Things to do in Huizhou
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Huizhou
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months, dry and warm with clear hiking weather, and November is the best all round month.
The second window, mild and green, though March and April can be damp and misty on the coast.
Lychee season and Dragon Boat racing on the Dongjiang, but humid with rain and early typhoon risk.
Worst for crowds, heat and typhoons, and best only for the sea and resort pools.
Typhoon risk early, then late September is a sweet spot of warm sea and thinning crowds.
Cool, dry and quiet, with the sea too cold for most swimming and hot springs at their best.
What's on
- Dragon Boat Festival races on the Dongjiang 5th day of the 5th lunar month, usually June
Dragon boat racing on the Dongjiang River in Huicheng for the Duanwu Festival.
- Lychee season and orchard picking June to early July
Fresh lychees and picking orchards around Luofu Mountain and in Huidong at peak fruit season.
- Spring Festival lanterns at West Lake Chinese New Year, January or February
Lantern displays at West Lake and heritage fairs on Shuidong Street for the New Year holiday.
- Mid-Autumn Festival at West Lake 15th day of the 8th lunar month, usually September or October
Moon watching over West Lake with Sizhou Pagoda lit, packed with local families.
- Double Ninth Festival mountain climbing 9th day of the 9th lunar month, usually October
The traditional climbing festival fills the Luofu Mountain and Nankunshan trails with local hikers.
- Golden Week 1-7 October
National Day holiday week when the coast road, both bays and Luofu Mountain jam and hotel prices peak.
Best things to do in Huizhou
Huizhou West Lake
A free linked lake park of causeways and nine bridges, best early in the morning or lit up at night.
Su Dongpo Memorial Hall
The memorial to Su Shi on Gushan island, with calligraphy and poetry steles from his Huizhou exile.
Sizhou Pagoda
The seven storey lake landmark tower, climbed for the panorama over half mountain and half lake Huizhou.
Yuanmiao Temple
A working Taoist temple founded in 748 on the north shore of West Lake, heavy with incense.
Hejiang Tower
A famous Lingnan river tower above the Dongjiang confluence, with views over the old town skyline.
Shuidong Street
The old arcade lined river port street, now the best snack and small shop stroll in the old city.
Huizhou Museum
A free municipal museum covering Huizhou from prehistoric pottery to Hakka folk culture in Jiangbei.
Huizhou Old Town City Walk
A guided walk linking Hejiang Tower, Shuidong Street, the Dongpo Temple and Yedao, ending in Hakka dinner.
Where to stay in Huizhou
Huicheng, West Lake and Jiangbei
lake, old town and first trip base
Walkable to West Lake and Shuidong Street, with the museum, malls and Luofu day trips in reach.
Xunliao Bay and Xiaojing Bay, Daya Bay
serviced beach resort stay
The closest quality sand to Shenzhen, with full resorts, water sports and Aotou seafood nearby.
Shuangyue Bay, Huidong
twin bays, turtles and sunrise
Base for the viewing platform, Sea Turtle Bay and Pinghai Ancient City, worth at least two nights.
Nankunshan and Longmen
forest and hot springs
Tour the forest park by day and soak by night, in a self contained mountain overnight base.
Think twice about
- Daya Bay petrochemical shore near Aotou
A working petrochemical coast with refinery air complaints. Sleep on the Xiaojing Bay and eastern shore instead.
- Danshui, Huiyang
A sprawling commuter district close to neither West Lake nor a good beach, with no visitor character.
- Shuangyue Bay off-season apartment clusters
Whole developments go dark midweek off season with no open restaurants or taxis. Choose Pinghai town or a named hotel.
Best restaurants in Huizhou
Wan Li Restaurant
The Renaissance Chinese dining room for refined Dongjiang and Cantonese banquets in the city.
Le Mei Chinese Restaurant
Refined Cantonese and seafood at Le Meridien, the fine dining heart of the Daya Bay resort strip.
Yuzu Japanese Grill
A Japanese grill heading the local fine dining lists, and the variety night on a longer city stay.
YongAn KeJia Wang
The named Hakka benchmark on Maidi South Road for salt baked chicken, stuffed tofu and Meicai pork.
Bohemia Restaurant & Bar Silver Beach
The Daya Bay expat hub at Silver Beach for international bar food, pizza and drinks by the sea.
Jojo's Cafe & Bar
An American style cafe bar in Daya Bay for pizza and cafe food, sociable by day and a bar by night.
Jinxing Seafood Restaurant
The locals seafood table at Double Moon Bay, known for mustard shrimp and market fresh fish.
