A 12-Day Bestie-and-Kids Adventure Through Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai

The theme of this trip: girlfriends bringing kids to see the world. Taking advantage of a slow summer break, I took ten days of annual leave, plus the weekends, making it twelve days in total.

I brought Ruibao, and my bestie Xiao Gao brought her son Keke. Our little travel squad of two adults and two kids set off in high spirits.

On July 29, we took the high-speed train from Xi'an to Guangzhou. After over seven hours, we arrived and planned to go to Chimelong Guangzhou the next day. We stayed at the Forest Code Theme Mansion nearby. The room was kid-themed, quite interesting, and good value. I forgot to take photos; those interested can search it up.

In the evening, a local colleague treated us to a pigeon feast, and we had seafood congee as a late-night snack—both delicious.

On the morning of the 30th, we moved to the Panda Hotel at Chimelong Guangzhou. It was super crowded. The lobby had performances; Xiao Gao took the kids to watch while I handled the check-in, which felt like it took one or two hours.

After finishing the paperwork, we couldn't get into the room until 3 p.m. The Chimelong complex includes Safari Park, Amusement Park, and Bird Park. Today, we first went to the Safari Park, and in the evening, we saw the grand circus.

The Safari Park had many rare animals, and the kids had a blast.

The circus, I remember, started at 7:30 p.m. and was quite spectacular, especially the final high-dive act by acrobats.

After the show, we went to Canton Tower to snap a photo, letting Ruibao see the spot where I'd taken pictures on my last visit.

The service and breakfast at the Panda Hotel were really good. If you come to Chimelong, I do recommend staying at one of their themed hotels.

On the morning of the 31st, we debated between the Bird Park and the Amusement Park and went straight to the Amusement Park—after all, water play is the kids' favorite. I took so many photos, but when organizing them now, I found they're all gone. Such a pity. Luckily, I had posted some on WeChat Moments, so I salvaged a few. We spent the whole day there.

In the evening, we took the high-speed train to Shenzhen. The transportation is very convenient. We chose Mint Apartment, right by the metro exit, and went straight to rest.

On the 1st, we opted to visit the ancient city of Shenzhen—Pengcheng Village. It's a historic site built during the Ming and Qing dynasties to fight off Japanese pirates, and it produced over a dozen famous generals. You can see the old coastal defense facilities. If you have time and interest, do go see it.

We had some specialty drinks. The weather was gorgeous.

We found the ancestral hall of the hundred family surnames and made grand wishes.

In the afternoon, we checked out a trendy bookstore.

We took the kids on a Ferris wheel. The Bay Glory Ferris wheel in Shenzhen is famous and worth experiencing with kids, though the queues were long.

On the morning of the 2nd, we checked out and packed up to cross into Hong Kong. We'd prepared in advance with plug adapters and a local SIM card—Xiao Gao had ordered them from Taobao. We also exchanged 1,000 HKD at the bank. Since we were only staying in Hong Kong for a day or two, we didn't exchange more. For longer stays, you'd need more; many places don't support electronic payments or RMB, though you can also exchange money right at the border crossing. Ruibao exchanged some of his pocket money just for fun. Also, it's best to get an Octopus card right after crossing. The Hong Kong Octopus card is a universal card—you can use it for everything—but topping it up requires HKD cash, which is quite annoying. Otherwise, Hong Kong isn't big, and you can reach many places by metro. The metro accepts Alipay scanning. You need your entry permit and ID to cross the border. There were long queues, but they moved quickly—except that I was asked if I was pregnant because I was wearing a dress!

The metro from Shenzhen to Hong Kong is a bit different from the mainland. There weren't many people, and they kept a certain social distance. Very few were on their phones; it was quiet, with quite a few reading. Any slightly loud noise or movement drew stares—a kind of scrutinizing look that told you to be mindful. The boisterous Keke and Ruibao gradually quieted down along the way.

In Hong Kong, we checked into the Nina Hotel Tsuen Wan West. By luck, we got a sea-view room with fantastic scenery, though the bedding felt a little damp, and the facilities seemed older than mainland hotels, with fewer power sockets. The building was very tall—probably over seventy stories—and the elevators were lightning fast. The front desk only accepted HKD cash for the deposit, and no amount of pleading changed that. Hong Kong seemed very rule-bound, rigid, and inefficient. On the mainland, hotel check-in is quick. Here, we queued for over half an hour even though there weren't many people. After finally getting our key cards and going upstairs, we couldn't get in. Downstairs, when I went to ask what was wrong and said "excuse me," I was told bluntly to queue again. Another half-hour wait. When it was my turn, they swiped the card and said it hadn't been properly encoded earlier; a quick re-swipe fixed it. Not a word of apology for wasting our time—they treated it as perfectly normal. This felt worlds apart from the mainland, with poor service awareness.

After checking in, we went downstairs to eat and found the prices horrendous. An ordinary tomato beef brisket rice cost 88 HKD, and other dishes were similar. Plain noodles or rice noodles were around 50–60 HKD, and the portions were tiny. No wonder many Hong Kongers earn money here and spend it in Shenzhen. Every eatery was cramped, with tiny tables. There was none of that mainland style of sitting and chatting over a meal. Eating was just eating—quickly finish and leave. One or two people couldn't hog a big table; you had to share with strangers. We were used to ordering several dishes and taking our time, but later noticed locals each got a single dish with rice, wolfed it down, and left, making our slow, chatty meal seem quite out of place.

