Stunning Bay Area Scenery: Discover the Best of Nansha

Nansha is not only Guangzhou’s most promising district; it is the birthplace of Lingnan, water-town, maritime, and Mazu cultures. Today, follow me and let’s head to the southernmost tip of Guangzhou – Nansha.

If you come to Nansha, you’ll find the area is lush with greenery. Staying at Nansha Garden Hotel, you can see the sea right from your room. The name ‘Garden’ couldn’t be more fitting – indeed, being in Nansha feels like wandering into a giant garden.

By the magnificent Pearl River Estuary, you can also visit Nansha Tianhou Temple, acclaimed as the ‘Number One Tianhou Temple under Heaven’ and the largest Mazu temple in Southeast Asia.

If you seek peace and quiet, don’t miss the Nansha Wetland. With lotus blossoms scenting the air, take a boat through the intricate waterways, and I’m sure you’ll be charmed by this beautiful scene.

If you want to experience Nansha’s unique mountain and forest scenery, the Gugger Yage Hotel is definitely your best choice. It’s close to the 4A-rated Nansha Tianhou Temple, the cruise home port, and the most beautiful metro station – Passenger Port Exit A. Nearby is also the Huangshanlu Forest Park, known for having the freshest air in Guangzhou!

The guest rooms are clean and refreshing, spacious and cozy, striking the perfect balance of comfort. Truly making the hotel feel like a home away from home!

Clean and bright corridors.

A few of us planned to head out from the hotel tomorrow, so we checked into the Gugger Yage Hotel a day early. We had dinner at the hotel as well, and several friends from out of town couldn't stop praising the restaurant’s dishes after trying them.

Stewed matsutake soup with dragon bone.

After savoring a sumptuous Cantonese meal upon arrival, our Nansha journey officially began. Following a good night’s rest at the hotel, the next day dawned bright and sunny. We went to Nansha Tianhou Temple to gaze up at this grand structure.

Speaking of Nansha, one must mention the Nansha Tianhou Temple. It is the largest architectural complex of its kind in the world, acclaimed as the ‘Number One Tianhou Temple under Heaven’ and the largest Mazu temple in Southeast Asia.

Outside the temple lies the expansive Lingdingyang Sea. To satisfy the wish of seeing the sea in Guangzhou, this is absolutely the right place.

Nansha Tianhou Temple sits by the Pearl River’s estuary at Lingdingyang, nestled on the southeastern foot of Dajiao Mountain. Embracing the mountain and water, the temple’s structures rise in tiers along the slope, perfectly blending with nature. Boats plying the Pearl River Estuary can see it, as if receiving the blessings of the sweet Mazu.

There is a local belief that since the temple’s completion, Guangzhou has rarely been directly hit by typhoons. As a Guangzhou native, I’ve indeed noticed fewer direct hits. Who can say for certain that it’s not Mazu’s protection?

In people’s eyes, Mazu embodies all the world’s finest virtues, which is why Mazu temples are found in many places. I believe that gazing at this temple from the sea must bring a sense of peace.

The holy statue of Tianhou stands 14.5 meters tall on the 1.5-hectare temple square. Lush trees sway around the entire complex, and wisps of incense smoke drift through the halls, giving visitors a sense of transcendence.

The architectural complex is built in the Qing-dynasty style leaning against the mountain, with a symmetrical layout featuring staggered heights. It includes a memorial archway, main gate, bell and drum towers, stele pavilion, offering hall, Linghui Pavilion, Jiaying Pavilion, main hall, sleeping quarters, and so on. On the rear hill soars the Nanling Pagoda.

Stepping up the wide stone steps at the entrance, the large calligraphy of ‘Nansha Tianhou Temple’ and the couplet handwritten by Mr. Zhao Puchu on the archway are strikingly eye-catching.

The entire temple complex is symmetrical. As we climbed the steps, we saw building upon building, and the steep slope meant we had to look up to take in the full grandeur of the structures.

Nansha Tianhou Temple is not only a wonderful place for blessings, its architecture is also stunningly beautiful, offering perfect photo opportunities at every turn.

