Love at first sight! A thousand-year-old secret hidden in northern Guangdong

Just past the village gate, I was amazed by the welcoming song of the Sha Yao girls✨ Mist drifts over the stilted buildings on the 800-meter ridge, with green tiles layered like a "Potala Palace in the mountains." The bluestone paths beneath are smooth, bearing the marks of a thousand years of time!
🚗 Transportation and accommodation tips to avoid pitfalls
▫️ Self-driving: 3.5 hours direct from Guangzhou or Shenzhen, super convenient parking at the scenic area
▫️ Public transport: Qingyuan Station → Liannan bus → carpool 40 minutes (about 25 RMB per person)
▫️ Stay in a mid-mountain stilted building! Open the window to see the sea of clouds (recommend "Guiyin Chuxin" guesthouse, the owner will help with luggage), off-season scenic rooms start at just over 100 RMB📍
🔥 Must-try intangible cultural heritage experiences
Long Drum Dance performance: every day at 14:30 at Ge Tang Ping, 36 dance steps are super cool, you can learn the moves from the brothers and sisters
Yao costume photos: rent a set for 30 RMB/hour next to the village gate, red clothes framed by the Yao King’s house window, with terraced fields and peak forests all in the shot📸
Bonfire party: a must on Friday and Saturday nights! Dance the bamboo pole dance, catch the "Wang Xiang Belt," and try the 3-meter bamboo tube rice wine that’s sweet and intoxicating (don’t drink too much, it hits hard!)
Terrace light chase: stake out the Jinshi viewing platform at 5 AM for sunrise, golden rice waves in October, and water-filled terraces like a sky mirror in May🌾
🍲 Foodie must-try Yao family flavors
✔️ Long table feast (80-120 RMB per person): smoked meat + perilla field snails + bitter vegetable pork bone soup, oil tea is perfect to cut the grease
✔️ Street snacks: firewood bamboo tube chicken is fragrant, Yao sticky rice cakes are chewy, only 10 RMB to satisfy your cravings
✔️ Avoid pitfalls: meat dishes priced 58-88 RMB are reasonable, don’t buy overpriced mountain goods at the scenic area entrance, the village market is cheaper
💡 Practical Tips
🔸 Wear non-slip shoes! Lots of steep stone steps, bring a light jacket for big temperature differences morning and night
🔸 Poor signal, bring some cash, you can learn Yao embroidery as a souvenir near Panwang Temple
🔸 The Panwang Festival on the 16th day of the 10th lunar month is the liveliest, with a spectacular Long Drum Dance performed by thousands!
Stayed here for 2 days, listening to horse hooves on the stone paths at dawn, watching lanterns string up the starry sky at night, even time slowed down～ A perfect getaway near Guangdong!