Guangzhou Tours | Escape the city and experience a rural escape in Paitan, Zengcheng
Preface
I've been cooped up at home for so long, wearing a mask every day, that I've almost forgotten how it feels to breathe freely. I'm looking forward to a getaway this holiday. The development philosophy that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" guides travel, focusing on green, healthy, and wellness. Within a two-hour radius from Foshan, I chose Paitan Town, Zengcheng District, Guangzhou! Why? Paitan Town, located in the northern part of Zengcheng, boasts numerous forest parks, towering, dense forests, clear, flowing streams, azure skies, and a tranquil, cool climate, making it a veritable "forest oxygen bar."
Game Guide
Zengcheng District is rich in tourist resources, including hot springs, river tracing, greenway cycling, fruit and vegetable picking, and rural ecology. You can book a hotel first and then slowly travel around. The Four Seasons Countryside Resort in Paitan Town is the hotel you will stay in on this trip.
Tips:
Starting from Foshan Chancheng, the whole journey is 130 kilometers, about 2 hours, and the one-way highway toll is 43 yuan.
Items you must bring: swimsuit, blisters, sunscreen, mosquito repellent, hat, umbrella, medicated ointment, etc.
This is a two-day and one-night itinerary. For reference, it is not very tight, there is enough time to play at each point, and it can be adjusted according to your own itinerary.
Day 1: Departure → Paitan Life and Health Town Park → Check-in at Four Seasons Garden Resort → Double Room → Hot Spring Bath → Resort Tour → Dinner (Four Seasons Garden Restaurant)
Day 2: Breakfast (Four Seasons Restaurant) → Picking fruits at the farm → Wanshou Farm Planting Base → Paitan Market → Return
Health never stops, life never ends
Navigation [Hot Spring Road] We drove on the highway for 2 hours to Zengcheng, heading towards Baishuizhai. Of course, we were not going to Baishuizhai this time. At the entrance of Gaotan Hot Spring, we saw a very beautiful small park. Okay, let’s go down and take a walk first.
Paitan Life and Health Town is located in the core area of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Pearl River Delta urban life circle. It is committed to building a distinctive and vibrant international life and health town. In November 2018, it was rated as the second batch of characteristic towns in Guangdong, which is good.
Wake up to the sound of streams and the fragrance of rice flowers
Navigation [Four Seasons Countryside Resort] After playing in the small park in the Life and Health Town, we went directly to the "Four Seasons Countryside" located in Qijing Village, Paitan Town, Guangzhou. The resort is located at the foot of Niuguzhang Mountain, the highest peak in Zengcheng, at an altitude of 1,084 meters, at the northern end of the Pearl River Delta region, and the Tropic of Cancer passes through it.
There's a gate to the resort. Parking is required in front of the gate, and staff will come out to register. Show your Guangdong Health QR code, have your temperature taken, and then enter the parking lot. There are plenty of parking spaces, and they thoughtfully provide charging stations, which is also convenient for new energy vehicles. Next to the parking lot, take the stairs to the hotel lobby. Check-in time is after 3:00 PM. Early arrivals should complete the formalities first and rest here. Once your room is ready, the housekeeper will notify you and take you to your room, explaining the general details.
The resort's first phase features 24 guest rooms, housed in four independent cabins. Each room boasts a private balcony and large floor-to-ceiling windows, offering breathtaking views of the forest, water, and mountains. Room names are based on the 24 Chinese solar terms: Spring Dawn, Midsummer, Autumn Moon, and Warm Winter. This natural oxygen bar, with nearly 100 square kilometers free of industrial pollution, offers fresh air and high levels of negative ions. Nationally protected plants of Class II and III status, as well as rare and endangered species, are scattered throughout the mountains.
There is a lobby bar next to the hotel lobby, where coffee and snacks are served as afternoon tea. You can feel at home before you even check in.
Outside the window is a lush green jungle, and with luck, you might even spot a squirrel. Building 2 of the Four Seasons Garden Hotel is called "Midsummer," and you can truly experience the joys of summer here. Outside the window is a lush green jungle, and with luck, you might even spot a squirrel. I'm really looking forward to it! I stayed in a "Lixia Twin Room," which ranges from 45 to 60 square meters and features twin beds measuring 1.45 by 2 meters. These spacious rooms are well-lit, with simple decor, high-end latex mattresses, a practical desk, a wall-mounted LCD TV, free Wi-Fi, central air conditioning, and a bathroom with separate wet and dry areas and a shower.
