Directly to the north of Guangzhou, Conghua is the most hilly of the four satellite cities, as its northern part is encircled by tall mountains while to the south are rolling hills. Its terrain and geographical conditions make it an ideal tourist region of beautiful natural scenery.

Guangzhou and Conghua are linked by State Highway 105 and the distance takes about an hour to cover. Travel between Huadu and Conghua is also very convenient.

If you drive from the Baiyun District of Guangzhou to Conghua via the town of Taiping, you may want to stop there to see the pagoda that marks the Tropic of Cancer. Located exactly on the northern latitude that is most directly under the sun in summer. Taiping is on the demarcation line that separates the largest of its kind on either the Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capsicum. At precisely noon on the day of the Summer Solstice (in late June) of every year, the sun shines vertically through the hole at the top of the pagoda down to the center of the ground right below. People come in great numbers and from all over to see this rare phenomenon.

The spring waters at Conghua have a temperature of 70¡æ, and contain, cobalt, manganese, copper, silver and radon, elements said to help cure and prevent many diseases. It is no wonder, then, that for decades this place has been patronized by people from many places. As tourism has developed in the past few years, a host of recreational facilities catering to tourists have come into being, turning this traditional health spa into a busy market.

Two kilometers away from the hot springs is another tourist attraction, called Tianhu or Heavenly Lake. Actually a mountain reservoir, the lake flows to the edge of a cliff and its waters rush down a three-tired waterfall named 'The 300-metre Flying Waterfall'.

The Tianhu Lake district is equipped with speedboats, a horse racing track, a deer farm, a bear farm, a picnic area and other recreational conveniences. On the tip of a peninsula that juts into the center of the lake, a folk culture village has been built, where visitors are entertained with dances by ethnic minorities.

Almost all the tourist sites in Conghua are along the Linxi River. If you continue upstream from the hot springs area you will come to another scenic site, the National Forest Park of the Liuxi River.

Covering an area of 8,830 hectares, 86 per cent of which is wooded, the park is one of the 10 largest state forest parks in the country. Off in the distance one can see a combination of peaks and water, while up-close are the beautiful green islands of Liuxi Lake.

Inside the forest park, there is a water park where you can ride in a speedboat around the islands in the lake, or swim, fish, camp or picnic. Or one can stay in the village inside the park and fully experience the pleasure of the area's hills, rivers, lakes, birds and animals.

Editor: Catherine