Learning Through Fun | A 2-Day, 1-Night Eco Trip to Paitan Town, Zengcheng
Give city kids a hands-on nature and ecology lesson~
Children in big cities, besides school classes, spend their after-school time either on tutoring or interest classes; under such tight schedules, they become stressed.
In children's education, I believe in balancing work and play, and even more, they should step out of textbooks, apply learning in real life to gain more knowledge and common sense…
This time, we took a weekend trip out of Guangzhou, driving 2 hours to Paitan Town in Zengcheng for a 2-day, 1-night eco tour! A fun plan for the kid~
If you take a child accustomed to city life to the mountains or farm fields, besides finding it novel and fun, they can also experience hardship and the difficulties of life through hands-on work.
That was the 'meaning of travel' for us this time!
Enjoy Natural Hot Springs at Xiangjiang Health Valley
The hotel with a hillside infinity hot spring [Xiangjiang Health Valley]
When traveling, the hotel is our second 'home'...
Besides going out to play, we spend at least 8 hours a day in this 'home'; so I pay a lot of attention to the accommodation.
This time, we chose to stay at Xiangjiang Health Valley in Zengcheng! Its biggest highlight is the hillside infinity hot spring—looking at the hotel, it has an exotic charm!
The welcome drink in the lobby is a warming ginger tea, perfectly dispelling the chill!
Every elevator lobby is equipped with a sanitizing station—very thoughtful and meticulous.
Recently, when traveling, I especially love hotel rooms with a terrace, especially in places that are blessed with outstanding people and natural beauty, filled with negative ions!
Stretch out on the terrace, take a deep breath, and enjoy a natural 'lung-cleansing' spa...
'Health Valley' truly lives up to its name—a great place for wellness and relaxation!
Besides the large terrace that lets you soak in fresh air, the room's bathtub also allows you to enjoy a soak in hot spring water! The acupressure mat on the nightstand, the wellness tea bags in the minibar... all are full of health-boosting touches!
Coupled with the comfortable bedding, the child slept especially soundly...
After a hearty buffet breakfast at the hotel, a healthy day begins with a hot spring soak...
No need to go out—just on the 1st floor of the hotel, walk through the corridor and you're in the hot spring area, super convenient!
The hot spring area is actually quite large, with zones at the foot, middle, and top of the hill! There's also a children's water park (open in summer)!
Before entering, you can check the guide map to find the area you're most interested in!
Of course, besides the map, there are clear path signs inside the hot spring area, so it's easy to visit all the pools!
The steam from the bamboo forest hot spring pool under the sun looks like a fairyland.
Walking along the stone steps, you'll reach the most beautiful 'Heavenly Pool Spring'—with its infinity design, you can take in the stunning views of the mountain below!
The simple European-style architecture is very chic and grand; beside the Heavenly Pool Spring you can casually snap photos with a continental blockbuster vibe!
The 2nd floor of the lobby is the guest lounge area, with a free beverage bar serving wellness herbal teas! An extra boost for your health!
Local Delicacies: Hakka Roast Chicken and Bamboo Rice
Time-honored Brand — Junji Hakka Roast Chicken and Bamboo Rice
Just steps from the hotel, the next alley leads to a food street where almost every eatery features Hakka roast chicken as its signature dish. There's a time-honored restaurant that's always packed—probably the most authentic!
When in a new place, the cuisine best reflects the local culture!
Zengcheng's late-season choy sum is in season—a must-order, with its fragrant, fresh, and sweet taste!
Late-season choy sum is a famous specialty of Zengcheng. It has a long growth cycle; when harvested, each stalk weighs about one jin, with the heaviest reaching over two jin. Because it only hits the market in late winter, harvested later than regular choy sum, it's called 'late-season choy sum.' Its biggest trait is its refreshing crispness and sweet tenderness—whether stir-fried, boiled, or in soup, it's crunchy and deliciously sweet. It's hailed as the 'King of Choy Sum' and 'Crown of Vegetables.'
Roast chicken from Paitan Town in Zengcheng is another famous local specialty!
The chicken is free-range raised in the traditional way, yielding tender, smooth, and fragrant meat. The secret cooking method is rustic and authentic: a brick stove is heated with firewood, then a whole local Zengcheng chicken is placed inside and slow-cooked over high heat for 15 minutes, away from direct flame. Since charcoal is hardly used, the chicken doesn't easily burn and has no charcoal smell—just a naturally rich chicken aroma.
