The Qing garden is one reason to pause in the county town of SHUNDE (also known as Daliang Zhen ), 50km south of Guangzhou on the most direct route to Zhuhai. The other highlight is the Qinghui Yuan Restaurant , revered by the gastronomically inclined as the epitome of classic Cantonese cooking. Both are in the same grounds, a twenty-minute walk north from the Jianhai Nan Lu bus station - exit the station and follow the canal up to the bridge, turn right along the main road (Huanshan Lu), which soon bears left as Qinghui Lu. It costs ¥6 to enter the little garden, whose osmanthus, mulberry bushes and bamboo are arranged around square fish ponds. The restaurant (7-9am, 11am-2pm & 5-7pm) is expensive - count on at least ¥75 a person - but the dishes are superb, with mild, fresh flavours which have to be taken slowly to be properly appreciated; their roast pork, or steamed scorpion fish with ginger and spring onions, just melt in the mouth. If you want to stay, the slightly tatty Yuan Lin (tel 0765/2222811 or 2225293; ¥100-150) is just north on Qing Lu, or ¥950 will get you a plush room at the upmarket New World Courtyard (tel 0765/2218333, fax 2214773; ¥700 and over) opposite Qinghui Yuan.

 

After eating, you can walk off your meal in the streets behind the gardens, where the old town centre forms a miniature version of Guangzhou's back lanes, with flagstones, hectic markets and a fully restored street of colonial-era architecture on Hua Lu. The canals are interesting, too, still used by small family-operated barges, each with its own guard dog, kitchen and sleeping quarters. North in the newer part of town, Feng Shan Park is another pleasant spot, well wooded and hilly, with the old Xishan Gumiao temple on the east side. Moving on , if you can't find necessary long-distance transport at the bus station, head to Guangzhou or Zhongshan and pick up services there.