Taste a five-spice retreat

Visits to China for most tourists usually involve the bright lights of Shanghai, the wide open spaces of Tiananmen Square and the grandeur of the Great Wall.

Further south is the province of Guangdong, which has spectacular country parks and cities and yet attracts just a smattering of non-Chinese tourists.

Heading into Guangdong from Hong Kong, my first stop was the province's capital, Guangzhou.

Guangzhou, a city of more than three million people, has benefited from Guangdong's economic boom —the busy streets are lined with shopping malls — and signs of poverty are few and far between.

Temples and parks

But despite the city's well-heeled feel, there are historical sights aplenty, among them the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees which dates back more than 1,500 years.

The highlight is an octagonal pagoda that is more than 900 years old and rises 54m into the sky. Around it, people light joss sticks and pray in front of statues of the Buddha.

Close to the temple lies the large Yuexiu Park. Guangzhou has so few Western visitors that a young Chinese woman there asked to have her picture taken with me.

The park has a statue showing Guangzhou's symbol — the five rams. As the story goes, five rams and five immortals descended from the sky, each holding a stalk of rice to show that the area would always be blessed with good harvests.

New homes

After buying a plastic model of the statues, I walked to the opposite end of the city centre. Sitting on Pearl River was Shamian Island, where traders first opened warehouses in the 18th century. Home to dozens of colonial buildings, free of traffic and boasting tree-lined avenues, Shamian today is a great place for a relaxing stroll.

One thing that will catch the eye of anyone who spends more than a few minutes on the island is the number of American couples with Chinese children. Americans are adopting Chinese youngsters, and as part of the process, have to spend a month in Guangzhou before taking the child to the US.

After sunset, I visited Lucy's, an American-themed restaurant on Shamian. There were at least half a dozen couples with adopted children. One American man held up a little Chinese girl and pointed to a map of America on the wall, showing her where her new home would be.

Out on the street, a young Chinese man worked on beautiful Chinese paintings, using just a bit of foam and his fingernails to create images of trees and waterfalls.

The next day, I visited Foshan, a much smaller city, on a day trip. The main attraction was Nanfeng Ancient Kiln, which had two long kilns from the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty (between 1506 and 1521). It is said that the fire in the kilns has never gone out since it was stoked 500 years ago.

I clambered up the inclining walls of the kiln and peered into its glowing orange and yellow innards. Later, I bought some souvenirs made in them.

After taking a motorbike taxi back to the centre of Foshan, I visited the Zu Miao temple complex, built in the late 11th century. The smell of burning joss sticks wafted through the air.

In a small courtyard, a team of young male dancers, clad in black and red, gave an energetic demonstration of ancient martial arts, their ceremonial swords cutting through air at lightning speed.

Once the show was over and a few tourists had given donations to the tired team, another group of performers staged a lively Chinese dragon show, the multicoloured animals gyrating to the beats of drums.

Cave of glory

After returning to Guangzhou, I enjoyed a simple meal of baked sweet potatoes at a pavement stall. These are sold by weight and, along with sweet corn, can be found on many street corners in the province.

The next day, a coach took me to Zhaoqing, situated beside a series of beautiful lakes and several limestone cliffs, known as the Seven Star Crags.

The island park that covered most of this area is a great place for exploring. I climbed up the limestone towers where devotees were lighting yet more joss sticks in small temples. Down below were caves housing statues that acted out episodes from Chinese history and lit in various bright colours.

I hired a boat and went for a short ride through a flooded cave, occasionally having to lie down almost flat in the vessel to avoid hitting my head on the craggy roof.

The whole lakes area, popular with people practising the ancient art of tai chi, was really enchanting.

Back in the city, I watched boats drift languidly by on the wide Xi River. Close to the riverfront was the Chongxi Pagoda, rebuilt after being damaged during the Cultural Revolution.

The next day, I was on the river, taking a boat back to Hong Kong and thinking that although Guangdong is not high on the itinerary of visitors to China, it is worth a visit.

Go there...Guangdong

From the UAE
I flew Etihad Airways (www.etihadairways.com) from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok and then Air Asia (www.airasia.com) to Macau. From Macau and Hong Kong, there are coach services to Guangzhou.

One of the closest airport to Guangdong is Beijing.

Emirates flies daily to Beijing from Dubai.

Singapore Airlines flies via Singapore to Beijing from Abu Dhabi.

How much
Dubai fare: Starts from Dh2,920 exclusive of tax.

Abu Dhabi fare: Starts from Dh1,400 exclusive of tax.

— Information courtesy: Al Tayer Travel Agency