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Bird's view of the resort
GUDOU Hot Spring Resort in Xinhui, Jiangmen, southwestern Guangdong, is an ideal place for family gatherings with the resort's new villas and healing hot springs complete with "doctor fish."
A three-hour drive from Shenzhen or a one-and-half-hour drive from Guangzhou, the resort makes a perfect base for enjoying a hot spring spa, a walk around the gardens, trips to local scenic and historic spots and just hanging out.
New luxury villas
Rome palace hot spring
Japanese-style hot spring
With four or five double rooms, two huge sitting rooms, kitchen, and even a private hot spring pool in the garden, the villas were completed last October.
Starting from 3,120 yuan (US$391) per night, four couples and their children can enjoy a weekend in a newly built villa with unlimited access to the hot spring valley with its different hot spring pools.
The villas are surrounded by mountains. For those who want a tropical view, the beachside wooden villas are arranged around an artificial beach. Ranging from one to five bedrooms, these villas are a bargain for small families with double rooms priced at 480 yuan per night.
Five other hotel facilities offer a variety of options and prices.
Healing hot springs
The natural hot springs, open year-round, contain either light radon or sodium chloride. According to the staff, light radon is good for the skin while sodium chloride alleviates fatigue. Spa-goers are advised not to wash with soap after a hot spring immersion to retain the healthful microelements left on the skin.
Massage service is available for 38 yuan for half an hour. The fee includes towels, beverages and desserts.
Unique among Guangdong Province's thermal baths, Gudou hot springs are the home of doctor fish. The fish can live in thermal water and specialize in curing psoriasis.
The brown, gray and beige fish surround bathers and nibble on skin areas affected by psoriasis.
Other facilities
The resort restaurants offer quality Cantonese-style food at reasonable prices. If you want to cook in the villas, come prepared with your own groceries and cookware. The kitchens only come equipped with a cooking range and refrigerator. The one store in the resort only sells soft drinks and snacks.
An Internet café can be found at the Hot Spring Hotel (New Wing), which charges six yuan per hour for the Internet terminals in its hall area. Since this area is dominated by smokers, non-smokers are advised to rent a private Internet room at 30 yuan per hour.
Bicycles can be rented for five yuan an hour. A free shuttle bus follows a route every 30 minutes covering all the resort's seven hotels and villa areas.
Special local fruits are Xinhui oranges and mandarin oranges, fresh in summer and autumn, and preserved orange peel.
Nearby historic and scenic spots
The two-ton gun platform built in 1809 during the Qing Dynasty is in Yaxi Township in the same district. Admission is five yuan per person. Buses to Yaxi Township leave from Xinhui Bus Station.
A major historic spot is the residence of Liang Qichao, a reformer during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Liang inspired Chinese scholars with his writings and reform movements. Born in a small village in Xinhui, Liang and his teacher Kang Youwei launched a movement for constitutional and educational reform in 1895 after China's defeat by Japan. The movement received the backing of Emperor Guangxu in 1898, but the "hundred-day' reform" was aborted by Empress Cixi.
Liang's residence is located in Chakeng Village in the same district. Take bus No.1 from the hot spring resort. Admission is five yuan.
Guifeng Mountain is famous for its flaming maple leaves in autumn. Visitors can catch a splendid sunrise year-round. Take bus No. 3 to the northern suburb. Admission is three yuan.
The country's biggest rest place for birds is Tianma Village. With thousands of birds flying over the village daily at 5 a.m. and 7 p.m, this little village has earned the nickname "Bird Paradise". Take bus No.1 to Xiaoniao Tiantang for this grand scene. Buses run daily between 5:45 a.m. and 10 p.m. Admission is 15 yuan per person.
Editor: Wing
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