The Nanling Pagoda is 45 meters tall with 8 stories. The mountain gate is the temple’s main entrance, flanked on either side inside by statues of Qianli Yan (Thousand-Mile Eye) and Shunfeng Er (Wind-Accompanying Ear), who, according to legend, were subdued by Tianhou and became spirits that warn fishermen of waves and storms.

Even if you’re not a devotee, visiting Nansha to see this magnificent classical building is worthwhile. As you immerse yourself in Guangzhou’s modern rush, the urban rail hums through the mountains, the Humen Bridge connects to Dongguan on the other side, and the waters of Lingdingyang surge endlessly. How can you resist coming to see such majestic scenery?

Nansha Tianhou Temple also offers a variety of interesting cultural and creative products like umbrellas and red wine – all quite nice!

Afterward, we went to Huangshanlu Forest Park, which is positioned as ‘a new calling card for urban leisure and the premier viewing peak in the Bay Area.’ Many locals come here to relax and have fun; the park is huge!

From an aerial perspective, you can see lush greenery everywhere – the scenery is truly impressive!

On clear days, standing on the peak, you can overlook the entire Nansha area and the magnificent picture of the estuary, with Humen Bridge, Nansha Bridge, the Jiaomen River urban center, and mountain lakes all in view, creating a unique landscape where mountains meet the sea.

The park has many fruit trees; if you come at the right season, you can also buy delicious local fruits.

Walking in the forest park, everywhere you look is full of verdant life. Do you like it?

As the saying goes, ‘Guangzhou is the city of gastronomy,’ and this holds true for Nansha as well. At noon, we arrived at Six Pots Farmhouse. The ‘Six Pots’ refer to six distinct farmhouse dishes created with local Nansha ingredients. Let’s taste them one by one~

This pot features a secret-recipe highland rabbit, super delicious, with a bouncy, chewy texture. Because the clay pot transfers external heat evenly and steadily to the ingredients, maintaining a relatively balanced temperature, the moisture and ingredients meld together perfectly, making it even more flavorful.

Cheng-style bone stew with lotus root

Tasty marinated platter

Bitter melon and soybean chicken bone soup

Angus beef dice

My favorite is this ‘Fragrant Huazhou Chicken in One Bite.’ The chicken is separated from the bones and wrapped with citrus peel, so it tastes not greasy at all but rather silky smooth. How can you not love such a texture?

The ‘Golden Fragrant Trio Platter’ includes shrimp cakes, cuttlefish cakes, and fried milk – all iconic Lingnan delicacies.

There’s also a playfully named dish, ‘Pan-fried One-Night Stand’ – the ‘one night’ refers to marinating with seasonings overnight, making it exceptionally flavorful.

Stir-fried fresh scallops with celery and Chinese yam

Special stir-fried kale and other home-style dishes – every bite tastes like the skills of a home kitchen, making travelers miss the flavors of home even more. If you’re not a cooking whiz, take this weekend to bring your family and friends to Nansha to enjoy delicious farmhouse dishes and savor Nansha’s rustic charm!

At Nansha Garden Hotel, play games with the sun~ The ceiling above the pool is transparent, and triangular glass prisms scatter rainbows all over the floor.

Nansha Garden Hotel was invested by Lingnan Group and designed by a team of renowned Croatian architects.

I have to say, the hotel lobby is a work of art. Many people’s first move upon arrival is to whip out their phones and take photos. Over 1,000 prism columns, looking down from above, are perfectly arranged, so different angles reveal different kinds of beauty! These triangular rods reflect and refract changing light effects with shifts in sunlight and artificial lighting, and on sunny days, you can even spot rainbows in the lobby.

The hotel corridors are designed with simplicity in mind, deliberately eschewing extraneous colors. Even the room doors are discreetly hidden in the walls, indicated only by a beam of ceiling light. Open the door to reveal a super-spacious guestroom.

Nansha Garden Hotel has 365 panoramic guest rooms, each offering 180° views of mountains, sea, lake, or garden. From above, the building is shaped like a flower, and every angle presents beautiful scenery.

