Dreaming of Meeting You in Guangzhou: A 48-Hour Travelogue
The trip to Guangzhou originally stemmed from the show 'Dad, Where Are We Going?'. Chimelong Safari Park, known as 'China's most internationally acclaimed wildlife park', is the largest wildlife theme park in the world with the greatest variety of animal species. Moreover, Chimelong is a mature tourist resort featuring the legendary 'International Circus' with no dull moments, a buffet restaurant where you can have breakfast with white tigers and flamingos, a water park, and other highlights. Both adults and children can find their own fun. As a foodie, Guangzhou's countless delicious foods also motivated this trip. Beautiful scenery is a desire, and delicious food is also a pleasure. If you only have two days to visit Guangzhou, let me, the wandering traveler, show you where to go.
I had heard about Million Sunflowers Garden in Panyu, Guangzhou, long ago. It actually doesn't have a million sunflowers, but it is a sea of flowers and a world for children. It's a leisurely place, perfect for a slow stroll, especially for those who love taking photos! It's very suitable for family trips; on a suitable weekend in Yangon, the whole family can come here, get close to nature, introduce children to various creatures, and share joyful family time.
Million Sunflowers Garden can be said to be a relatively large-scale themed garden park in China. It also has a lavender base and a mysterious rose garden. Not to mention the beautiful scenery of the sunflower garden, just looking at the lavender, the purple hue gives a feeling of entering a fairy tale world. The rose garden is a symbol of romance, making this place more of a tourist spot for couples. There are also a squirrel park where squirrels live, an ant kingdom, and a white dove square, all of which are very attractive. It is not only a tourist haven for adults but also a fairy tale kingdom for children.
The adjacent lavender garden is also a romantic spot. I had never seen real lavender before. It turns out lavender is so beautiful, with a purple-blue hue. As for the scent, it's the same as the lavender in sachets. When planting the lavender, they deliberately left some empty spaces instead of filling them all, so visitors can freely find spots to take photos.
The most important attraction in the garden is of course the sunflower garden, which is the highlight of Million Sunflowers Garden! I heard that the sunflowers here are all Japanese varieties. Standing among the flower beds and getting up close with sunflowers from different countries and regions, you'll be amazed—why is the center of the flower black-brown? Why is the flower head square? Besides being a bit far in terms of transportation, flowers bloom here all year round, and the vast stretches of golden sunflowers are spectacular. They also regularly update with different flower themes, making it a great weekend getaway to relax.
The scenic area is not large; you can leisurely finish it in two hours. There are also mechanical rides suitable for children. Here, you can stroll through the flower fields or run in the vanilla world covered with flowers and grass. In this beautiful vanilla world, spread the wings of a kite, bring your family and friends, and beauty blooms here.
When talking about tourism in Guangzhou, there's one place you must visit: Chimelong Resort in Guangzhou. It's a resort that combines animals, amusement parks, and water parks. You can play wildly and watch wildly—it's that awesome.
Guangzhou Chimelong is divided into Happy World, Safari Park, Water Park, Bird Park, and Circus. I recommend buying a combo ticket, which is more cost-effective. Also, I suggest choosing Happy World, Safari Park, and Water Park. The Bird Park is just birds, not much fun. Here, I'll focus on Happy World and the Safari Park. You can bring bags into Happy World. Some rides allow you to take your bag on, but most have storage places, so don't worry. You can bring food into the park. For water, the security check might ask you to take a sip, so it's advisable to bring your own. Water inside Happy World costs 10 yuan a bottle.
Happy World closes at 7 p.m., so you can enjoy a full day. Some popular rides inevitably have queues, so be prepared to queue. Right at the entrance is the vertical roller coaster, which is the theme of the entire Happy World, but I really didn't have the guts to ride it. Friends with courage should not miss it. There's also a 10-inversion roller coaster, which is another classic ride.
