Zhuhai Adventures

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Although there are many, many cars in and around both our little town of Tangjia and the bigger city of Zhuhai, few of our friends or colleagues actually own or use a car. The public transport network in China is excellent. Buses cost 1 yuan wherever you want to go, which is 10p – and as everyone has the Alipay or WeChat App- one quick swipe of the QR code as you board the bus is no inconvenience at all. When we have visitors we save up our 1 yuan notes and then all they have to do is squash them into the Perspex box next to the driver, they are worth so little I swear that you could post any paper into this box and the driver would not look twice!
The bus service also works very well in conjunction with another travel App – called Amap. Although primarily a mapping service, this App is like google maps and will find routes for you. When you choose your preference for transport AMap will tell you how long it will take, how far it is and, specifically for buses, which buses will get you there. If you are using this on a bus, and like me, you are totally new to the area, you can activate the live voice which literally tells you (in an American accent) which stop you are at, how many there are to go, whether you need to change buses and which ‘station’ to get off at. I have used this facility many times and it gives me great confidence and means that I have dared to go quite some distances on the bus. I particularly like travelling this way as I love feeling like I am part of the Chinese population, people are friendly and curious and I often get chatting, or miming. I also like being seated high up to see the terrain as we travel along and have really managed to map out our locale this way. I can confidently get to all of the main shopping areas, the museums and galleries, the massive American store Sam’s Club, as well the Zhuhai Ferry Port to Hong Kong, Zhuhai railway station and the pedestrian border crossing to Macau. All for just 10p a go!
However, Didi-s are also excellent, this is controlled by another App naturally and works like Uber. You can choose how you want to travel, whether cheaply in a Basic car, quickly in an Express or in comfort and style with a more glamorous vehicle. We usually choose a compromise which is comfortable and cheap. Some of our longer journeys to the border are about 30 km away and in the rush hour can take 50 minutes but cost as little as £4.00. Rob’s regular journey to BNBU University is a 20-minute journey and usually costs about £2.00, although there are free buses every morning and some in the evening and he uses these whenever possible. Everybody uses the Didi system for a lot of journeys, it is so cost effective and easy, no parking, no hassle. We were also introduced to a private car service when we first arrived, the owner is Charlie and he speaks English and when we arrived and couldn’t use Wechat or Alipay and only had cash, Charlie would take cash and we could talk to him which was a huge bonus. Charlie is a lovely man he learnt English just through giving lifts to foreigners settling in Zhuhai, he has lived here all of his life and rarely travels for anything but work. His mother is old and lives in Guangzhou and he occasionally visits her on high days and holidays. He once went to Guilin but that was also with a customer and was an 8-hour journey. When we need someone really reliable, we call Charlie. He has picked up all of our visitors from the border and will take the most attractive route home to show them the beautiful Zhuhai seafront. Charlie has taken us to BNBU when we had a lot of performance materials to shift and driven us to Sam’s Club when we had a huge shop to do, and if he can’t make it Charlie will send his nephew or a friend.
Many Didi-s are electric, but not all drivers here have made the switch yet. About 90% of cars in our region are very new, very swanky and up to date. Car manufacture is one of China’s leading industries they produce one third of the worlds’ cars and have held this top spot for over 16 years. China creates 70% of EV’s globally too. In Horizon Cove we walk past the car parking area every day to the gate and pass the most ridiculously extravagant cars whether huge SUVs or MPV’s or simply low-lying soft top sports cars.
I think our favourite mode of transport has got to be the ‘App bikes’. Like ‘Lime’ bikes in the UK different Apps will allow us to pick up differing-coloured bikes. The ‘Metuan’ App gets you a yellow bike and the ‘Hello Ride’ a blue, or pink…my favourite as they are the newest. Once you have scanned the bike’s QR code, you hear a buzz as the bike is unlocked, and a little squeaky voice says ‘Hello Ride’ …adjust the seat height and you’re off. These bikes are really well engineered, they are rheavy but you don’t realise this until you need to lift one on to a pavement…they are so easy to pedal – and although they don’t have gears it seems like they do as pedaling up hill is not a problem, well maybe just a small hill! We are also encouraged to cycle because there are purpose-built bike lanes everywhere. I haven’t come across a road yet without at least a small cordoned off bike path beside it…and most roads have large bike ‘roads’ and a wide grassed curb separating you from the rest of the traffic. You feel perfectly safe from passing cars, trucks, buses etc. The same cannot be said about passing mopeds, electric bikes and scooters, motorbikes and three wheeled service vehicles. All of these means of transport are supposed to use the road, but don’t. Silent electric mopeds swoop past alarmingly close and at great speed, often they will give you a warning beep, but this just manages to get my heart racing and I have been known to scream quite loudly when startled by a loud beep! Now that we have become familiar with the local roads and bike paths, we avoid the busiest- or really take care and then use the quieter byways. Often on a sunny Sunday afternoon we will cycle out to Gree Coast where a beautiful marine park fringes a 5 km stretch of the sea, here the bike path is really wide and safe. The views are fantastic as we cycle next to the South China Sea looking out toward many islands and the Hong Kong bridge. This area is inevitably filled with Chinese families at the weekend enjoying what they consider cooler weather, but which is really UK summer temperatures. Everyone here lives in a high-rise apartment with no garden and to mitigate this the Chinese Government provide many, many beautiful outdoor spaces for their citizens to chill and have family time. It’s so lovely to watch the many picnics, karaoke, parties, events, games and other leisure activities that take place here, as we cycle along.