There is a fabric sofa at the entrance of the dressing room, which is very practical. Walking inside, there is a large dressing room with all the commonly used items.
Wow, the bathroom is quite big, with complete cleaning supplies, even laundry detergent, and a shower area. What’s special is that it is equipped with a TOTO Xiwei smart toilet.
The independent balcony is equipped with a circular hot spring pool. It is not very big and can accommodate 2 to 3 people. The hot spring pool has hot and cold buttons to adjust the water to the appropriate temperature. It is very pleasant for the whole family to take a bath by themselves. My pig baby couldn't wait to go in the water to play.
The resort offers standard guest rooms and three-bedroom, two-living-room villas, each lushly green and vibrant. The surrounding area is also lush and green, creating a truly exceptional environment. This is a place of intimate connection with nature, with steel-framed and brick buildings, stone paths strewn with fallen leaves, familiar yet unknown insects along the roadside, and the scent of earth...
The stunning scenery and high negative ion air quality make breathing sweet. The green mountains and clear waters, and the picturesque scenery, make you feel like you have stepped into a dreamland that seems real and illusory. You can stroll by the lake, drink tea, and feel the fresh air.
There are many kinds of playful facilities, and the children love it here. The environment in the resort is super good. In addition to a celebrity photo-taking area, there are many kinds of playful facilities. The children love it here and can have fun to their heart's content.
Rock climbing and playing in the sand are all things that Zhubao likes, and he also gained friendships. Haha, he met a little friend, and it’s more fun to play together!
This rainbow slide is very safe. The inflatable ring is placed on the plastic slide and needs to be wetted with water. The speed is also very fast. Adults and children alike have a great time playing on it.
Tips:
Rainbow Slide Opening Hours: 10:30-11:30; 15:30-16:30
If you like swimming, you can also come here to swim. It happened to be cloudy and rainy these two days, and it was a bit cold, so I didn’t go into the water.
Tips:
Shanli Swimming Pool Opening Hours: 8:00-10:30; 16:30-20:30
Autumn has arrived, and persimmons are blooming. Four Seasons Farm is filled with persimmon trees. Guests staying at the park can pick persimmons for free. The tool used is called a "scoop," a four- to five-meter-long wooden stick with an iron ring at the end and a cloth bag sewn underneath. Hold the scoop high, let the hook grip the branch where the fruit stems. Push forward or pull back, and the persimmons drop into the bag. You must eat them when they are bright red; they are so sweet. If you get yellow or dark red, they are not good enough. They must be bright red and soft to be delicious. This is pollution-free fruit!
At the Organic Farm Restaurant, you'll enjoy homegrown Zengcheng rice, freshly picked vegetables, and fish raised in the pond. Enjoy the aroma of freshly cooked food from the kitchen, and savor the natural, organic food. Produce from the farm itself is displayed at the restaurant entrance, offering a wide selection.
The restaurant's decor isn't overly luxurious, but the tables are wide enough for comfortable seating. The food is served quickly, and the waiters are friendly.
When you go to Paitan, you must try the "Paitan Roast Chicken", which is a local signature dish. The secret method of roasting chicken is original and authentic. A red coal stove is burned with wood, and a whole local raw chicken is put in. It is simmered at high temperature for 15 minutes away from the fire. Since charcoal is basically not used, the chicken body is not easy to burn, and there is no charcoal smell. The chicken aroma is naturally rich.
The restaurant also provides breakfast, which is a buffet. There are not many varieties, but it is also very complete. Dried vegetable porridge and hot noodles are recommended.
The air is fresh, and lush green rice fields stretch as far as the eye can see. After breakfast, you can drive or take a mini-scooter from the hotel to the farm, which is about 5 minutes away. All organic farming is practiced, and hotel guests can enter for free to play and pick fruits and vegetables. Each person gets 3 kilograms free, and any additional harvest costs 6 yuan per kilogram. The water source here is very clean mountain spring water, the air quality is excellent, and the average concentration of negative oxygen ions meets the national level 6 standard. The soil is excellent and fertile, and the water quality is the same as Nongfu Spring.
