Guangdong has abundant and unique tourism resources in each of its 21 cities.
They include natural attractions such as hot springs and mountains, and manmade travel spots, including the Hakka Round Houses and golf courses.
In the northern part of the capital city Guangzhou, Baiyun Mountain is alluring to a large number of international and local tourists very day.
Only 6 kilometers from Guangzhou's center, the mountain's summit, 380 m Moxing Peak, can be reached by cable car. Surrounding verdant forests and picturesque views, the site also includes the newly built Bird Paradise, the largest aviary facility in China. A park at the summit is home to Baiyun Wanwang Pavilion.
The mountain is among the eight-most popular travel sites in Guangzhou.
Eastern Guangdong is home to most Hakka people in the nation. Their unique round houses have been built for several centuries, with those in Shizhai county of Shanwei city the most famous.
The Guo Clan complex is nestled in a village accessed by a twisting mountain road. Its typical three-floor Hakka high-walled houses were built during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).
In Shaoguan, a city in north of Guangdong, Danxia Mountain has been nominated as a World Natural Heritage site. Its sandstone formations are likened to those surrounding the northern Arizona town of Sedona and outcrops in southern Utah, yet in a subtropical vegetation zone.
With rock walls and cliffs of red sandstone, the mountain has given its name to the term now used for similar geology in China
In the 1930s, a Chinese geologist first used the name, and now 650 "Danxia Landscape" sites have been identified across the nation. Danxia Mountain Geopark is considered the model on which the others are measured.
Covering 290 sq km, the park looks like a red sandstone forest with more than 380 large formations, the tallest of which is 409 m high. About 65 million years ago, tectonic movement created many faults and the whole area was turned into an erosion region.
Because of the mountain, Shaoguan is one of the most popular tourism destinations in the entire country.
(China Daily October 14, 2008)
