Free and Easy China Holidays - Jiangmen, Xinxing, Yunfu, Shaoguan, Qingyuan & Panyu (via Guangzhou)

Photograph taken inside Nanhua Temple or South Flower Temple, Qujiang District, Shaoguan

Nanhua Temple was founded in 502AD and had a history of over 1500 years. The temple became famous through the activities of its sixth patriarch, Huineng (638-713), who sat in meditation here for 36 years before suddenly reaching enlightenment. His successors spread his doctrine of Nanzong Chanfo, or Chan Buddhism, throughout China from where it filtered into Japan as Zen.



The statue of Guanyin was beautifully sculptured with stately and kind expression, it was worshipped by pious men, women and tourists. On the night of every birthday of Guanyin, the first and fifteenth day of a lunar month and other important festivals, the place will be lighted with spotlights on the statue of Guanyin facing the sea. The bright golden light can be seen from several miles away and form an auspicious atmosphere. Its construction was completed on 23 October 1994.

The Guanyin pavilion beside Guanyin statue was built on 20 October (the 19th day of the Chinese Lunar calender or the birthday of Guanyin). It was grand and statedly with antique flavours. it was really an elaborate architectural artwork. all wood carvings inside the pavilion, including windows, doors, wooden square blocks inserted between the top of a column and a crossbeam, shrines and altars were all made of rare rosewood; floor bricks weree the specially developed pseudoclassic step bricks; walls were all made by levigated old blue bricks; and the inside was decorated with 3362 elaborately painted caisson ceiling.

The Lotus Mountain or Lian Hua Shan was located in Panyu, a satellite town approx. 45 kilometres south east of Guangzhou. It gains its name after the huge stones there which got the shape of beautiful lotus. On the mountain there was an ancient town. A huge sculpture of Guanyin (Buddha of Charity) facing the sea stands at the peak of the mountain, attracting lots of adherents and tourists

In 2006, we made 2 holidays trips to Guangdong (via Macau) with details as follows:-


Trip No. 1, 11th to 15th March 2006 from Singapore via Tiger Airways with my 82 years old father, my younger & elder sister and myself. The trip was the insistence of my octogenarian father who wanted to return to place of childhood, Jiangmen. Although my father was born in Klang, Selangor (which was also my present hometown), he left for Jiangmen as a child and only returned back to Malaya in 1938 as a 14 years old child to avoid Japanese' s atrocities when the nearby capital of Guangzhou fell. Unfortunately by 1942, British Malaya also fell to the Japanese.
As an obedient son, I have taken him to Jiangmen since 2004 (Dec'04), 2005 (Jul'05) and this was my third trip (although I would prefer other Guangdong's places like Guangzhou, Zhaoqing, Foshan, Shenzhen). My two sister accompanying me suggested that we should leave our octogenarian father with his childhood friends and relatives during the day and returned at night. Thus for this trip we only stayed at Jiangmen but visited nearby town of Yunfu, Xinxing and Jiangmen.

Jiangmen is the No. 1 hometown of overseas Chinese with almost 4.0 million of them residensing in Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, USA, UK, Singapore and other countries. They were originally from Jiangmen & its wuyi (5 districts, i.e. Taishan, Kaiping, Enping, Heshan, Xinhui and Jiangmen).

The places we visited at these towns were:-

1) Yunfu - Panlong Karst Caves,
2) Xinxing - Guoen (State Grace) Temple
3) Jiangmen - Cha An Temple, Cha An Monastery & scenic spots, Baishuidai tourist spots and Chenbaisha Memorial Hall

Photograph taken inside Panlong Cave, Shizishan or Lion Mountain, Yunfu. Panlong Cave is one of the top three karst caves that have the most grand stone flower landscapes.

Guoen (State Grace) Temple - The sixth patriarch Huineng temple

Located in Dragon Hill Hot Spring Resort of Xinxing County, the State Grace Temple, a provincial level resort, was the former residence where Master Monk Huineng (638-713), the Sixth Patriarch of Zen and founder of Zen's Southern Sect passed away. The temple was first built in 683, the first year of Hongdao Period of Emperor Gao of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), as Baoen (Grace Repaying) Temple. The temple was renamed as State Grace Temple to reward Sixth Patriarch Huineng's achievement in Buddhism promotion. The Sixth Patriarch Master Monk Huineng was born in Xialu Village, Xinzhou County (the present Xinxing County) during the Tang Dynasty. After his succession from the Fifth Patriarch in private, Huineng lived a reclusive life in Sihui and Huaiji for 15 years, mainly to escape from rival infliction. Huineng had lived in his hometown till he was 24 years old. In 683, Huineng sent his disciples to build State Grace Temple. It was in 712 when Huineng passed away in his own home in Xinzhou County at the age of 76. His home town Jicheng Town in Xinxing County was renamed after him as Liuzu (Sixth Patriarch) Town in 2004.