A Ma Jiao
Huizhou specialty fried snacks by West Lake, the heart of a cheap Shuidong Street grazing crawl.
Outdoor things to do in Huizhou
Luofu Mountain Scenic Area
A sacred Taoist mountain of 432 peaks, climbed by cable car and trail to the 1296 metre Feiyun Peak.
Nankunshan National Forest Park
Dense subtropical forest in Longmen with Chuanlong Waterfall, the Shihe Wonder canyon and Paradise Peak.
Cloud Nine Hot Spring
A certified natural hot spring resort in forest at the foot of Nankunshan, with landscaped soaking pools.
Honghua Lake
An 18 kilometre greenway rings this city lake, about two hours by rented bike from the East Gate.
Xiaoxingshan Island
Shallow clear reef water reached by speedboat, the most beginner friendly snorkelling in Huizhou.
Xunliao Bay
The developed resort bay for jet ski, parasailing and surf lessons, on a long sheltered white sand arc.
Huizhou Palm Island Golf Resort
A lake and course golf resort inland that hosts hundreds of tournaments a year for the weekend market.
Yanzhou Island
A fishing island of mangrove flats and windmill hills, reached by bridge and best explored by electric bike.
Best hotels in Huizhou
Kande International Hotel Huizhou
The classic lake edge five star in Huicheng, with lake view rooms a short walk from West Lake.
Renaissance Huizhou Hotel
The full service Marriott flag in Jiangbei, with three restaurants and brand standard English service.
Pullman Huizhou Kaisa
A mid priced Huicheng hotel that behaves like luxury, with poolside bar, sauna and tennis at Kaisa Plaza.
West Lake Garden Hotel
The long running budget favourite on the West Lake ring, by the Shuidong Street food area.
Jinjiang Inn Style Huizhou Xihu Park Pedestrian Street
Rock bottom chain reliability a few minutes from West Lake, in a street of budget options.
Le Meridien Xiaojing Bay
A large sea view resort on Xiaojing Bay beach, the default luxury weekend base from Shenzhen.
Sheraton Huizhou Beach Resort
The flagship beachfront resort on Xunliao Bay, with pools and the bay sunset aspect for families.
Country Garden Silver Beach Hotel
The practical mid range family resort at Ten Mile Silver Beach, with beach access and pools.
Is Huizhou expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥300 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥650 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥1,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Huizhou Old Town City Walk: a few days ahead
- Sea Turtle Bay: a few days ahead
- Cloud Nine Hot Spring: a few days ahead
- Xiaoxingshan Island: a few days ahead
- Huizhou Palm Island Golf Resort: a few days ahead
- Le Meridien Xiaojing Bay: a few days ahead
- Sheraton Huizhou Beach Resort: a few days ahead
- Dusit Thani Sandalwoods Resort Shuangyue Bay Huizhou: a few days ahead
- Book coast hotels weeks ahead for Fridays, holiday eves and Golden Week, when prices multiply.
- Buy Sea Turtle Bay entry early in peak season and take the morning slot.
- Arrive at Luofu Mountain at opening on clear autumn weekends to beat the cable car queue.
- Book Nankunshan soak included packages and weekend golf tee times days ahead.
Is Huizhou safe?
- Typhoons from June to October close beaches, boats, cable cars and trails at short notice, so obey closures.
- Swim only in netted and lifeguarded resort zones and keep off basalt reefs in swell.
- Sightsee early and late from May to September because heat and shadeless stretches are the main strain.
- Emergency numbers in China are 110 for police, 120 for ambulance and 119 for fire.
Huizhou travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Huizhou West Lake is not Hangzhou West Lake, so judge it as a smaller and more local lake.
- Sea view apartment listings at the bays can switch towers on arrival, so confirm the exact tower in writing.
- Agree seafood weight, price per jin and cooking fee before anything is cooked, and photograph the scale.
- Half of Shuidong Street is a modern rebuild, so treat it as a snack stroll plus Hejiang Tower.
Getting around Huizhou: public transport and more
- Huizhou has no metro, so combine high-speed rail with Didi, taxis and chartered cars.
- Do not confuse Huizhou Station with Huizhou South Station in Huiyang, about an hour from West Lake.
- Huidong Station is the railhead for the bays but still 30 to 40 km from the sand, so pre-book transfers.
- West Lake to Shuangyue Bay is about 90 km and can exceed two hours each way on holidays.
Who Huizhou suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Huizhou your trip
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