Qingyuan

About Qingyuan

Qingyuan sits where the Bei River leaves the mountains of northern Guangdong and spreads out towards the Pearl River Delta. Only an hour or so from Guangzhou, it is where many Cantonese families come for a weekend of gorges, rafting, hot springs and clean air.

The city's most famous sights lie along the river. Upstream, the Bei River squeezes through the narrow Feilai Gorge, home to the old Feilai Temple, while the Feixia scenic area has Taoist temples tucked into cliffs above the water. To the north-east, Qingxin District is known for its hot spring resorts and for rafting through the Gulong and Huangteng gorges.

Qingyuan is also famous at the table for Qingyuan chicken, a free-range breed served simply poached with ginger and scallion. Further afield in the prefecture, Yingde and Lianzhou have their own karst scenery and make good onward trips.