Zhuhai : Overview

Zhuhai is a prefecture-level city on the southern coast of Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in the Pearl River Delta, Zhuhai borders Jiangmen to the northwest, Zhongshan to the north, and Macau to the south. Zhuhai was one of the original Special Economic Zones established in the 1980s.

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Zhuhai administers 3 county-level divisions, all of which are districts

    * Xiangzhou District
    * Doumen District
    * Jinwan District

Geography

Zhuhai borders the Macau Special Administrative Region (north and west), and 140 km southwest of Guangzhou. Its territory counts 146 islands and a coastline of 690 km.

Economy

Zhuhai became an independent city in 1979, a year before it was named as one of the first Special Economic Zones (SEZ). The neighboring city of Shenzhen became the first Special Economy Zone in 1978. The implementation of this policy is logical as Zhuhai is located on the strategic position facing Macau, in the identical fashion to the Shenzhen SEZ facing to Hong Kong. This enabled the Chinese Central Government to open another "window" in front of Macau. Even though the city find its place at the southern end of the Pearl River Delta area, Zhuhai is granted to act as one of the central cities in the Pearl River Delta according to the new general urban plan approved by the State Council. The implementation of Special Economy Zone means that the city will grow as a powerful modern port city, science and education city, scenic and tourism city, and as a regional hub for transportation.

The outstanding geographic location, a wide range of supporting infrastructures and a deep-water port serve as a big magnet for foreign capital. Indeed, the utilized foreign investment reached US$ 0.94 billion in 2002. Among the top 500 enterprises worldwide, 19 of them have investment projects in Zhuhai such as EssoMobil, British Petroleum, Siemens, Carrefour and Matsushita. Hong Kong is still the largest foreign investor in Zhuhai accounting for 22% of total utilized foreign investment in 2002.

Manufacturing industries

Industrial development in Zhuhai focuses on 5 new high-tech and heavy industries including electronics, computer software, biotechnology and pharmacy, machinery and equipment as well as petrochemical industries. Aiming to strengthen the existing industrial base as well as to provide a better environment for the development of new high-tech industries, the local government has taken the initiative in developing five economic zones:

    * Zhuhai High-Tech Industrial Development Zone
    * Zhuhai free trade zone
    * Harbour industrial zone (provincial level)
    * Wanshan ocean development testing zone (provincial level)
    * Heng Qin economic development zone (provincial level)

Transportation

Air

Zhuhai International Airport (IATA: ZGSD, ICAO: ZUH) is located in Doumen District.

Land

At present, there is an expressway linking Zhuhai and Foshan. Heavy traffic between Zhuhai and Macau has led to the construction of a new cross-border corridor, the Lotus Bridge, built in November 1999 to divert traffic away from the congested Gongbei gate. As part of the Pearl River Delta integration, a Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge is projected.

Sea

An attractive and clean environment and good deep-port condition are advantages of Zhuhai. Endowed by a long coastline, Zhuhai is the only city on the western Pearl River Delta with natural deep-water ports.

Zhuhai has two international seaports: Jiuzhou and Gaolan. Gaolan Port is one of the leading ports in Guangdong Province, while Jiuzhou Port focuses on enormous passenger sea transport.

Chu Kong Passenger Transport operates a ferry service between Zhuhai's Jiuzhou Port and Hong Kong. A service between Jiuzhou Port and Hong Kong International Airport for air passengers using the airport began on 10 July 2007.

Tourism

The attractive environment and natural landscapes win Zhuhai the reputation of a garden city and a model city of best living environment. In 2002, the city attracted 1.3 million international tourists and 3.64 million domestic tourists. Following Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Zhuhai is the third city in Guangdong province earning the largest foreign exchange from international tourism, which amounted to US$ 0.5 billion in 2002.

Realizing the substantial benefits brought by tourism, the local government is restlessly improving the existing tourist spots and exploring more new tourist resources. The local government is particularly looking for new tourist spots such as Hengqin, Dong'ao , Hebao, Qi'ao and Yeli.

Highlights

    * The New Yuan Ming Palace is a park of 1.39 km2, including an 80,000 m2 lake. It features a partial reconstruction of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, destroyed in 1860 by French and British troops during the second Opium War, and never rebuilt on its original site.