I highly recommend the Hakka bamboo tube pork meatballs! The fragrance of the bamboo seeps into the meat juices during steaming, and the meatballs are bouncy and delicious!
There's another distinctive dish—char siu stuffed with salted egg yolk.
Char siu with just the right amount of fat, sliced thin and filled with rich egg yolk, absolutely savory!
For after-dinner fun, city kids were thrilled—setting off fireworks! You can't do this in Guangzhou, but in Paitan Town, Zengcheng, we could share our childhood memories with the kids!
Exploring Nature: Fruit Picking, Walking Through Rice Paddies, and Strolling Sugarcane Fields
Baishui Village Scenic Area
Family Farm Fun in Paitan Town
About a 20-minute drive from the hotel brings you to Shuangtou Village in Paitan Town. Along the way, you'll see patches of strawberry fields and sugarcane groves... After some searching, we headed to 'Hali Farm' to pick a special variety—golden passion fruit!
Speaking of passion fruit, you might remember the purple-red skinned ones commonly found in supermarkets or markets, with a sweet-tart taste and strong fragrance. But at Hali Farm, they grow a rare variety—golden passion fruit, larger in size with a golden-yellow skin, and incredibly sweet and juicy.
You can buy the passion fruit directly or pick and weigh them yourself! We chose to pick ourselves, letting the child have a great time!
Coincidentally, the day we were picking, the farm had just harvested a batch of golden passion fruit and was sorting them into crates. Our child was lucky to join in and learn how the sorting conveyor works—by using belts of different widths to separate the fruit by size! It was both curious and fun!
The farm uncle told us that besides golden passion fruit, they also have red-fleshed guava... We made a pact to come back and pick some more for fun! Hehe!
At the farm, we met a teacher who also enjoys exploring natural ecology. He warmly acted as a host and took us to play in the fields around the farm!
Right next to the farm was a large expanse of rice paddies. Too bad that when we arrived, the harvester was operating, so we couldn't go inside for photos and fun! But the child got to watch closely how the harvester works, and with curiosity, he recorded the process shot by shot with his compact camera.
Nearby children were curious about our little one's camera and his photos, finding them fascinating. Meanwhile, our child watched with curiosity how those kids ran around on the bamboo raft bridge in oversized flip-flops (actually, for those of us not used to it, the bridge felt wobbly). When children from these two different living circles met, they easily played together, sharing their interesting lives.
On the other side of the rice paddies was a sugarcane grove and late-season choy sum field... We had so much fun in this natural setting, wishing we could just dive into a pile of golden rice stalks!
In fact, Paitan Town not only boasts natural scenery but also has quite good service facilities. Along the way, we saw some very distinctive guesthouses that, together with the surrounding farmland, create a beautiful scenic line.
Speaking of Zengcheng, everyone surely knows this spot—the Baishui Village Scenic Area. It's part of the Guangzhou Zengcheng Provincial Geopark (Baishui Village Area), preserving many pristine natural landscapes!
The park combines volcanic rock landforms, karst topography, and water-formed geological relics. Key geological sites include Baishui Village Waterfall, Xian'gu Tianchi (Fairy Maiden Lake), and the Shitouling Mishi Village caves... It's a great hands-on opportunity for children to learn geography.
I was happy that Little Bao shared the same interest as me—we both have eyes that love discovering life, and we enjoy recording it through pictures! I took the chance to teach him photography hands on, and some of his shots were surprisingly impressive! I was amazed by his potential!
On the way to the entrance of Baishui Village, you pass by a specialty street selling local fruits, dried goods, cured meats, and other Zengcheng specialties!
Mishi red persimmons from Paitan Town have dense flesh, seedless or with small seeds, and are juicy and sweet. The skin peels away cleanly without taking flesh, offering a 'sweet, soft, and smooth' taste. Besides eating fresh, they can be made into dried persimmons, persimmon cakes, persimmon paste, and persimmon sauce. Dried persimmons are especially refreshing and lung-moistening.
The '9999-step South China First Stairway' in Baishui Village is a physical challenge. This time, due to time constraints, we couldn't conquer it. Little Bao said next time we must take it on!
This weekend in Paitan Town, Zengcheng, we had a joyful and meaningful family time, gaining new hands-on insights into natural ecology! I hope we can find time to roam around like this every month in the future!
