If you look for a city in Southern China for relaxation, away from the tourist crowd, you may want to come to Zhuhai.
Bordering Macau to the South, Zhuhai was named among the earliest Special Economic Zones in China in the 70s. But its development has been slow compared to Shenzhen, another Southern China city, just across the border from Hong Kong. The fact that its main avenue Lovers Road surprisingly does not have busy traffic says a lot about the city.
And that is why I find the city laidback and calm. It has a beautiful and long waterfront along the Lovers Road. In the morning, you only see a few locals exercising here. Don’t the Zhuhai people like exercising? If it is in Hangzhou or Guangzhou, the waterfront in the morning would be teeming with people jogging, playing Taichi or doing all sorts of exerecises. Not in Zhuhai.
The city has newly developed a Yeli Island (野狸島), which is named Mingting Park (名亭公園), near the Xiangzhou Fishing Port, and across from the Lovers Road Central. The island park is open to the public for free. Though nothing much to see on the island, strolling around is surely relaxing, with some nice sea view to appreciate.
