Seven stars for Zhaoqing
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According to legend the Yellow Emperor, the ancestor of all Chinese, taught locals to cast a ding here and there is a life-affirming view from the top on a clear day of a serene blue lake (hu), which is how Dinghu got its name.
Our trail took us through the impressive White Cloud Buddhist Monastery that was built in AD 618 and is still an active center for the study of the religion, as the many monks in their saffron colored robes testified.
Another path led us to the 40-m waterfalls of Flying Water Pond where our guide instructed us to breathe deep and long to experience the benefit of all the negative ions flying around. After another short hike through the forest we arrived, suitably refreshed, at an exit.
A 20-minute ride in the car brought us to the Seven Stars Scenic Area, which comprises five lakes, six hills, seven crags and eight caves. It's a magical place and referred to as "Little Guilin" by inscriptions on rocks in the park, though others compare it to West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.
The only problem is seeing it all, as it covers 8 square kilometers, so it is recommended that you take a boat trip across the emerald colored waters and cut down on the hiking - there will be plenty of that.
Our first stop was a wetland park, complete with pagodas and pavilions, uplifting views and rare red-crowned cranes that have become so tame they can do tricks and don't fly away. Here, there is safety in domestication.
Another boat ride ferried us past a number of limestone crags that rise out of the lake's waters and touch the sky, some of which have small temples that appear to hang precariously onto the cliff faces. According to myth, the pillars of rock grew from stars that fell to Earth.
There are also boat trips inside the caves, which are filled with red-ink inscriptions and poems, some written over 1,000 years ago. Emerging back into the light from these caves is like a time travel experience.
One piece of advice: Don't do what I did and try to fit in Dinghu Mountain and Seven Stars Scenic Area in one day. They deserve at least a day each.
After which and if you have the time, there is more nature to experience by taking a coach or car along the 500-km green route of Zhaoqing's environs that has been mapped out for visitors.
Highlights of such a tour will include Jinlin Water Village, nestled among the mountains and sandwiched by the clear blue waters of the Jigang and Jinlin rivers. Stone or brick lanes meander through the picturesque village, full of temples dedicated to Confucius, from whom many of the residents trace their ancestry.
In Fengkai it is easy to find Big Spotting Rock, bounded by a river and rising out of dark green fields, its bald face topped by a thatch of trees. The nearby Dragon Mountain Scenic Spot is another mini Guilin, with its cliffs and caves.
For adventurers there is Yanfengxia and a 4-km rafting riverway through the mountains, leading to a 72-m waterfall. Rare Stone River also offers rafting and Silvery Fall; while Guangning county provides the opportunity to take a bamboo boat and explore a 16-km bamboo corridor.
At the end of such a tour it is guaranteed your impression of Guangdong as just a manufacturing base will have been corrected somewhat.
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