Franchise Cooperation, About Ctrip, About Ctrip, Ctrip Highlights, Contact Us, Careers, User Agreement, Privacy Policy, Business License, Security Center, Ctrip Content Center, Intellectual Property, Trip.com Group Algorithm Disclosure