Education

Strategic development

Developing a university park is Zhuhai's strategy to strength its high-tech and IT industries. Compared with Beijing and Shanghai, Zhuhai and other cities in Guangdong province face a serious shortage of talents and professionals that will undermine Zhuhai's strategy to develop new high-tech industries. The local government takes a major initiative to set up a university park with an area of 20 km2, the only one in the western Pearl River Delta.

Colleges and universities

    * Zhuhai College of Jinan University
    * Zhuhai College of Beijing Normal University
    * Zhuhai College of Beijing Institute of Technology
    * Zhuhai Campus of Sun Yat-Sen University
    * Zhuhai College of Jilin University
    * Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College

A number of other colleges and universities are also located in or near Zhuhai. The Zhuhai College of Beijing Normal University referred to above (officially named Beijing Normal University Zhuhai Campus) was created as a new model of university in China and comprises a number of independent colleges. The entrance mark required (558 in 2006) is lower than that of Beijing Normal University (Beijing) and the degree awarded is not of the same status.

Sports facilities

Zhuhai is the first city in China to have constructed a motor racing circuit. The Zhuhai International Circuit was built in 1996 and is located at Jinding, near the border to Zhongshan.

ZIC has held the BPR Global GT Endurance Series in 1996, the FIA GT Championship in 1997, 1999, 2004 and 2005. It hosted the championship's 2007 opening round on 24th and 25th March.

ZIC was supposed to host a round of the Champ Car World Series on 20 May 2007, but agreement was not reached.

ZIC has held A1GP race in 2007 for the first time in series' history.

Residential environment

Zhuhai's international accolades include "the Best Model of International Residential Environment Improvement" awarded by the United Nations.

Sister city

Zhuhai is a sister city of:

    * Flag of Canada Canada: Surrey, British Columbia
    * Flag of the United States United States: Redwood City, California

Economy

Economically, it is one of the fastest growing cities in China due to its SEZ status, superb location at the Pearl River Delta and close proximity to Asia's economic powerhouse Hong Kong as well as Macau where most of the investments are pouring in from. However, it is still lagging behind neighbouring cities like Shenzhen and Dongguan.

Ecology

Zhuhai is one of China's cleanest and prettiest cities, and received numerous accolades for its excellent ecological development effort. In 1998, it was given the International Award for Best Practices in Improving Living Environment by the United Nations Center for Human Settlements. It is also commonly agreed to be one of the best cities in China to retire in.

Climate

The weather in Zhuhai is sub-tropical. Temperature varies between 10C/50F degrees in winter (Dec to Feb) to a hot and humid 35C/95F degrees in summer (Jun to Sep). Typhoons are also a possibility in summer. The best times to visit are spring and fall.

Districts

From North to South:

    * Jinding (Jīn-Dǐng) - a village whose main attraction is an excellent Pizza place run by an Englishman - reached via 3, 10 or sightseeing bus.

    * Tangjiawan (Táng-Jiā-Wān) - a moderate size town with good street food late at night.

    * Xiangzhou (Xiāng-Zhōu) - government offices, several big department stores, some bars and restaurants; residential districts are where the locals mainly go shopping.

    * Jida (Jí-Dà ) - has lots of offices, high end hotels and shopping complexes.

    * Gongbei (Gǒng-Běi) - the main tourist area with cheap hotels, lots of cheap clothing, electronics, souvenirs, walking street (Bù-Xíng-Jiē) and bar street (Jiǔ-Bā-Jiē), and at the southern edge an underground shopping center and the Macau border.

    * Wanzai - has a ferry station to Macau and a seafood street.

    * Doumen (Dǒu-Mén) - in the West; the local airport is here, also hot spring areas.

The city itself is Gongbei, Jida and Xiangzhou. The other districts are suburbs within the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone.

Get in

VISA

    A visa is required to enter China. For most passports, it can be applied for in Hong Kong or Macau, and takes only 1 day. Alternatively, have it done at the Chinese Embassy in your home country. The only exception is for visitors from Singapore, Brunei and Japan, who can enter China without a visa and stay for up to 15 days.

By plane

Zhuhai Airport (IATA: ZUH), a moderately sized modern airport, connects the area with many Chinese cities, but not many international destinations. It is located West of downtown in the Doumen district. Budget carrier Spring Airlines flies here daily from Shanghai.

To reach Zhuhai from outside China, fly to Hong Kong, Macau or Guangzhou. All have large modern airports with many international connections and all are within an hour or two of Zhuhai.

