Jiangmen

Understand

Taishan, Kaiping, Enping, Xinhui, and Heshan are together known as Siyi/Sze Yup (四邑 Sìyì) or Wuyi (五邑 Wǔyì), the "four (or five) counties" that produced many emigrants who journeyed overseas to seek their fortunes in the late 1800s. Some returned, bringing newfound wealth and exotic ideas; others settled permanently, establishing some of the world's most important overseas Chinese communities. Many villages in the area had residents go off and settle abroad, and many overseas Chinese today trace their ancestry to Sze Yup, particularly in Southern Myanmar and North America. Visiting Jiangmen, you can find monuments and museums celebrating this unique heritage, as well as beautiful residences, courtyards, and hundreds of watchtowers built with money earned overseas. Kaiping has a bunch of these well-preserved historic sites, and Taishan has its share too.

Getting there

By bus There are many bus stations. There are buses from the nearby towns Zhuhai and Zhongshan or provincial capital Guangzhou. CKS [1] runs a daily ferry connection with Macau. To travel to Jiangmen from Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, you can take the Intercity Bus. The first bus leaves at 08:50.

By train There are railway stations in Central Jiangmen, Kaiping, Taishan, and Enping, with direct service to Guangzhou, Maoming, Zhanjiang, and Zhuhai. Service from Jiangmen to points west is less frequent than between Guangzhou and Jiangmen.

Trains run at top speeds of 200–240 km/h (125-150 mph). 20% of the trains are express trains that skip stations for even faster transit time. At the Guangzhou, Shunde, Foshan, Zhongshan and Zhuhai stations, 80% of the trains run north-south but 20% branch off to the east-west line. You also have the option of taking a north-south line and transferring at Xiaolan (Zhongshan) station. From Macau, the Zhuhai station is 500 m west of the Gongbei/Portas do Cerco border crossing. As of 2018, there is one direct train from Beijing (D921, Beijing-Guangzhou-Zhanjiang) that stops at Xinhui station in Jiangmen. It is one of the comparatively few overnight high-speed trains with sleeping berths that operate in China. It leaves Beijing at 20:30 in the evening, crosses the entire country overnight, and stops at Xinhui at 07:33 in the morning. A second-class seat (二等座) is ¥754; a sleeping berth (动卧) is ¥1430.

See

Kaiping Watchtowers (开平碉楼), Kaiping. The construction of the Kaiping Watchtowers began in the early Qing Dynasty, and a lot of construction took place in the 1920s and 1930s. These towers were built as defense against bandits. There are many towers, they are mostly beyond Kaiping from the direction of Jiangmen so you are better off staying in Kaiping or it will be a very long day. Tea Hut Park (茶庵公园), Central Jiangmen. Site of the Tea Hut Temple (茶庵古寺), a temple built during the Ming Dynasty in honour of Zhang Sui (张遂), a famous astronomer monk who lived here during the Tang Dynasty. Aofong Hill (鳌峰山), Enping. Ao mountain tourist area in Enping District of Beijiao, has 150-m-high, majestic mountains. Known as the ancient stone mountain. Shangchuan and Xiachuan Islands (川岛风情), Taishan. Shangchuan and Xiachuan Islands fall under Taishan's jurisdiction and are locally known for their scenery. Boats to the islands are aggressively halted during and after bad weather, so transport to and from the mainland can be patchy. Mei Courtyard (梅家大院), Taishan. Mei Courtyard compound (i.e. Tingjiang River dike Overseas Construction Group) is in the town of Datong River Fen side. Fortuna Spa Resort (富都温泉度假村), Taishan. The resort has the high yield rice demonstration area, producing Taishan specialty Duhu rice. The hot spring in this castle has spa crystal clear water, a pure natural sea salt water hot springs, without any industrial pollution. Guifeng Mountain National Forest Park (圭峰山国家森林公园), Central Jiangmen. (updated Dec 2017) Jiangmen Wuyi Overseas Chinese Museum (江门五邑华侨华人博物馆), Central Jiangmen. Museum built in 2010 to commemorate the overseas achievements, lifestyle and journeys of the Jiangmen (Wuyi) region's massive number of overseas migrant Chinese. (updated Apr 2019)

Eat

The new citrus. Half-fermented soft citrus peel is a local specialty. It tastes very sour/tart and is typically consumed in small quantities with tea. Tofu corners (豆腐角 Dòufǔjiǎo). (updated Nov 2019)

Drink & nightlife

Pu'er Tea（普洱茶）A type of fermented tea, with raw tea displaying a brick-red color and ripe tea presenting a deep reddish-brown color. Chaozhou Gongfu Tea（潮汕功夫茶）Chaozhou Gongfu Tea is the traditional tea culture of the Chaoshan region, renowned for its exquisite brewing techniques and tea utensils. White Tea（白茶）A lightly fermented tea made from tea buds and leaves. Sweet Soup（糖水）A sweet soup primarily composed of sugar, with added ingredients such as red dates, lotus seeds, peanuts, etc., simmered to perfection.