Zhaoqing

About Zhaoqing

Zhaoqing lies on the Xi River west of Guangzhou, where the flat delta gives way to green hills and limestone peaks. Its signature view is the Seven Star Crags, seven karst outcrops rising from the waters of Star Lake in a pattern said to echo the Big Dipper, with caves carved with poems from more than a thousand years of visitors.

As old Duanzhou, the city was an important prefecture for centuries. Its Song dynasty wall still encircles the old centre, the upright official Bao Zheng served here and famously left without taking a single inkstone, and in 1583 the Jesuits Matteo Ricci and Michele Ruggieri set up their first residence in mainland China here. The Duan inkstones carved from local stone are still prized by calligraphers across China.

Give Zhaoqing two days: one for the lake, the wall and the riverside pagoda, and one for the forests, waterfalls and temple of Dinghu Mountain. In winter, look for the city's great pyramid-shaped zongzi wrapped in leaves.