From the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (IATA: CAN), an express bus service that goes to Zhuhai is available. Costs ￥90 and takes approximately 2.5 hours.

From the Macau International Airport (IATA: MFM), the best way to get to Zhuhai is via the Express Link service, skipping the Macau immigration and customs altogether. Once you get off your flight, instead of going through immigration, look for the Express Link (China) sign and follow it. This will lead you past a transit security scan station where you must pick up an Express Link card, and upstairs into the departure hall. Go to the ticket counter at Gate 8, present your card and buy a ticket for the coach that goes to the Gongbei border (past Macau, before Zhuhai). The coach fare is ￥52 and the ride takes only 15 minutes.

    * Coach departure times are 1100h 1130h 1200h 1230h 1300h 1445h 1700h 1730h 1800h and 1845h.

    * If you need to check in any bags for your flight, remember to have them "blue tagged" during your flight check-in for this Express Link service. The blue tag is not a necessity, merely a convenience. Present your luggage tags at the coach ticket counter and pick up your bags at the bus bay later.

    * The option to skip the Macau immigration is not available on the return. Allocate *lots* of time for immigration for the trip back, especially at the China end on a weekend, which can easily take more than an hour unless you have access to the Diplomat queue. Starting off at the Zhuhai border 3 hours before your flight departure time would be a good idea. Anything less is a big risk. Once out of the China customs (before entering Macau), there is a little ticket booth to the left where you can get a shuttle bus ticket to the airport for ￥35. The buses will be waiting on the left once you leave the Macau immigration hall. They run at 10 minute intervals.

From Hong Kong International Airport (IATA: HKG) [6], one option is to take the Airport Express to the Kowloon station (at the cost of 90 HKD), then hop on the free Airport Express transit bus K2 to the China-Hong Kong Ferry Terminal and finally take a ferry to Zhuhai. See below for ferry timetable.

Another option is to catch a ferry from the HKIA Skypier directly to Macau and cross into Zhuhai via the Gongbei border gate. Immigration and custom procedures can be skipped at the Hong Kong end. Full instructions can be found at here. The ferry journey takes about 50 mins and runs hourly (usually).

A third option from HKIA is now available in the form of long-distance buses that go overland to Gongbei. The journey takes 3.5 hours and costs 200HKD. Departure times are 0700h 0800h 1400h 1500h 1700h and 1900h.

Just introduced is a ferry service (twice daily for now) that brings travellers directly from HKIA to the Jiuzhou Port in Zhuhai. The ferry leaves at 1115h and 1700h. The one from Zhuhai to HKIA leaves at 0930h and 1530h. The trip takes approximately 50 minutes.

By boat

From Hong Kong
Ferry Timetable Hong Kong - Zhuhai (Departing from) Shekou Ferry
Terminal  China Ferry
Terminal  HK-Macau Ferry
Terminal  Tuen Mun
Ferry Pier  HKIA Skypier
Every 30 mins
from 07:30 to 20:30
except no 5:30 or
6:00 but a 5:45 07:30  08:40  07:45  11:15
08:30  10:30
09:30  12:30  10:15  17:00
11:30  14:30
13:30  16:30
15:30  19:30
17:30  21:30

There are several ferries per day from Hong Kong International Airport, HK-Macau Ferry Terminal (Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong), China Ferry Terminal (Kowloon, Hong Kong) and Shekou Ferry Terminal(Shekou, Shenzhen) arriving at the Zhuhai Jiu Zhou Ferry Terminal. There is a taxi rank and bus stops directly outside. Visas can be purchased here for most nationalities (not American citizens). Attention: The ferry service from Tuen Mun has been suspended in October 2007 !

From Macau There is a ferry service operating from Macau's Inner Harbour's Pier 14 ("Yuetong Pier") to Wanzai. Daily departures from Macau at 8:00, 8:45, 9:45, 10:15, 10:45, 11:15, 13:00, 13:45, 14:15, 14:45, 15:15, 15:45, 16:15. Return trip from Wanzai to Macau usually 15-30 minutes after these times.

By car

It is possible to drive across the border from Macau. Note that, unlike Macau, China drives on the right.