We have some other favourite destinations too. There is the Honghua mountain walk. It is an 8km cycle along the coast path and then you can park the bike and walk up the mountain into the forest and down toward the river and waterfalls which are very beautiful.
If we carry on cycling up the coastal path we come to The Station a French Bistro and Craft Beer House, owned by Hubert ( who I think I’ve mentioned in a previous blog ) we have done this route a few times – it’s about 10 km from home and a great excuse to have lunch out – the restaurant has a beautiful view of the beach and the Zhuhai Opera House.
One lovely sunny Sunday I am bored and Rob is busy planning and marking work. I take off on a ‘Hello Bike’ to find a place marked on AMaps as Huitong Ancient Village about 15km away. There are bike lanes all the way- some shaded by the ubiquitous banyan trees and some running alongside the busy main arterial roads around Zhuhai. There are moments when I find myself in a new-build area following temporary bike pathways, bypassing building works (there are always new buildings going up in Zhuhai). Then suddenly I am on the edge of town, there are mountains and forests and everything begins to look really familiar. Isn’t that the back gateway to our University? I take a picture to send it to Rob – yes this ancient village is right next to the University and we had not a clue! After exploring this ancient village, which looks a lot like a very small version of our own Tangjia town, I relax with an ice cream on the grass, do some sketching, and … I have to admit I take a Didi home, it is very hot!
On the Full Moon holiday in October Rob and I decided to cycle to Qi’ao island right next to our local section of the coast. Stopping on the suspension bridge across the causeway we see the full moon in all its glory hanging huge and low over the sparkling sea. We are not alone and cars begin to park haphazardly along the road with people hopping out to take selfies or to stand their children on the wall for a Full Moon holiday shot. On the island we head for the beach where there are already lots of people gathered enjoying food offered by the vendors that line the park there. The beach here is pitiful and despite the fact that it is a holiday and an obvious destination for visitors there are diggers on the sand clearing boulders after a recent typhoon. We take more photos and as the sun begins to set head home.
The last big adventure we have had on bikes is with a young Chinese friend of ours, we have been planning to cycle a section of the Coastal path from Gree to Zhuhai Port- about 20 km each way. It’s a beautiful sunny day – but not silly hot – just in the high 20’s! Although we set off early it is still busy as it’s Saturday and this coast is a ‘headlining’ leisure destination for people living outside of the region. Families come en-masse, putting up tents, getting the BBQ’s out and setting up camps for a day on the beach or in one of the stunning coastal parks. Once here they enjoy cycling, roller skating, flying kites, radio controlled aircraft and cars and playing with drones. We are soon navigating through Chinese families and flying up the bike path toward Zhuhai. There are one or two heart-stopping moments when our friend turns to talk to us and just misses colliding with a moped delivery driver…but apart from this it all goes well. We stop at a favourite coffee spot ‘Arto’ and sun ourselves in the park outside the café. Then we are off again and it is starting to get seriously busy around the bridges across to the Opera House and through the promenades of the Yu Nu. Now we are rounding the promontory and find ourselves on an empty bike path, we arrive at the Zhuhai lighthouse and find space on a Gaudi-inspired mosaic bench to eat a packed lunch in the shade of the banyan trees. This is a new area to us; it is much more built-up and touristy then our end of town. Huge ostentatious hotels line the beach front; there is a small funfair and even ‘banana’ boat rides off the coast – but the banana is actually Pikachu the Pokémon. On the lighthouse promenade you can take a selfie through a flower adorned frame that tells you ‘this is the cementation of your love!’
Just a few kilometres on we come to the end of our ride next to the ferry terminal. We can see the Zhuhai Port building from here and much of the Hong Kong bridge, which is truly spectacular at 35 kilometres long, including two artificial islands and a tunnel and built in only 7 years.
Then it is time to head home. We celebrate the end of the ride by drinking a cold lemon and passion fruit tea on the beach at my favourite beach snack-shack. We part ways here with our friend who lives on Gree Coast and we turn into town. It’s a wonderful way to travel.