The hotel has many photo-worthy spots. I personally love the spiral staircase – it’s super photogenic!

Stepping out from the first floor, you'll find an outdoor infinity pool and an indoor heated pool, so you can enjoy a swim no matter the weather.

The hotel is not only beautiful but also fun, delicious, and comfortable. It’s easily accessible from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong; driving to Guangzhou city center or Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport takes just an hour, while Nansha Passenger Port is a mere 10-minute drive. Don’t miss out on a hotel with such prime location!

As mentioned earlier, the lobby reveals different beauty from sunrise to sunset, with every angle perfect for photos. At dusk, everything is bathed in a warm orange glow, feeling utterly delightful.

The hotel’s surrounding green spaces and mudflats also offer lovely views.

A signature travel experience in Nansha is dining on farmhouse cuisine. Not long after we drove from the hotel, we arrived at Mingliyuan, tucked away a bit. But if you’ve read this travelogue, you’ll definitely follow the GPS to eat here at least once. This restaurant is a hidden gem, the kind where the aroma speaks for itself.

Chilled lychee and bitter melon

The restaurant’s fish are raised in their own lake, incredibly fresh.

【Yellow-brow fish】 The yellow-brow is a wild fish with savory flesh and a firm, tight fiber structure. It’s gently fried at a low oil temperature of 80°C, resulting in a crispy exterior while the inside remains tender and flaky.

Clay pot lotus root, the lotus root is very starchy and tender, with a wonderful powdery texture – really delicious.

Rice noodles only need a dip in a bit of soy sauce to taste fantastic.

Black pepper snowflake beef, juicy and savory, these beef dice are excellent with rice.

After the ink squid rice and so many rich dishes, hasn’t your impression of Nansha improved even more? The next day, we visited Nansha Wetland Park, known as Guangzhou’s last wetland and its green lung. Stealing a half-day of leisure here is utterly pleasant.

Imagine scenes from ‘If You Are the One’ playing out right here in Nansha, Guangzhou – isn’t that romantic?

But here, the wetlands give way to mangrove forests, evoking a tropical rainforest feel.

Nansha Wetland, acclaimed as the ‘Kidney of Guangzhou,’ is a 4A scenic area located at the southernmost tip of Guangzhou, on the west bank of the Pearl River Estuary, between the 18th and 19th Chong in Wanqingsha Town, Nansha District. In autumn, it becomes the most important habitat for migratory birds and attracts many birdwatching enthusiasts.

Those who’ve seen ‘If You Are the One’ will certainly remember Hangzhou’s Xixi Wetland vividly. At Nansha Wetland Park, you can also take a small boat and experience the wetland’s many charms.

You can admire water-based attractions like the mangrove forest, reed beds, lotus ponds, bird breeding areas, and bird feeding zones – each with its own unique appeal.

We visited in summer, and as the boat glided slowly, it felt like ‘straying deep into a lotus haven,’ allowing you to fully enjoy the boundless green of lotus leaves stretching to the horizon~

Besides boat tours, you can also take a sightseeing car, ride a bike, or walk to explore land attractions like the Banyan Tree Greenway, Seaview Promenade, and Wilderness Walking Zone.

Inside Nansha Wetland Park, a roughly 2-kilometer Banyan-shaded avenue leads to the Wetland Seaview Garden, where a viewing tower over 20 meters tall stands. From here, you can see the vast, boundless sea – quite a unique sensation~

After visiting Nansha Wetland Park, be sure to drop by Nansha Waterbird World, located between the 17th and 18th Chong in Wanqingsha Town, covering 250,000 square meters.

It’s a new type of themed eco-park combining waterbird breeding, science education, observation, and sightseeing. The park is divided into six islets: Rainforest Island, Flower Tree Island, Palm Island, Maze Island, Gold and Silver Island, and Thousand Crane Islet, each with its own special activities.

After passing through a building brimming with tropical ambiance, we officially entered the park. Southeast Asian loung music plays, and even in the hot summer, those relaxing tunes make you feel like you’re in a holiday paradise.