By bus

Hundreds of buses come from Guangzhou every day, usually via the Jingzhu (Beijing-Zhuhai) Highway. You can catch one at:

    * China (Marriott) Hotel
    * Guangzhou Baiyun Airport just inside the Arrival Hall
    * Garden Hotel
    * Provincial bus station
    * Tianhe Dasha bus station
    * Liuhua bus station directly opposite the provincial train station

...just to name a few. From any of these, the trip will cost ￥60 to ￥65 and take about 2.5 hours. Buses leave every half hour and go to Gongbei. Along the way, they usually make a stop at Xiangzhou (Xiāng-Zhōu) and Suidaonan (Suì-Dào-Nán).

Zhuhai has several bus stations:

    * One is underground, accessed from the lower level of the underground shopping centre at the Macau border.

    * The main Gongbei bus station is off to your right as you leave the underground shopping center by the Northeast Exit.

    * Xiangzhou also has a large intercity bus station. Take #2 or #10 city bus to reach it from Gongbei.

On foot

You can walk across the border from Macau at Gongbei. The border is open 7:00 am - 12:00 midnight.

An alternative crossing is via the Lotus Bridge in Macau's Cotai area to the island of Hengqin. This border crossing point is open 8:00 am - 8:00 pm only. After crossing the Macau side, take a shuttle bus across the bridge to the China side (fare RMB 3, no change given so carry the exact amount). From the Hengqin side of the border take bus number 14 to Xiangzhou, or catch one of the Kee Kwan air-conditioned minibuses to Wanzai or Gongbei (5 RMB).

Get around

Zhuhai is quite spread out. The terrain is coastal plain broken up by mountains or, seen from the sea, a series of bays and headlands. There are many clumps of development separated by hills, often parkland.

    * Within any district, you can walk or take a taxi from ￥10.

    * To move between districts, use buses. These are ￥1 to ￥3, depending how far they go and whether they are air-conditioned.

    * The double decker sightseeing bus bus goes to most areas between Gongbei and Jinding for ￥3. Padded seats and good air conditioning make it a lot more comfortable than city buses for long trips. Last run is at about 7pm.

Talk

Cantonese is the indigenous language of Zhuhai, it being a part of the Guangdong province. Nevertheless, due to the massive influx of immigrants from other parts of China over the last two decades, Mandarin is now considered the lingua franca. English is not well understood here.

See

    * 8.7m tall Fisher Girl statue (Yú-Nǚ), the city's symbol, along Lovers' Road (Qíng-Lǚ-Lù). Take the sightseeing, 9 or 99 bus.

    * Take a walk along the coastline by Lovers' Road. Majestic view of the Macau skyline across the border, but the sea tends to be brown and muddy most of the time.

    * Swimming and sunbathing on the beach of several islands (50 mins by boat from Zhuhai).

    * Pearl Land (Zhēn-Zhū-Lè-Yuán), an amusement park in excess of 40,000 sqm on the coastal road north of town, near the Zhuhai International Circuit. Entrance fee is ￥60 for adults and ￥30 for children under the height of 1.4m. Take the sightseeing, 3, 10, 68 or 69 bus.

    * An amusement park to the west of town.

    * The New Yuanming Palace (Yuan Ming Xin Yuan ) is located at foot of Big Shilin Mountain of Jiuzhou Road,to the northwest of Zhuhai City. The New Palace is an immitation of the Yuanming Palace in Beijing and it covers an area of 1.39 square KM. Inside the park there is also 80,000 square metres of lake and along the lakeside there are many opportunities to hire motor boats and pedelos. The Park has many attractions from ancient Emperor's artifacts and clothes to floating restaurants and traditional Chinese architecture. It offers amazing photo opportunities with the mountains as a backdrop and there are many little pagodas to distract your attention. In the evening, at the Northern side of the park, there are impressive stage shows depicting traditional Chinese dances and stories in a Broadway style musical presentation. A must see. Also, in the Northern most part of the park there is a sea-battle re-enactment using real boats, explosions and also a troop of calvalry to add to the realism. These shows are included in the entrance fee although premium tickets for good seats can be purchased for ￥5. On exit you also have the opportunity to dress in the Emperor's clothes and have your picture taken for ￥40. You are allowed to take the pictures with your own camera. The photographers charge very expensively for a printed and framed copy of your picture. Don't buy it if you feel it's not worth it. Entrance to the park is ￥100 before 18:30 and ￥60 thereafter. The Park closes at 23:00. A 15 minute bus ride from GongBei Lu. Take bus 1, 25, 30, or 60.

