Rip-roaring good times set throughout holiday

A wide collage of flower exhibitions, temple fairs, fireworks, and culinary delicacies has been orchestrated citywide to entertain tourists during the Feb 15-21 Spring Festival holiday and beyond.

In addition to a Clown Carnival and Gourmet Festival, New Yuanming Palace in Lanpu will host a National Flower Peony Expo daily from 9 am to 5 pm Feb 12 to 23, with a rest day on Feb 15. Tens of thousands of peonies are to create a jubilant mood for Zhuhai's Lunar New Year.

Meanwhile, Impression Zhuhai • Millennial Iron Spirit, a large-scale play adapted from the Fisher Maiden story, will be staged daily at 7 pm with Longquan Lake as backdrop. Doumen's cultural-heritage On-Water Wedding and New-Year celebration standard Datiehua (spraying sparkling iron) from Hebei Province will be integrated with modern acoustics, lighting, electrical, and 3D water curtain technologies to present viewers with a visual feast.

Impression Zhuhai • Millennial Iron Sprit

Haibin Park in Jida will have a Tulip Exhibition from Feb 16 to 22. The floral venue is a 3,208-sq-m garden awash in tulips, violets, and daisy-like coreopsis. Seasonal flowers will also be floated in wooden boats on the pond.

When it comes to flower appreciation, the long-reputed Zhuhai Agricultural Science Research Center is all set to please. Its first-ever Culture & Art Festival will encompass a spring-greeting floral market and carnival replete with specialties, culture, and creative arts from all around the country. Visitors can take part in folk art parades, interactive games, and adventures.  

From Feb 16 to 22, the 13th Meixi Royal Stone Archways Temple Fair in Qianshan has scheduled the Northeast Yangko, Acrobatics & Land Boat Dance, Shanxi Percussion Performance, and Sichuan Opera Face-Changing.

Over in Baijiao Town, Doumen District will put on Style Temple Fairs in the villages of Nan'ao, Xiashan, and Gaishan from Feb 16 to 21, with parent-child activities and concerts amid a sea of flowers. Also lined up are Hakka parades, Tankas (boat people) on-water performances, and mass prayers. Culinary specialties Poon Choi (one-pot dish for special occasions), Daguofan (potluck), Mud-Baked Chicken, and traditional glutinous rice cakes will be served.

Huatian Water Village in Jinwan District is a natural eco-park and self-drive tour destination in Hongqi Town's Bayi Residential Community. There, visitors can take part in countryside activities throughout the Spring Festival period. Apart from sightseeing and kite flying, they can try their hands at harvesting vegetables, collecting water from wells to irrigate fields, and making their own Mud-Baked Chicken.

In the meantime, Yifeng Ecological Health Care Park, which is 3.5 km (2.2 miles) from Shili Lianjiang in Doumen, will set a different tone. In a fairytale setting is a floral wonderland of games and snacks from Feb 15 to 22.

Yifeng Ecological Health Care Park

Lianzhou Town's Shili Lianjiang scenic spot will celebrate the Lunar New Year with an abundance of folk art-related activities from Feb 16 to 20. Lion Dance, singing, adulating the God of Wealth, role play, clown show, Chinese shadow puppetry, umbrella painting, folk-item trade fair, papercutting, sugar painting, printmaking, and pottery will be savored in the quaint town.

Further, on tap is the colorful Rape Flower Field and recently introduced Pet Paradise in the area. More than an average petting zoo, Pet Paradise contains many exotic creatures. They comprise long-haired South American alpacas, spotted Dalmatian dogs, big-eared Nubian goats, antlered deer, ostentatious peacocks, flightless Australian emus, child-height ponies, baby ring-tailed raccoons, burrowing marmot rodents, and proud turkeys.

In addition, foodies can whet their palates in Tangjiawan north of the Xiangzhou Central Urban Area where an assortment of home cuisine restaurants, cafes, snack booths, and farmhouse treats await. Tourists can also admire the centuries-old town culture while visiting numerous roadside historical monuments, for instance, the Former Residence of Tang Shaoyi (Tong Shao Yi), the first premier of the Republic of China, and Gongleyuan Park built by Tang.

Chimelong International Ocean Resort in Hengqin New Area offers an all-new Ocean Resistance from Feb 16 to 25. There, tourists will be able to make New Year wishes beneath dancing drones tuned to a 15-minute fireworks show, while enjoying the charm of lighting technologies.

Chimelong Fireworks Show

Sumlodol Hengqin Camping Park is Guangdong's first leisure camping site built to national standards. It combines camping, self-driving, and other entertainment activities for an all-action trip. Located on the northwest side of Small Hengqin Mt, the park has characterized camping units, private courtyards with outdoor barbecues, and bonfire parties. There also is a sandpit and amusement park suitable for kids of all ages.

Jinwan District promises thrilling Aviclub helicopter experiences at Ocean Spring Resort. Families will be able to take 25-minute helicopter tours of Zhuhai’s picturesque landscape.

Beyond a Carnival for Culinary Delicacies and family photo shoots, Ocean Spring Resort will offer a weeklong hot springs Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) bathing experience. This, it is said, will further demonstrate the health benefits of hot springs.

Meantime, Yu Wen Quan Imperial Hot Springs Resort will hold a Spring Festival Temple Fair that integrates hot-spring culture and traditional folk customs. Some suites will even be discounted during the festival period.

For an island getaway, Wanshan Marine Development Experimental Zone hotels are putting on family banquets and garden tours. Participating are Gree Dong'ao Hotel, Dreamland Resort on Wanshan Island, Haixin Youhuo Resort Hotel on Wailingding Island, and a holiday resort hotel on Hebao Island.

On the other hand, Sanzao Town's Haicheng and Zhongxin villages in Jinwan District will stage Lion Dance performances on Feb 16 and 17. Additionally, each village in the town will send a representative team to Weimin Square on Feb 16 for some friendly competition.

At Golden Beach near Zhuhai Jinwan Airport, visitors can participate in Lantern Riddle Guessing and Singing competitions.

Lion Dance extravaganza [Photos courtesy Zhuhai Tourism Development Center]