Guangzhou 1h direct! This century-old arcade town in Guangdong, 2025 Chinese New Year will be bursting with festive spirit
Guangzhou 1h direct! This century-old arcade town in Guangdong, 2025 Chinese New Year will be bursting with festive spirit 🏮
Stop crowding popular scenic spots! Jiangmen, Guangdong, hides a severely underestimated treasure – Chikan Overseas Chinese Ancient Town. It's just a 1-hour high-speed train ride directly from Guangzhou. Century-old arcades line the streets, and the waterside scenery is gentle and charming. For the 2025 Year of the Snake Chinese New Year, there will be an intangible cultural heritage feast and fireworks shows taking turns. Save this comprehensive guide now!
Here, there's no excessive commercial hustle and bustle, only the lively atmosphere of the old arcade streets and the profound richness of overseas Chinese culture: take an oar boat to tour the waterside, ride a vintage tram through the ancient town, admire the blue bricks and black tiles by day, and enjoy the dazzling lights by night. During the Chinese New Year, the festive spirit is at its peak, with intangible cultural heritage performances like iron flower displays and Yingge Dance making people linger.
📍 Transportation & Accommodation Guide
- **Self-driving:** Navigate to "Chikan Guangdong Overseas Chinese International Tourist Resort." The large parking lot offers worry-free parking and super convenient travel.
- **High-speed train:** From Guangzhou South Railway Station, it's a 1-hour direct ride to Kaiping South Railway Station. From there, a 20-minute taxi ride will get you to the town.
- **Accommodation:** Highly recommend staying inside the scenic area! The night views are breathtaking, it's quiet and peaceful in the early morning with few people, perfect for capturing empty shots of the arcades, and you save the hassle of commuting back and forth.
🗺️ 2-Day, 1-Night Essential Itinerary
**Day 1:** Arrive at the resort → Check in and drop off luggage → Ride the vintage tram to explore the old arcade streets → Check out intangible cultural heritage performances → Discover authentic flavors at the food street → Watch "Fire Show" → See the on-water live performance "The Homecoming" → Night tour and take atmospheric photos
**Day 2:** Wake up early for a special breakfast → Explore the ancient town in the morning and capture drone shots → Take an oar boat to enjoy the waterside scenery → Lunch to recharge → Experience the local life at Heping Square → Pleasant return journey
🎆 Must-See Special Programs for Chinese New Year
1. **"Fire Show":** A double impact of intangible cultural heritage iron flower display + fireworks show! 30 minutes of high-energy performance, thousands of golden sparks blooming in the night sky, combined with the ancient town's lights, it's speechlessly stunning.
2. **"The Homecoming":** An on-water live performance depicting the story of overseas Chinese returning to revitalize their hometown. The light and shadow stage design is superb, allowing you to immerse yourself and understand Chikan's century of changes.
3. **Red Wedding:** Aerial acrobatics intertwined with a romantic plot, where love and righteousness collide. The live experience is far more spectacular than imagined.
4. **Grandmaster:** Northern and Southern martial arts schools compete on the same stage, with fists and feet flying, showcasing the robust beauty of Chinese martial arts.
5. **Young Lion Dancers:** Classic lion dance performances take turns, with golden lions leaping and drums roaring, full of the festive atmosphere of Chinese New Year.
6. **Intangible Cultural Heritage Carnival:** Traditional activities like Yingge Dance and God Parades are lively, with red ribbons flying and crowds cheering, experiencing the richest Lingnan New Year's spirit.
🌟 Must-Experience Highlights
- **Vintage Tram:** No need to go to Hong Kong, you can ride a retro ding-ding tram through the old arcade streets. With the breeze on your face, it feels like traveling back to the prosperous years a century ago.
- **Oar Boat:** Sit on a gently swaying boat and admire the scenery along the river. The gentle tranquility of the waterside is fully captured, making for very poetic photos.
- **Fish Lantern Street:** The Fish Lantern Street at night is full of atmosphere. Various fish lanterns illuminate the alleys, and every casual shot is an atmospheric masterpiece, perfectly suited for traditional Chinese attire.
🍲 Authentic Food List
- **Claypot Rice cooked over wood fire:** Crispy rice crust, distinct grains of rice, paired with fresh ingredients – incredibly satisfying with every bite.
- **Tofu Corner:** Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, dipped in a special sauce, it's a unique and savory snack from Kaiping.
- **Special Sweet Soup:** Sweet and refreshing, perfect for cooling down. Have a bowl when you're tired from walking; it's heartwarming and comforting, experiencing the sweet flavors of Lingnan.