Do

Motorsports

Go to the Zhuhai International Circuit where you can:

    * Watch and enjoy the atmosphere of international auto and motorcycle racing which includes the FIA GT Championship, Champ Car World Series, Asian Formula 3 Series, Asian Festival of Speed and ZIC's very own Pan Delta Super Racing Festival.

    * Receive expert instruction and spend a half hour on the actual race course in a formula car for $1500 HKD.

    * Rent go carts and motorcycles for use on a separate track.

    * Take the ride of a lifetime by buckling up on board Asia's one-and-only 2-seater formula car while ably driven by an ART Motorsports professional racing driver. Enjoy the ride for a few laps or for a group of friends, share a full 30-minute session at 2-3 laps each.

Golf

There are several golf courses in the area. These are popular with Hong Kong players who come on weekends as they are cheaper and less crowded than those in Hong Kong. For more details see Golf in China. There is also a driving range in Jida, use the number four bus.

Learn

    * Beijing Normal U and Beijing Institute of Technology, on a side road just before Jinding, 69 bus from town or 70 from Jinding. Also United International College, a private university jointly run by Hong Kong Baptist University and Beijing Normal University, teaching entirely in English.

    * Harbin Institute of Technology and Zhong Shan U, on main coast road North of town: 3, 10, 69 or sightseeing bus.

    * Several universities West of town, towards Doumen.

Buy

The legal tender is the Chinese Yuan, also called Renminbi (RMB) or people's money. Hong Kong Dollars and Macau Patacas (MOP) used to enjoy a one-to-one exchange rate with the RMB, but with the RMB's appreciation in value over the last few years, they are either no longer accepted or accepted by converting from RMB according to the current rate (currently, July 2007, RMB100=MOP105).

ATM machines are plentiful usually at banks. If you have a "western" ATM card, use an international bank like "Bank of China" or HSBC, etc. Chinese banks don't always recognize "western" ATM cards even if it shows the correct system affiliation.

Cash is king; however, credit cards are accepted in some surprising places. You may have to ask to use a credit card. Don't be surprised if the proprietor goes down to street to use a credit card machine. Shops are sometimes owned by the same family and they share the credit card machine. Expect to pay a rate based on Hong Kong dollars rather than RMB. This goes for Macau too.

The official receipt issued by merchants in China (for the purpose of tax collection by the government) is called Fa Piao (Fā-Piào). Always ask for one if you need to declare your expenses. They are available from hotels, taxis and restaurants etc.

At the border

There is a huge underground shopping complex (Gǒng-Běi-Dì-Xià-Guǎng-Chǎng) right at the Macau border in Gongbei. In the picture, the entire open concrete area has two floors of shops under it. There are several hundred shops, many with goods targeted to tourists - clothing and shoes, jade and other jewellery, crafts including a lot of Tibetan stuff, consumer electronics, and so on.

There are also many CDs and DVDs, mainly unlicensed copies. Also available in abundance here are imitation watches with incredible resemblance to the real stuff (Rolex, Breitling, Patek Philippe and Omega, just to name a few). Even among these fakes, differences in grade can be seen for the same model in different shops. Whatever you buy here, always bargain and bargain hard.

Always test the product before paying for it and walking away from the shop. Remember where you bought the item. You will never get a refund; however, "Gongbei" shop owners are surprisingly diligent about protecting their reputation. They will exchange defective merchanise.

Elsewhere in Gongbei

    * Yingbin Road (Yíng-Bīn-Lù) is the main street that goes straight north from the border. Number one and number two North exits from the underground complex lead to opposite sides of Yingbin Road. It has several large shopping complexes with everything from cheap Chinese goods to trendy pricey international brands. On the left, there is Wanjia Department Store ( Wàn-Jiā-Bǎi-Huò) which is the most recognizable landmark in Gongbei by name. Any local or taxi driver will know where it is. Slightly further up, there is also the Yingbin Plaza (Yíng-Bīn-Guǎng-Chǎng) on the right which has a McDonalds on the ground floor and a KFC right above it. More of the shops here are fashion wear based.