Top - Photograph of my elder & younger sister taken with the vowing tree, Baishuidai scenic spot, Jiangmen

Right: Photograph taken at the statue of Chenbaisha, Jiangmen

Photograph taken at the scenic garden of Chenbaisha Memorial Hall, Jiangmen

Photography taken at Cha An scenic spot, Jiangmen

Fom left: my younger sister, elder sister, myself & my octogenarian father


Trip No. 2, 10th to 15th May 2006 - via Air Asia. The returned 'free of charge' tickets were the kind courtesy offered by Air Asia. I logged-in at www.airasia.com/ and managed to obtain the tickets @ RM 193.00 per person inclusive of airport taxes, fuel charges, administration charges, etc. Thank you Air Asia.

There were four of us and that included my octogenarian father, my elder brother, my elder sister and myself. Since, we had been to Jiangmen 2 months earlier (via Tiger Airways), we wanted to go to other smaller towns within Guangdong Province as well as to try travelling on Chinese Railways (instead of the usual stage buses).

On arrival at Macau at approx. 7.30 pm on 10 May 2006, we immediately rush to clear the Macau & Chinese immigrations and took the 9.30pm bus to Guangzhou. We then checked into a budget hotel (within walking distance from Guangzhou Railway Station) @ RMB 150/double room for the night. We made a reservation for this hotel during our previous trips to Shaoguan and Qingyuan on 14 May 2006. Next morning after breakfast, we proceeded to railway station and booked 4 tickets to Shaoguan @ RMB 38/person. As the rail travel were our very first in China, we were surprised that our train to Shaoguan was a double-decker train. We have also never ride on a double-decker train previously. In fact my octogenarian father did not realised that we were sitting on the upper-deck until arrival at Shaoguan. The train journey was rather pleasant but comical as the train staff were also working as part-time salesmen selling items like socks, toys, etc. They were also demonstrating their products on the train. During the journey, there were various other vendors of various food & drinks. After Shaoguan, we also travelled to Qingyuan by train. Travelling by rail in China was the cheapest means of transportation available.

We were one of the few Malaysians family who had travelled on our own to towns like Shaoguan, Qingyuan in Northern Guangdong. All our travel itineraries to tourist/scenic attractions like Qujiang, Danxia Shan, Feixia & Feilai, Lotus Mountain, etc. were by public stage buses since we are Malaysians and we can communicate with the locals in their dialects. Accomodation and food at Shaoguan and Qingyuan were very reasonable. Our budget hotels costed RMB 120 & RMB 90/double rooms at Shaoguan and Qingyuan respectively.

The places of interest we visited in these towns were:-

1) Shaoguan - Historical site of Maba Man and Maba Museum, Qujiang; Nan Hua Temple, Qujiang; Danxia Shan Scenic Spots and China Sex Museum, Danxia Shan,

2) Qingyuan - Feixia scenic spots, various Feilai temples.

3) Panyu - Lotus Mountain or Lian Hua Shan

Photographs of my father, elder sister & elder brother at Maba Man Historical Site, Qujiang, Shaoguan. Maba Man appeared between ape man and modern man in the Paleolithic Age 130,000.

Entrance of Danxia Shan scenic spot. Shaoguan

Danxia means "red cloud'; a distinctive red sandstone land formation called danxia topography. The grand Yangyuan Stone, Amazing Yinyuan Stone, tranquil Jingshi Rock, picturesque Jinjiang River and steep Bazhai Village have made Danxia Mountain world-famous. As one of the top 4 mountains in Guangdong, Danxia Mountain has been successively appointed as World Geological Park, Grade AAAA National Tourist Spot, National Geological Park of China and the No. 1 Spectacle Mountain in the Lingnan region.

A peculiar rock called Yangyuan Rock, a pillar that stands up in the sky and looks similar to a male sex organ. - Danxia Shan, Shaoguan

Photograph taken in front of China Sex Museum, Danxia Shan, Shaoguan.

Photograph taken at the Feixia Scenic Spot on the mountainous section of Beijiang River.

Qingyuan Feixia scenic area was the beautiful section of the Beijiang River, where sheer cliffs soaring into the blue sky on the both sides of the river with the white water rushing forward. It was said that there are 72 peaks along the twisted 9-km-long valley. It was located 23 km away from Qingyuan. It was also called Qingyuan Valley. Down in the valley and on the western bank stands Feilai Temple with a long history of 1 400 years

Photograph taken in front of Confucius statue at one of the Feilai Temples.

The Feijia Mountain lies 30 kilometres northeast to the town of Qingyuan. Besides forests and river valleys, Feixia Cave was located in the mountain, where there were various large temples used for the worship of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.

A scenic spot taken at the Lotus Flower Pagoda, Lotus Mountain, Panyu