Complete Guide to Guangdong Yingde’s Unique Rural Tours: One-Stop Itinerary for Mountains, Water, Tea Villages, Ancient Villages, and Water Fun
Yingde boasts karst peak forests, vast red tea plantations, mysterious caves, trendy waterside villages, and century-old ancient villages. Just 1.5 hours from Guangzhou, it consistently tops short-trip rural vacation searches with its healing landscapes and diverse activities. Here’s a detailed look at the most popular rural routes!
1. Yingxi Peak Forest and Countryside (Jiulong Town + Huanghua Town | Ink Painting Countryside Hotspot)
Known online as Guangdong’s Little Guilin, this area features a continuous 20 km stretch of karst peak forests scattered among rice paddies and villages. Free hiking and cycling throughout, with sunrise mist scenes on short videos garnering millions of likes, offering an authentic rural ink painting atmosphere.
1. Xiaozhaozhou Ancient Bridge (Yongfeng Ancient Village)
A Ming Dynasty stone arch bridge without piers, framed by village streams, water buffalo, rice fields, and solitary peaks. Early morning mist drifts over the water, creating natural Chinese ink painting scenes. Many photographers camp here for sunrise shots. Nearby farmhouses rent Hanfu costumes and bamboo rafts for light photography. Don’t miss freshly ground mountain water tofu at the village entrance farmhouse.
2. Jiulong Town Rice Paddy Village
Seasonal rural scenery changes: spring rapeseed flower seas, summer green rice waves, autumn golden terraced fields, winter straw art gardens, with wooden boardwalks weaving through the fields. Popular activities include low-altitude hot air balloon rides offering aerial views of thousands of peaks and terraced fields, widely shared on social media. Supporting activities include rural camping, rice field afternoon tea, and handmade tofu DIY, perfect for families and couples.
3. Peng Family Ancestral Hall (Huanghua Town Diaolou Ancient Village)
A century-old Hakka fortress perched on a cliff, nicknamed the “Little Potala Palace of Lingnan.” From the top, enjoy 360° panoramic views of the peak forest and villages. The ancient village preserves rammed earth houses, ancestral halls, and old wells. Stroll the village lanes to experience northern Guangdong’s rural life. Try authentic Huanghua free-range chicken hot pot at the village entrance farmhouse.
4. Gongzheng Creek Village Cycling Corridor
A trendy rural cycling route where you can rent electric bikes to ride through streams, bamboo groves, and villages. Along the way, you’ll find shallow creek waters, ancient trees, and pavilions. You can stop to wade in the shallow water. No entrance fees along the route, perfect for capturing healing rural short videos.
5. Dongtian Wonderland Village
A hidden sinkhole village deep in the peak forest. Take a boat into an 18°C constant-temperature underground cave where sunlight streams through the cave ceiling forming “angel light pillars.” A glass skywalk spans the valley. Nearby villages offer mountain forest homestays, starry sky camping at night, and the soothing sounds of insects in the mountains.
2. Jiqingli Red Tea Valley · Tea Culture and Wellness Village (Hengshitang Town | Tea Culture Hotspot)
Filming location for CCTV’s “Home Among Mountains and Waters,” surrounded by tens of thousands of terraced tea gardens. Yingde red tea’s original production area, a top-rated healing rural photo spot with a unique tea fragrance theme.
· Core Experience: Hand-pick Yinghong No. 9 tea buds, follow veteran tea farmers through withering, rolling, and frying in the full intangible cultural heritage tea-making process, and take home your own red tea. The tea garden’s Tai Chi Bagua tea fields are a viral aerial photography hit, with morning mist creating a divine tea mountain atmosphere.
· Village Facilities: The retro red brick old factory of Hongqi Tea Factory, an industrial-style tea museum with free admission; tea garden hearth brewing, red tea hot springs, tea-flavored farmhouse dishes (tea chicken, tea-fried eggs, lei cha porridge); nearby white-walled, black-tiled mountain homestays with lush green views, ideal for slow vacations and relaxation.
· Hidden Gem: Xianhu Lake lakeside trail, cycle and spot egrets, picnic on the lakeside lawn, quiet and peaceful, avoiding crowds.
3. Baodun Lake Waterside Trendy Village (Wangbu Town | Top Summer Water Fun Spot)
Consistently topping Douyin’s summer vacation lists, this lakeside waterside villa village features a 1.3 km ultra-long trendy swimming lane. Ground-floor rooms open directly to the water. Coconut groves surround the lake, and floating props are popular for photos. The top choice for family water fun rural vacations.
