Shaoguan Travel China, Shaoguan Tour Guide

China Shaoguan City:
Shaoguan

General Information:
Shaoguan (also Shao-kuan), in Guangdong Province, is a regional transportation and industrial center on the overland Guangzhou (Canton)-north China route.

Geography:
Shaoguan City is located in the north of Guangdong Province, bordering in the north on Chunzhou of Hunan, and Ganzhou of Jiangxi, with Guangzhou and Huizhou to the south. So it is called the North Gate of Guangdong.

Climate:
There is clear-cut difference in the four seasons. The hot and cold seasons are short, with pleasant weather.

Nature:
Shaoguan has a national geological park, a national scenic area, a 4-A tourist area, the Nanling National Forest Park, and the Chebaling National Nature Reserve.

Shaoguan Economy:
It is a trade center with coal and tungsten mining, a lead-zinc plant, and some heavy industry.
It is bestowed with rich natural resources, making it a famous homeland of non-ferrous metals, key forest area, production base of bamboo. It was reputed as the species gene bank of South China and the eco-protection screen of the Pearl River Delta.

History:
Shaoguan is an important historical cultural city of Guangdong. Since it was set up as Qujiang County in the Han Dynasty(111BC) the urban district of Shaoguan has witnessed over 2100 years. In 265 AD there was Shixing Prefecture in the place, with jurisdiction over 6 counties like Qujiang and Shixing (in a scope of the North Region of Guangdong today). In 589 AD Shixing was named Shaozhou, for there was Shaoshi Mountain, a scenic spot. The name got stuck in the dynasties afterwards. Shaozhou was reputed in history as "Famous Prefecture of Lingnan", occupying an important position in the development history of Lingnan. Shaozhou (Shixing Prefecture) was the most important pass for Central China to the coast areas in South China. In early period of history it was a production base of agriculture, forestry and minerals and a military key position. The agricultural economy was fairly developed in the Han Dynasty, and it was a well-known metallurgical center in the Tang and Song Dynasty, and in the Ming and the Qing Dynasty it was an important place for tax collection; the commerce and trade were very prosperous.
It grew rapidly as the temporary capital of Guangdong Province during the Japanese occupation (1938-1945) of Chinese coastal areas. Industrialization accelerated in the 1950s and '60s with the development of metallurgical industries.

Arrive:
Shaoguan boasts convenient traffic and developed communications: Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, Beijing-Zhuhai Express Ways, No. 105, 106, 107 national highways go from north to south in its prefecture, No. 323 national highway goes from east to west. Wujiang River, Zhenjiang River and Beijiang River surround the city flowing down, thus an actual Great Passage of the Three Provinces shows itself. Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway shortens the distance from Shaoguan to Guangzhou. The whole distance from Shaoguan to Guanazhou is only 198km. Passenger buses are available going directly from Shaoguan to Hong Kong, Macao, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Guangzhou and other places.

Shaoguan Tourism:
As China's Excellent Tourist City, Shaoguan has distinctive natural scenery. There are 19 national spots including the scenic spots, preserves, forest parks, important temples and cultural relics. The national AAAA level scenic spots Dan Xia Mountain, Ru Yuan Grand Canyon, the Golden Rooster Mountain present the wonderful natural landscaping. The Buddhism holy places including Nanhua Temple and Yunmen Temple, the birthplaces of stone culture, and Maba lion Cragreveal the centuries old human culture. Both of them are fully fledged into series.9 Torrents and 18 Shoal Drifting by Raft and the Visitation to Yao Nationality are totally native sights. Shaoguan has become one of the top four hot tourist routes in Guandong Province.

Transport in Shaoguan:
The traffic mileage of the city is about 9,000 km. The cities and villages are joined by highways: cement-paved highways connect counties and townships, villages are interconnected with highways.
There is a modern communication network of railways, highways and waterways organically connected.

Shaoguan Attractive points:
There are the Jinji (Golden Pheasant) Ridge; the Ruyuan Grand Canyon; the ancient Zhuji Lane; houses of the Hakkas in Shixing; Xiongguan Pass on an ancient post road on Meiling Ridge; the Nanhua Temple, the first temple of Chan (Zen) Buddhism in China; Shizi Mountain, the home of primitive Maba Ma, in Maba Town where fossil remains of human beings and objects of the Paleolithic Age have been discovered; the paleontological zone of dinosaur fossils in Nanxiong; and the Nine Rapids and Eighteen Shoals, the No. 1 drifting area in China. The wonderful landscapes and the customs of the local ethnic groups attract a great number of tourists every year.