Right at the entrance, you sense the natural, slow-paced life of Southeast Asia, and the city’s hectic rhythm fades away~ Next, you’re greeted by the star pelican ‘Kangkang,’ its mouth wide open as if constantly saying ‘Give me your hand’…

This pelican, often ‘blocking the way’ near the bridge, is called Kangkang. Whenever someone approaches, it opens its beak wide, probably asking for food. Don’t worry, you can even gently offer your arm for it to ‘eat’.

Besides Kangkang, there’s a bad-tempered peacock that loves chasing people. The park is home to dozens of nationally protected animal species numbering in the thousands, such as Cuban flamingos, West African crowned cranes, and mute swans – a dazzling array of waterbirds that will keep your eyes busy.

Beyond animal watching, there are many bamboo art structures jointly designed by over a dozen universities, resulting in a wide variety, each a fantastic photo spot.

Pelicans often take off in groups, circling the wetland before finally settling back at their intended habitat.

Waterbird World is cage-free, so we could get up close with them.

You can also hold feed to feed the swans.

After exploring the Bird World, we went to ‘Danjia Mei’ at the 14th Chong in Nansha, Guangzhou. This restaurant is very famous – even the director of ‘A Bite of China’ has raved about their dishes.

Upon entering, we saw walls plastered with gleaming gold medals – no need to doubt their quality~ The Danjia people are a general term for water-dwelling communities along China’s coasts, mainly found in Fujian Fuzhou, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan provinces.

Steamed wetland chicken with ginseng, cooked in a water bath.

Claypot rice with mullet roe and dried eel, incredibly fragrant. The roe has a cured, savory feel and a rich, intense flavor.

Stir-fried eggplant with green beans and perilla.

Pan-fried rice worms, also known as wart sandworms, an annelid of the Nereididae family, usually found in rice paddies or estuarine shallows. They’re rich in protein.

Guanyin vegetable, also called blood-nourishing vegetable, is also a seasonal treat.

Small pot of spicy shrimp paste, made from tiny shrimp patiently hand-extracted for their paste, quite precious, and a bite is incredibly savory and delicious.

Steamed eel in black bean sauce – the flesh is springy and much firmer than Japanese eel rice, with less fat, so it tastes really good. After savoring authentic Nansha delicacies, we were off to a summer seaside music party.

It was a weekend music carnival lasting over five hours, officially starting at 4:10 p.m. and going until 9:30 p.m. Elements of trendy music, food culture, creative entertainment, and leisure tourism could all be found at this concert!

The theme of this music festival was ‘Listen to the Tide.’ Throughout the five-hour live event, people jumped and waved to the rhythm, then quietly hummed along with the singers.

At dusk, there were blazing sunset clouds, fiery red and stunningly beautiful.

Trendy music, icy cold drinks, summer sea breeze, creative car boot markets… The audience bustled about, checking out various hip attractions.

The performance by powerhouse singer Xu Zhenzhen from ‘The Rap of China’ brought the atmosphere to a climax. The audience waved their arms in the night sea breeze, cheering and swaying to the beat.

After this dynamic concert, we arrived at Nansha’s first five-star hotel – Nansha Grand Hotel.

Thoughtful interior design, pleasing views of Puzhou Mountain, and attentive, professional service make it a truly satisfying choice for your stay in Nansha.

From the guest room, you can see the cruise terminal; the view is quite impressive.

After a wonderful night’s sleep at Nansha Grand Hotel, the next day we headed to Nansha Million Sunflower Garden. The weather was fantastic – any snapshot turned out picture-perfect.

Million Sunflower Garden is China’s first park to feature sunflowers as an ornamental plant and design a mega-themed garden around them. Covering 260,000 square meters and planting a million sunflowers, it became the nation’s first ornamental sunflower paradise entirely using imported seeds (mainly from Japan). Here you can not only snap photos of beautiful flowers but also get close to cute animals.

The garden’s most distinctive feature is its Flower Love Castle Hotel, a themed hotel built to five-star standards. Even after many years, it still looks brand new. Visible from almost every corner of the garden, especially the front area, it feels like stepping into a fairy-tale kingdom.

