Atlas of China
Zhaoqing 肇庆Zhàoqìng
Limestone crags in a city lake and the inkstones that calligraphers prize
About Zhaoqing
Zhaoqing, called Duanzhou until 1118, has made Duan inkstones since the Tang dynasty, and from 1564 to 1746 it was the seat of the viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi, where the Jesuits Michele Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci opened their first mission house in mainland China in the 1580s. The Seven Star Crags rise from lakes beside the town centre, and Dinghu Mountain became China's first nature reserve. Upriver, the Longmu Ancestral Temple honours the Dragon Mother, a West River goddess.
What to eat in Zhaoqing
- Guozheng rice dumplings (裹蒸粽)
Listed sites in Zhaoqing
12 sites in Zhaoqing are on the official lists. Those with a page of their own link to it; the rest open as cards on the map.
- Seven Star Crags & Dinghu Mountain (Star Lake) 七星岩·鼎湖山 5A scenic area · National heritage site
Zhaoqing's 5A Star Lake scenic area has two parts: the Seven Star Crags, seven limestone peaks rising from the lakes beside the city centre, and Dinghu Mountain, a forested range about 15 km to the north-east. - Deqing Confucian Temple 德庆学宫 4A scenic area · National heritage site
Deqing's school-temple of Confucius, founded in 1011 and moved to this site in 1081; after a flood its main Dacheng Hall was rebuilt in 1297 and still stands. - He River Greenway Gallery 贺江碧道画廊 4A scenic area · on the map
A riverside greenway along the He River in Fengkai County, running from Jiangkou, the county town, upstream to Dazhou town near the Guangxi border, on the old Xiaohe road between Guangdong and Guangxi. - Longmu Ancestral Temple, Yuecheng 悦城龙母祖庙 4A scenic area · National heritage site
The principal temple of the Dragon Mother (Longmu), a river goddess worshipped all along the West River, standing where the Yuecheng River joins the West River in Yuecheng town. - Longshan Scenic Area, Fengkai Geopark 封开龙山 4A scenic area · on the map
A karst scenic area in Heerkou town, part of the Fengkai National Geopark, where limestone hills rise from the valley floor in a landscape locals compare to Guilin. - Maozhua Valley (Cat's Paw Valley) 猫爪谷 4A scenic area · on the map
A cat-themed leisure park of about 600 mu in Huilong town, Gaoyao District, built for family day trips. - Panlong Gorge 盘龙峡 4A scenic area · on the map
A wooded mountain valley in northern Deqing County known for its chain of waterfalls. - Qishi River Scenic Area 奇石河 4A scenic area · on the map
A forested river valley in Weizheng town in the hills of northern Sihui, where Sihui meets Guangning and Qingyuan. - Suijiang Bamboo Sea 绥江竹海 4A scenic area · on the map
An eco-tourism area of bamboo-covered hills along the Sui River on the edge of Guangning, a county known as the home of bamboo. - Mei'an Temple 梅庵 National heritage site
A small Buddhist temple on Mei'an hill in western Zhaoqing, founded in 996 by the monk Zhiyuan where, by tradition, the Chan patriarch Huineng had planted a plum tree. - Yuejiang Tower (Former HQ of Ye Ting's Independent Regiment) 阅江楼 National heritage site
A quadrangle of two-storey halls around a Lingnan courtyard on a low hill above the West River in Zhaoqing, given its name in 1641 when it was rebuilt on the model of Tengwang Pavilion and rebuilt several times since. - Zhaoqing City Wall 肇庆古城墙 National heritage site
The brick city wall of the old town of Zhaoqing, built in 1113 when the earth ramparts of the newly promoted prefecture were enlarged and faced with brick, and repaired many times under the Ming and Qing.
On the map
Open Zhaoqing on the illustrated map to see its outline, its places and listed sites together, and to add them to a trip.
Open Zhaoqing on the map