Travel China by Train - Part 1, Getting There and Zhuhai

 

China can be an intimidating place for a traveler. Most people don’t speak English and that makes it difficult when ordering food, telling a taxi where you want to go or getting around once you get there. A few years ago I traveled China by train for two weeks by myself and would like to share my experiences and at the end provide tips on getting around. Pops likes an adventure and tours are too structured. This post is for those adventuresome enough to plan their own trip. This will be a series of posts with details of what I did at each location and with tips from Pops to make your trip as easy as possible in the last post in the series.

I started traveling to China for work, mainly in Shanghai, and fell in love with the country and the people. On one of my trips I decided to tack on a vacation and see as much of China as I could in those two weeks. The itinerary I choose was San Francisco è Hong Kong è Zhuhai è Guangzhou è Shanghai è Beijing è Xian è Guangzhou è Zhuhai è Hong Kong è San Francisco.

After flying from San Francisco to Hong Kong I took a ferry from Hong Kong to Zhuhai. At the airport in Hong Kong there is a very modern transit rail that runs every ten minutes to the central Hong Kong station. From there you can take a quick taxi to the ferry terminal. From there, the ferries run quite often to many destinations in the Pearl River Delta on the mainland of China. One popular destination is Macau for the gambling. I wrote about Macau in a previous post. I choose to take the ferry to Zhuhai. The ferries are inexpensive and I would recommend a VIP ticket. With that you get a room, most of the time to yourself but sometimes there may be someone in the room with you. You also get water, and snacks. After the long flight to Hong Kong it is a welcome chance to relax and enjoy the fifty-five minute ride to the mainland. The view of the Hong Kong harbor is also worth it. You don’t have to fly into Hong Kong. You can begin your journey from any city in China by flying there direct.

Arriving in Zhuhai you will need to go through customs and immigration. They will check your passport and visa but it is pretty painless and only takes a few minutes to get through. The first thing you should do is take a taxi to your hotel. In Zhuhai I would recommend the Holiday Inn in the Jida district. It is a high rise hotel with all the things you would expect in a hotel back home. Jida has a lot of shopping and restaurants. You have had a very busy day traveling from the United States so get to the hotel, relax and get something to eat in the hotel. Language will not be an issue in most international hotels and the staff is very helpful and friendly.

Zhuhai is on the Chinese mainland on the border with Macau and about an hour from Guangzhou. It is in the Pearl River Delta what was once Canton. Zhuhai is considered to be on the Chinese Rivera. Although it is not well known by international tourists it is a place where many expats work and live. Because of that there are international stores and restaurants. There are tourist attractions, shopping, beaches and nightlife.

Things to do in Zhuhai:

Shopping: The Jida district has the largest shopping mall in Zhuhai. There you will be able to buy designer apparel.

The Gongbei Underground Market is under the border between Zhuhai and Macau. It is a huge shopping complex but beware that most everything is a knock-off.

There are also international stores throughout Zhuhai such as Carrefour, Vangard and Jusco.

Sightseeing: The New Yuan Ming Palace is a replica based on the original Yuanmingyuan Garden in Beijing; it is an imitation garden comprising eighteen of the original forty sights. The delicate Chinese palaces, buildings, and pavilions show the imperial architecture of the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) and classical garden layout of south China. The Western architecture in the west part of the New Yuanming Palace manifests classic European style. Pops highly recommends it.

Cross the border into Macau. As Hong Kong was under British rule, Macau was under Portuguese control until just recently. You will be able to see the Portuguese influence in the architecture. There is also the gambling, largest gambling area in the world. It is larger than Las Vegas.

The Meixi Archways tourist area consists of four parts: three exquisite granite archways built in the Qing Dynasty; the former residence of Chen Fang, an outstanding overseas Chinese and first Chinese consul in Hawaii in the late Qing Dynasty; the personal garden of Chen; the Chen's family graveyard.

The Fisher Girl is a statue sitting in the harbor in Zhuhai. The legend of the Fisher Girl is very similar to that of the Little Mermaid. The park close to the statue is also a great place to hang out and maybe fly a kite. You can purchase one there.

 

 

Zhuhai International Raceway is China’s first motor sports track. It was designed with Formula One in mind.

Restaurants and Nightlife: Pops would recommend going to Bar Street. Bar Street is lined with restaurants and bars with all kinds of food and live entertainment. Also, with the high expat population you will be able to find any kind of food including German, Italian, Japanese, and American. If you have an urge for American fast-food there are McDonalds, KFC, Subway, Burger King and Pizza Huts throughout the city. From my experience I found the most popular fast-food chain in China to be KFC. 

Lovers Road is a promenade along the coastline. It offers a beautiful view of Macau at night. There is also street entertainment along the walk.

If you want more information, just ask Pops. Also, at the end of the series make sure you read my tips for getting around. It will make the difference between an enjoyable trip and a nightmare.

Next up Shanghai.