Throughout the park, flowers and cartoon statues can be seen everywhere.

With summer here, the park has set up water play areas in various spots.

Of course, the most photo-worthy attraction at Million Sunflower Garden remains the sunflowers. There are tall and short ones; the tall ones are great for upward-angle shots.

Slightly shorter sunflowers are also perfect for close-up portraits!

Another highly photogenic area is the lavender zone, instantly giving you the illusion of being in Provence!

Rich lavender displays nature’s hues, beautiful and serene. In the sunshine, surrounded by the lavender’s fragrance, long-missed joy and ease wash over you.

Amidst the lavender sea, butterflies flutter, birds chirp endlessly, and a gentle breeze blows – the pressures of life simply vanish. In the distance, a pretty Ferris wheel adds to the scene, as if from an animation, isn’t it?

At Million Sunflower Garden, besides the blooms, food is another highlight. Head to the second-floor restaurant of the Flower Love Hotel to enjoy many specialty dishes, with sunflower chicken being the signature.

Tiger-skin pepper and braised pork belly.

【Blanched prawns】 Sunflower chicken comes in three preparations: steamed, snowflake, and plain chopped. The steamed version is best, preserving the original flavor without any coloring or sauce, keeping the chicken’s aroma. It’s truly not greasy; the carrots and cucumbers on the side can be eaten together.

【Stir-fried chicken cartilage with salt and pepper】

【Thick kelp soup】

【Stir-fried chicken gizzards with broccoli】

After dining at Million Sunflower Garden, we went to the Nansha 19th Chong Fisherman’s Wharf, a popular seafood and specialty market among tourists, and the outermost waterway in Nansha.

1. Public transport: Take the Nansha Express bus from Shipai Qiao Tianhe Bus Terminal to Jiaomen Bus Station (or metro Line 4 to Jiaomen Station), then transfer to Nansha Bus No. 2 to Xinken Station, and switch to No. 11 (3 stops) to 19th Chong Terminal. 2. Driving: Navigate to ‘19th Chong Seafood Market’.

Nansha 19th Chong, at the southernmost tip of Guangzhou, is often called the ‘South Pole of Guangzhou.’ Facing Lingdingyang, its unique brackish water environment nurtures sweet and fresh seafood. Don’t miss out if you want to taste the freshness.

As you enter, you’ll be surprised to see cars everywhere near mealtime, a testament to Guangzhou people’s passion for coming here to eat seafood.

Venturing further in, you’ll find many shops selling dried seafood, packaged in bags and displayed in a dazzling array. The signage fonts are particularly artistic.

The atmosphere at 19th Chong is quite unique. First, the coconut trees lining the road give an island vibe, while the low, colorful shops evoke a sense of Hong Kong or Macau.

All kinds of dried seafood.

The inner streets are also very picturesque.

As you reach the end, the fresh seafood takes center stage. Oysters are shucked on the spot – surprisingly plump inside!

Even cooked, a portion like that must be incredibly tasty.

Bananas are normally yellow when ripe, but there’s a kind where the peel turns red – it’s called dragon banana or red banana. Dragon bananas have a longer growth cycle, typically over a year, hence the high price due to rarity. However, taste-wise, I didn’t find it particularly special. If you’re curious, buy a few to try. The peel is dark reddish-black, and I wonder what color it turns when fully ripe?

Nansha lotus root is also very famous. If you’re from Guangdong, you can pick up plenty of local specialties to take home here. That’s why we saved 19th Chong for last~

If you find the prices on the main seafood street too high, head to the very end. Here, local fishermen sell their own catches – both dried and fresh – at much cheaper rates than the main street. Though cheaper, the varieties and sizes are smaller.

Seafood drying on the embankment contrasts starkly with the distant dock scenery. Have you ever seen this side of Guangzhou?

After buying seafood, you can take it to a nearby restaurant for cooking – very convenient.

So, are you charmed by Nansha’s beauty? Add it to your next travel itinerary now – I’m sure you’ll return fully satisfied.