In the morning, hit all the major rides. At noon, eat inside the park; generally, it's more expensive. Don't waste time after eating—go enjoy some more relaxed rides like the carousel. There are two rides that will get you wet, and your shoes are sure to get soaked, so be prepared. There are three drop towers; the tallest one had an accident, but it's now strictly managed. The giant pendulum is also a thrilling ride, and the U-shaped skateboard is very exciting too. In the afternoon, you can watch a half-hour 5D short film, and with the map, try to experience every ride.
When in the Safari Park, it's purely about watching. The park is huge; you can cover it all in a day, but your feet will ache, so be sure to wear comfortable shoes. Check the times for animal shows in advance so you don't miss them. I walked from the North Gate to the South Gate, and you can see every animal. It's crowded but not packed. Some animals can be fed, like elephants and giraffes, with food costing 30 yuan. Koalas are mostly sleeping; it's great if you can see one awake. The most famous inhabitants of the safari park are probably those three pandas. Pandas born at Chimelong are certainly given special care. A panda house was specially built, showing the entire growth process of the three little pandas, along with their paw prints. Now those three pandas have grown up. The safari park also has a 5D short film telling the story of the three pandas. One thing I particularly love is the flamingos—a sea of flamingos, which is spectacular. Don't miss the cable car; there are several routes to choose from, and you can see large animals from above.
All in all, Chimelong is an unmissable place for wild fun during the holidays. Tired but happy—once you play in the amusement park, you'll feel great. Amusement parks are loved by everyone, and the safari park is also a beautiful place. Honestly speaking, coming here is not a loss; it's worth the ticket price.
Some say that since I became a travel experience master, my busy whereabouts are either at the airport or on the way to the airport... I think that judgment isn't entirely right. Although in 2019, my flight records exceeded 120,000 kilometers, with over 70 flights, which is indeed a bit scary, the fatigue from flying all day and the feeling of waiting at the airport—sigh, it's the most agonizing part of the whole journey. On top of that, delays due to winter smog, summer thunderstorms, and other weather conditions... that physical and mental torment is indescribable.
So, staying a night near the airport in advance has become a common choice for my recent flights. Firstly, it allows me to adjust the departure rhythm in advance. Secondly, if the flight delay is long, I can control the time to go to the airport for check-in, at least without waiting anxiously at the airport. If the accommodation, besides being convenient for travelers' schedules, is also a star-rated hotel with thoughtful service, complete facilities, and stylish comfort, that's a huge thumbs-up.
On this Guangzhou trip, I discovered a very interesting Instagrammable hotel near the airport, which has completely changed the traditional hotel decoration style. This Xana Hotelle can be said to be specially created for goddesses and gods. Entering the lobby, it's French romantic style, fresh and elegant. The front hall design is based on an elegant French light luxury style, with an overall temperament full of goddess vibes, making me involuntarily think of Hepburn. The decoration style uses fresh Xana blue as the main color tone, visually eye-catching. During the waiting time, they provide flower tea and candy service, making the brief minutes pleasant and comfortable. In the waiting area, you can quietly drink water and read while waiting to check in, with a pleasant fragrance in the air.
The public areas are decorated with paintings, also in Xana blue as the main tone. The decorative paintings are elegantly small and fresh, consistent with the hotel's overall color scheme, visually very pleasing and comfortable. Xana Hotelle has a 'no 2' rule: they only welcome two types of guests—all goddesses and high-quality gods who respect goddesses.
The hotel has introduced the X Undefined Space, a light luxury aesthetic space full of 'slash power'. In the area used as a lobby in traditional hotels, this space extends into zones with attitude attributes like 'stubborn, changing, daring, water, inevitable', respectively: the stubborn zone for photo check-ins, the crossover zone, the reading zone, the dare bar, the fatal temptation zone, and so on.
You can quietly read in the reading area; the combination of Xana blue and white makes for beautiful photos. Enjoy some desserts at the dare bar, no longer afraid of others' judgment. Here, you can truly be yourself, no need to diet, just pamper yourself once. Add a cocktail, and this feeling is something many ordinary hotels can't provide.