· Featured Activities: Lakeside water slides, trendy glass boats, flamingo floaties free to use; 36 natural hot spring pools including tea soup and herbal pools, perfect for soaking after water play; an 8,000㎡ large lawn with rainbow steps and nighttime lakeside light shows, ideal for picnics and stargazing barbecues.
· Village Amenities: Nearby Hakka farmhouses serve Qingyuan chicken, dried bamboo shoots, and mountain pond fish dishes; affordable lake-view homestays with excellent weekday value, perfect for family short water vacations.
4. Lesser-Known Hidden Gem Beautiful Villages
1. Meizizhai (Longhua Village · Red Cultural and Artistic Village)
A trendy renovated ancient village in Hengshitang Town, transformed from an empty village into an artistic homestay cluster with bamboo fences, mountain trails, and bamboo forest secrets. Focuses on eco-friendly farming and raising: bamboo forest free-range chicken, mountain spring catfish, wild mountain vegetables. The village has creative shops and farmhouse private dishes, quiet and healing, ideal for travelers who prefer peaceful slow tours.
2. Zhenyang Gorge Lianjiangkou Ancient Town Village (Beijiang Gorge Fishing Village)
A thousand-year-old riverside ancient village with Hui-style ancient streets, vintage locomotives, and Beijiang Gorge scenery. Wade in the fish scale dam shallow waters by the river, watch fishing boats crossing the river. Known for river fresh rural cuisine: steamed bamboo shell fish, Beijiang river shrimp. Hanfu photo ops at the ancient dock, watch sunset over the river in the evening. A niche cultural rural spot.
3. Shimentai Pristine Mountain Village
A village deep in northern Guangdong’s primeval forest, a natural creek trekking secret spot with crystal-clear, icy water. Hike mountain forests and waterfalls, play in shallow waters. Eco-friendly farmhouse serving mountain spring vegetables and native pork, no commercialization, perfect for hiking, oxygen therapy, and wild camping.
4. Lianzhang Village Boutique Beautiful Village
A tidy rural village with contiguous lotus ponds, rice field trails, and small rural gardens, great for short walks and photos. Nearby fruit orchards (grapes, mulberries, Shatian pomelo open seasonally), affordable farm stays, a top choice for short day trips.
5. Family-Friendly Fairy Tale Village: Aoyuan Yingde Chocolate Kingdom Village
A European-style castle fairy tale village, a popular spot for girls online, featuring castles, Ferris wheels, and carousels. Core DIY experience making chocolate, with garden flower seas and family farms. Nighttime fireworks and light shows, nearby rural homestays, the ultimate rural trip for families with kids.
6. Must-Experience Unique Yingde Rural Activities
1. Intangible Cultural Heritage Handicrafts: Jiulong tofu grinding, red tea making, Hakka glutinous rice cakes, dried bamboo shoot making;
2. Mountain and Water Fun: Fish scale dam wading, peak forest creek trekking, Baodun Lake lakeside swimming lane, Xianqiao underground river cave boating;
3. Countryside Aerial Photography: Peak forest rice fields, Red Tea Valley Tai Chi tea fields, Beijiang fishing village;
4. Wellness Vacations: Cave hot springs, private red tea baths, mountain forest homestays with starry sky lodging;
5. Seasonal Picking: Spring tea leaves, summer grapes and wampee, autumn and winter Shatian pomelo, figs;
6. Outdoor Light Activities: Peak forest cycling, hot air balloons, rice field camping, mountain forest hiking.
7. Authentic Rural Cuisine
Jiulong mountain water tofu feast, Huanghua chicken hot pot, tea chicken, lei cha porridge, Beijiang river fresh, dried bamboo shoot braised native pork, farmhouse glutinous rice cakes, fig-soaked chicken, Yinghong red tea steamed eggs.
8. Classic Travel Route Suggestions
1. One-day light tour: Xiaozhaozhou Bridge cycling → Jiulong Town rice fields → farmhouse tofu feast
2. Two-day tea and mountain water line: Day 1 Jiqingli Red Tea Valley tea picking and making → tea hot spring homestay; Day 2 Yingxi Peak Forest cycling + Dongtian Wonderland
3. Summer water fun family line: Baodun Lake waterside swimming lane and hot springs → Chocolate Kingdom DIY → Fish scale dam wading
4. Lesser-known quiet slow tour: Meizizhai ancient village → Shimentai creek trekking → Zhenyang Gorge fishing village sunset
Overall, Yingde’s countryside combines mountain and water scenery, tea culture, trendy water activities, ancient village culture, family vacations, and pristine mountain wilderness. It offers both lively check-in spots and peaceful relaxation, located very close to the Pearl River Delta, making it a perennial top rural tourism destination in northern Guangdong.