In the afternoon, we first headed to Disneyland, buying two-day passes. Today was just a scouting trip. The dedicated Disney metro line, with its themed design and decor, was really fun, and the Disney headbands made for great photos.

The scouting trip was very satisfying. We picked out gifts to buy and roughly planned the route for the next day. Then we went back into the city to visit Victoria Harbour. Luckily, Ruibao had Alipay, and our Octopus cards had little balance, so we saved them and used Alipay on the metro whenever possible. If a place didn't accept Alipay, we used Octopus.

Victoria Harbour was stunning—photos can't do it justice; you have to experience it in person. We took the kids on a harbour cruise.

On the morning of the 3rd, we had breakfast at a local spot, and everyone agreed: the milk tea here is truly good and authentic.

Then began our Disney attraction-hopping. Every ride had a queue, every ride was wanted, every ride was fun. We managed to hit almost every attraction, and our legs nearly gave out, but it was so worth it. Afterward, everyone agreed we'd come again. We joked about waiting until they get into university—haha.

We watched our favorite Lion King show. Every post-80's kid has a soft spot for Simba, right? I sure do. My eyes got misty. And the evening fireworks display actually made me cry.

The Disney castle at night was especially beautiful. The fireworks show was gorgeous. I watched quietly, emotions welling up—mostly touched and happy, so grateful that in this life I could bring myself here to experience such a beautiful scene.

On the morning of the 4th, we checked out and took the ferry to Macau.

We bought tickets at Sheung Wan Pier. There were many departures, very convenient. Just note that Macau has two ferry terminals: Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal and Taipa Ferry Terminal. You need to figure out which is closer to your hotel. Our Macau hotel was near Taipa, so we chose that one. The ride took about an hour—I forget exactly. Once in Macau, getting around was easy. Buses cost 6 RMB per ride wherever you go, though using Macanese patacas is cheaper considering the exchange rate. We hadn't exchanged any, so we used Alipay for shopping and RMB for buses.

The view of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge from the ferry was pretty magnificent. On the way, I taught the kids a bit about the history of Hong Kong and Macau and their handover dates. The kids uniformly felt that Hong Kong people were quite aloof toward mainlanders. The main languages are English and Cantonese; anyone who doesn't speak them is instantly pegged as a mainlander, and their faces wouldn't even crack a smile. Macau people, on the other hand, would greet you warmly and strike up a chat when they heard you were from the mainland.

After checking into our Macau hotel, we grabbed a meal downstairs. Coming from Hong Kong's high prices, everything in Macau felt cheap, and we went on a happy shopping spree. The weather was still hot and sticky. Keke was tired and didn't want to walk around. I still wanted to visit the Ruins of St. Paul's. Ruibao hesitated between going back to the hotel to rest and accompanying me, and chose the latter, which touched me. He said, "In a strange place, with your English not so good, if you get abducted, I'll have no mom." Exhausted as he was, he stuck with me to the very end, even walking all the way back to the hotel.

Macau has lots of pharmacies, and notably, the medicine seems really good. After all that walking, my ankle hurt, and a medicated patch I bought at a pharmacy downstairs brought quick relief. Very cost-effective—a pack of twenty patches cost around 20 RMB. I regretted not buying a couple more.

The Grand Lisboa building—taken on the way to dinner.

Taken on the way to the Ruins of St. Paul's.

The famous ruins. No wonder construction workers in Hong Kong and Macau earn such high wages—about 30,000 to 50,000 RMB a month. The various types and styles of old buildings are truly impressive.

On the morning of the 5th, we checked out, stored our luggage, and started a day trip around Macau. First, we went for Margaret's Portuguese egg tarts. The kids boasted they'd each finish a whole box, but actually didn't manage half. Not because they weren't good—the tarts were intensely sweet, with rich milky and eggy flavors. The tarts and milk tea were both nice. There was also a pork pastry that Ruibao really liked; he ate two in a row. Not exactly cheap. Opposite the tart shop was a clothing store selling kids' and adults' casual wear—not bad, good value. If you go, you can pop in for a look.

After breakfast, we headed to The Venetian for eating, strolling, and shopping. There were plenty of reasonably priced clothes, great food, and of course, a gambler's paradise—the place reeked of money.

In the evening, we crossed into Zhuhai and stayed at a homestay near Gongbei Port. On the 6th, we went to the Love Post Office. The kids played in the sand and water, searching for shells, splashing around with pure joy. We had some authentic, great-value seafood feasts.

On the 7th, a day trip to Chimelong Zhuhai, ocean-themed. At lunch in the restaurant, you could see many penguins playing just beyond the glass, which the kids loved. The evening fireworks were also beautiful. Too bad we got there too late for the roller coaster—it had stopped running, which became the trip's regret.

On the 8th, we took the kids to the Zhuhai Space Center and saw an aviation exhibition, turning the day into an educational outing.

On the 9th, we flew from Zhuhai back to Xi'an, ending this delightful trip.

Summing up with my bestie, traveling together like this was great value. We covered many places, with each family of one adult and one child spending around 15,000 RMB on average. The only downside was too little time in Hong Kong and Macau. I'm greedy and want to see everything, but time was short. Next time, we can plan a dedicated Hong Kong-Macau itinerary and explore them thoroughly. The kids rated the trip highly too. They ate and drank well, and saw what they wanted, though the Disney rides weren't enough. We promised them that after they finish their university entrance exams, we'll go again for a proper long visit. Until then—haha, forget it. Our motherland has endless magnificent landscapes; we need to set foot on them one by one. For many places, having been there is enough.