Fruits and vegetables are grown organically in soil, ensuring a pollution-free and residue-free environment. Chemical fertilizers are replaced with organic fertilizers, biogas slurry, and wood ash. Experience farming culture while appreciating the rural scenery. Pick seasonal fruits and vegetables, letting your child smell the aroma of the earth and experience the joy of rural life.
Pick vegetables and fruits, and smell the fragrance of the soil
Navigation [Guangzhou Zengcheng Wanshou Farm] Strange, are we back at the farm again? The previous farm was part of a hotel project, where you could experience farm-picking, but the variety wasn't as wide. Wanshou Farm is pioneering a new ecological cycle of "duck-rice symbiosis," a farming model that offers a different perspective. There's also a large papaya orchard.
The vast expanse of rice fields is bustling with activity not only during harvest time but throughout the rice's entire growing cycle. Across the crisscrossing fields, waves of rice waves emanate, and the alluring aroma of rice greets you. From the bustling rice paddies and vegetable gardens to the vibrant, vibrant mountain scenery, you're naturally close to the simplest rural life.
Wanshou Farm's planting base covers an area of 200 mu, mainly planting crops such as silk rice and papaya. It is an agricultural planting base that integrates sightseeing and picking.
Wow, what a big papaya tree, not very tall, with so many papayas, Pig Baby can pick all of them, just twist the one you like.
In the rice paddies, a flock of furry, gray ducklings dart among the lush rice paddies, foraging for food and playing. This is Wanshou Farm, pioneering a new ecological, circular farming model called "duck-rice symbiosis."
The farm does not feed artificial feeds, but rather whole grains such as rice, cornmeal, and rice bran. There are also orchard chickens that eat pomegranates.
The fruit and vegetable farm is quite large, and the fields are so beautiful when viewed from the air. We also encountered several groups of customers picking fruits at the farm, who love the organic farming, the visible freshness, and the guaranteed food safety.
Going home, bring some local specialties
Navigation [Paitan Market] I have just picked a lot of vegetables and fruits. If that is not enough, you can go to Paitan Market to buy some local specialties. The Mishi red tomatoes, Zengcheng silk rice, black olives, Paitan kudzu, Paitan white tea, etc. in Paitan Town are all very famous locally. They are perfect as souvenirs.
Mishi Village is situated on a high ground, surrounded by mountains. Its soil is a red loam with a composition of three parts sand and seven parts mud, rich in organic matter. Persimmon cultivation has a history of over 300 years, and the high-quality persimmons produced are renowned far and wide. Mishi persimmons are medium-sized, typically weighing 200 to 300 grams each, with some reaching 500 grams.
Paitan white tea is a purely wild variety with low production, harvested and sold by locals. Paitan people go up the mountains to collect the tea, including its leaves and stems. They cut the tea into one-inch pieces, dry it, and then brew it. Paitan white tea has a slightly bitter taste at first, but leaves a sweet afterward. It has the properties of relieving summer heat, clearing away heat and detoxifying. Paitan's kudzu root, known for its residue-free kudzu root, has the properties of promoting yang and relieving muscles, clearing rashes and stopping diarrhea, and relieving restlessness and thirst. It is commonly used to treat typhoid fever, fever-related headaches, fever-reducing fever, diarrhea, dysentery, urticaria, hypertension, and angina. Thinly sliced Paitan kudzu root makes a delicious dish, creating a translucent and translucent texture.
Paitan Gai Zai Noodles is a well-known local delicacy. It's called Gai Zai Noodles because it's steamed in a bamboo lid. The lid is hand-woven from bamboo, tightly woven to prevent water seepage, and typically lasts about four months. The bamboo lid's excellent water absorption keeps the noodles dry and preserves the rice flavor of the Gai Zai Noodles.
Take it home, cut it into strips, and enjoy it authentically by steaming it, tossing it with peanut oil and soy sauce, and sprinkling it with chopped green onions. The rich rice aroma of Gai Zai Fen lingers between your teeth, and unlike the smooth texture of rice noodle rolls, Gai Zai Fen has a drier, chewier texture.
Conclusion
Travel to Zengcheng and experience a wellness and lung cleansing journey. Experience Zengcheng's delicious food, fun activities, and breathtaking scenery. Breathe in the oxygen and "lung cleansing"—an incredibly comfortable experience. The rural eco-tour was incredibly rewarding, relaxing, and free from the rush and crowds. Children enjoyed a close encounter with nature, while adults also truly relaxed. We'll definitely be back next time!