    * Lotus Road (Lián-Huā-Lù) is a walking street, meaning a pedestrians only street. It is parallel to Yingbin Road mentioned above and a block east of it. At the South end, it starts on the West side of the bus station, opposite the Northeast exit from the underground complex at the Macau border. The merchandise available here is similar to what you find in the underground shopping mall, mostly clothing and electronics. There is also a Bank Of China branch here with ATMs for foreign cards. In the middle stretch, there are many bar booths right out on the street with a few stools on each of the four sides. Drinks are cheap (10-15 for beer or coffee), and casual approaches by prostitutes are common.

    * On the other side of the bus station is a street with a few restaurants including a good Thai one (look for elephants on the sign), hotels and shops. Follow it a few blocks and it turns into Bar Street; see the Drink section.

Jida

The main drag in Jida is Jǐngshān Road which has a large shopping area covered by two blocks of classy department stores:

    * Zhu Hai Shopping Mall (Zhū-Hǎi-Bǎi-Huò)
    * Duty Free Shopping Mall (Miǎn-Shuì-Shāng-Chǎng)
    * Your Family Store (Yòu-Yī-Jiā)
    * Tong Luo Wan Shopping Mall (Tóng-Luó-Wān)

From Gongbei, take a number 2 bus.

Golf equipment

Golf equipment is readily available and cheap in Zhuhai, but nearly all "brand name" clubs are bogus and often of poor quality as well. There are several small golf shops in the underground shopping center at the border, some on Lotus Road, and two larger ones across the road from the driving range.

Eat

Cantonese cuisine is commonplace. Seafood is a local specialty.

One large and popular high-end seafood place is on a boat in Xiangzhou harbour. From Gongbei, take #9 or Sightseeing bus along Lover's Road until you see an island and bridge on your right, just as the bus turns left. Get off and walk across the bridge. From Jusco, walk South on the main street to the first corner and turn left. The bridge is one block in front.

Shi Shen Seafood City has two locations, one in a interesting old building a bit North of town on the coast road (#3, #10 or Sightseeing bus) and one near the border, a short distance along the road by the clock tower.

Food from other regions of China is also available. Hunan and Sichuan food is common, one well-known Hunan place is Huo Gong Dian in Gongbei.

Walking North from Jusco on the main street, there are many restaurants:

    * Turn right at the first corner (KFC) for a big seafood place and a good Sichuan place

    * At the seafood place, turn left, and 20 meters along the side street is an alley on your right with assorted cheap plain restaurants

    * At the end of the alley, turn left for more of the same including good Muslim noodles about half a block along on your right

    * Back on the main street, turn left at first pedestrian overpass for good Dong Bei (Northeast China) food

There is a fine Xinjiang place on the #4 bus route, one stop North of the Jida ferry port. That is part of a cluster of mid-range restaurants in a newly developed area.

For a cheap and filling snack, look for the tiny noodle places run by Muslims.

    * May Flower Restaurant, Huang Chao Wu Yue Hua, ? +867563330000. Offers excellent seafood. As in many places in this area, you pick your fish from tanks, together with any vegetables or other foods you would like and then specify the cooking methods. This is not the kind of place to come if you like to pick things off a menu, but if you're willing to pick out your food while it's still swimming, it's a great meal. There is a large airplane attached to the front of the building and rumors that you can eat in the airplane.

Non-Chinese food

There are two pizza places run by foreign residents, both good:

    * Dynamics Pizza is in Xiangzhou, set back from the street on the main street a couple of blocks North of Jusco, opposite the Post Office. Prices are reasonable, ￥8-10 for beer and ￥15 to 50-odd for pizza. Owner is a south African called Peter. Very nice guy! Tuesday night informal "quiz nites."

    * Mr Pizza is in Jinding (#3, #10 or Sightseeing bus to first bus stop after you turn into Jinding, then cross the street).

There are also several Pizza Huts, but Dynamics or Mr Pizza are both much better and considerably cheaper. There is also a local chain called Pizza Coffee, with reasonable prices but without pizza that appeals to Western tastes.

Good, but relatively expensive places:

    * Indian Kitchen, Jida - #4 bus, 2 stops south of the port

    * Roman restaurant, Jida, Texan chef, 100 RMB steak or 50 RMB burritos, good 68 RMB dinner buffet - #4 or Sightseeing bus, look for the airplane on a stand in front of a shopping center near the beach. Owner and his daughter both speak excellent English, most staff have some English. Wednesday nights foreigners get a discount on beer.