The hotel has Superior Rooms, Deluxe Rooms, Linglong Rooms, Style Lab, Beauty Lab, and Goddess Themed Rooms, each with its own story. I chose the Superior King Room, and my favorite feature is this dressing table, which must be every goddess's favorite. Even if sharing a room, you won't have to fight for the mirror in the morning for makeup.
Entering the room, inserting the key card, the whole room is also a combination of Xana blue and white, giving a very fresh first impression. The minibar provides special mineral water and flower tea bags. There's a dedicated dressing table, and especially for female guests, a yoga mat, weight scale, face steamer, etc. When out and about, you still need to look your best.
The bathroom uses a wet-dry separation design, so washing up, using the toilet, and showering are all independent, which is very user-friendly. The water temperature is just right, and you can choose between a shower head and a handheld spray.
The bath amenities are branded with attitude names, including shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel. The hotel even provides multiple face masks, perfumes, and skincare products, truly a blessing for goddesses.
On one side of the bed, there's a magical touchscreen switch that can connect to your phone via Bluetooth and play built-in music, starting a beautiful day with soothing light music. Breakfast includes fruits, congee, fried noodles, vegetables, and whole grains, with a rich variety.
The hotel gave me a very special first impression. First, during the wait, they provide flower tea and candy, making even a few minutes pleasant and comfortable. Visually, it's very striking, with the main colors of Xana blue and pure white, appearing very elegant. This airport hotel is not far from the airport; they offer a shuttle service, and it's less than 10 minutes to the airport, truly making travel and business trips more relaxed. The feeling of heading to the next destination above the clouds is wonderful!
There's so much delicious food in Guangzhou! This time, I checked in at 'De Shu Abalone Chicken' on Panyu Avenue, a chicken hotpot restaurant run by a master of abalone with 32 years of experience. The crab roe chicken soup base is flavorful, combined with four-head abalone, and the taste is amazing. The abalone is cleaned very thoroughly and has a great chewy texture. It's a heavenly delicacy—please forgive me for eating abalone like this for the first time. Haha.
The pig intestine roll is stuffed with bean sprouts and fried rice noodles, wrapped in a layer of rice noodle sheet. With one bite, you can directly taste the aroma of sesame and the mixed five-spice powder flavor; it's not greasy at all.
The Yellow Robe Crab Roe Abalone Chicken Hotpot is a very Cantonese-style soup pot. The pot is full of chicken with exquisite crab roe; the chicken is tender and smooth, and the soup base is incredibly delicious. Drink the soup first, then eat the meat—perfect!
The Yellow Robe Crab Roe Abalone Chicken Hotpot is a very Cantonese-style soup pot. The pot is full of chicken with exquisite crab roe; the chicken is tender and smooth, and the soup base is incredibly delicious. Drink the soup first, then eat the meat—perfect!
A good abalone sauce rice dish, the sauce is the most important. Made from over ten kinds of selected ingredients, simmered through multiple complex steps, the thick and fragrant abalone sauce is poured over the rice.
The other side dishes we ordered—fresh fish slices, bean curd sticks, and baby cabbage—were also very good, highly recommended!
1. Since the pandemic is not completely over, domestic scenic spots are gradually reopening. If traveling, be sure to pay attention to protection and hygiene. Masks are essential; gloves and goggles depend on your situation, as stations are often crowded, so it's better to take precautions. 2. Apply for the local health code in advance for the city you're visiting. You need a health code to board planes, high-speed trains, subways, etc., and only a green code allows travel. Also, some high-speed train stations do not support same-station transfers; you need to exit and re-enter, so prepare accordingly and allow enough transfer time. 3. Try to carry less cash and keep valuables safe. So, when traveling, choose to carry less cash. Mobile payment is very convenient now. Also, keep valuables like cameras and laptops close and secure. 3. Digital items: DSLR camera, mobile phone, laptop, portable hard drive, charger, power bank, power strip. 4. Check the weather before going out; it's best to choose a sunny day. 5. If self-driving, plan the route in advance;