    * Holiday Inn in Jida does an excellent breakfast buffet with Western, Japanese and Chinese dishes, 60 RMB if you aren't staying there.

    * Alain's Belgian Beer Bar in Jida has good food, generally large portions and a fine selection of bottled beers.

The Thai restaurant on the lower floor of the border shopping area and the one down the street from the clock tower are both good, and reasonably priced. There are several other Thai places around town, and a Korean one in Jida.

There are several Japanese restaurants in town.

    * Jusco has good sushi on the third floor.

    * There is a large upscale Japanese restaurant on Lovers' Road in Gongbei, a block from Bar Street.

    * Takumi Ken, on the #4 bus route, one stop South of the port.

    * Indian Restaurant in Gongbei. Do not expect this restaurant to serve curries — they mean "Indian" as in Native American. The specialty is tolerable steak at high prices. However, you might consider going for the decor, which is American Plains Indian with a few pieces of Northwest Coast art. The waitresses there wear fringed skirts with feathers in their hair. The restaurant is a couple of blocks North of McDonalds on the main street from the West end of the border shopping area.

    * The Bali restaurant, in Jida, near the driving range, on the #9 route - looks Indonesian, but the menu had only Chinese and some Western dishes. Perhaps in the evening they fire up the barbecues outside and try to live up to their name.

    * To shop for imported groceries, try Jusco on the main street in Xiangzhou, or Carrefour out near the end of the #7 and #9 bus lines, or the Zhuhai Deli [8]. Jusco has a reasonable bakery, albeit with a few odd items like tuna doughnuts.

Drink

There are many bars on "bar street" (jiuba jie) one block inland, a 20 minute walk from the Gongbei border; just follow the street with the clock tower on it until it becomes bar street. Some, particularly Cohiba, are expat hangouts. These are generally expensive (￥20 to ￥30 for beer), but may be worthwhile if you crave Western food or live music.

For a unique experience, have a beer or coffee at one of the dozen open-air bar booths along Lianhua Road. There are two groups of bars with the one nearer the border emphasizing food and the one further along emphasizing drinking. Drinks are cheap (￥10 or ￥15 for a bottle of beer or cup of coffee), and you get to meet all sorts of travellers, expats, local wannabes and working girls. Hanging out here is one of the most relaxing things to do in Gongbei. Be cautious though, especially late at night. Most stalls are open till 3am.

There used to be tiny outdoor bars in front of the Jusco store in Xiangzhou. These have closed, but walk through Jusco, turn left and across the road you'll find Ryan's Bar -popular with expats especially when international sporting events are on TV.

Tourist Trap

In general, Zhuhai is a safe and friendly family oriented city; however, as a tourist or business traveler, you will want to take the usual precautions (pick pockets) while in the crowded shopping areas.

Some tour guides will take you to a Chinese medicine company called Bai Chao Tang. They tell you it is compulsory to visit that place because it is a government appointed 'tourism site'. There are some 'doctor' or 'professors' in there who will listen to your pulse and prescribe some very expensive chinese herbs for you. There's probably nothing wrong with the herbs, just that you can get them at a much cheaper price outside.

Also beware of changing foreign money into RMB in the underground shopping mall at Gongbei. Several shops may give you fake money.

Get out

Zhuhai has several islands, accessible by ferry. Some have uncrowded beaches. From the Xiangzhou Northern Wharf, you can get to the Wanshan Islands).

One of the biggest Chinese antique furniture market areas is a 30 minute drive away in Guhe, Zhongshan. You can take a taxi (￥30-￥50) or get a bus near the border (￥2-￥4) to get there.

The bus to Guangzhou costs ￥60 or ￥65, runs every half hour, trip takes 2.5 hours. You can board at either the underground station in Gongbei to get to Garden Hotel, or from near the Gongbei border to get to the Provincial bus station or Tianhe Dasha bus station.

There are also buses to most nearby cities, including Shenzhen (cheaper than the ferry), and overnight buses to Guilin, Xiamen, Zhanjiang and Beihai.

The Xiangzhou bus station has a direct overnight bus to Yangshuo which is cheap (￥110) but fairly uncomfortable. Unlike most overnight busses it has no on-board toilets but it makes several stops during the 12 hour trip.

Neighbouring Macau can be reached on foot or by car through the Gongbei border crossing, by ferry from Wanzai area, or on foot or by car through the Lotus Bridge from Hengqin.