3-Day Solo Trip to Shaoguan

Under the blue skies and white clouds, Danxia Mountain truly lives up to its reputation. A 3-day, 2-night solo trip to Shaoguan for your reference 🚄🏞️ Day 1: - 10:39 AM: High-speed train from Shenzhen North Station >> 12:16 PM: Arrive at Shaoguan Station - Check-in at Holiday Inn Shaoguan Moore City (The hotel is right across the street from Moore City, a large shopping mall with everything you need, including plenty of dining options) - Take a Didi to Nanhua Temple (+ enjoy a vegetarian meal) - Return to the hotel for a short rest - Walk across to Moore City for shopping + dinner - Relax and enjoy a night swim at the hotel (indoor pool open until 9:30 PM) Day 2: - Hotel breakfast (The room costs around HKD 300 for two people, including breakfast. The room is spacious and clean, great value for money) - Take a Didi to Century-old East Street and Fengcai Tower (for sightseeing and tea), and Binlu (a beautifully designed small museum in Shaoguan) - Take a Didi directly to a Danxia Mountain homestay (The ride costs about HKD 100. For a cheaper option, you can go to Shaoguan East Station >> Guangdong Passenger Transport Station and take the tourist bus to Danxia Mountain Scenic Area (45-60 minutes)) - Check-in at Qingshan Xiaoyuan (Danxia Mountain Scenic Area branch) and have lunch - Visit Water Danxia (a 10-minute walk, with boats departing every 30 minutes) and Yangyuan Mountain Scenic Area (Due to time constraints, I only visited the Yangyuan Stone for a quick photo) - Since the restaurants in the scenic area don’t offer single-serving dishes, I decided to buy some instant food from a nearby store and have dinner back at the homestay Day 3: - Have a light breakfast with some cakes at the homestay and check out (store luggage) - Walk to Danxia Mountain World Geopark Museum >> Changlao Peak Scenic Area >> Xianglong Lake Scenic Area (+ lunch). It’s recommended to take the cable car up the mountain and walk down slowly, as there are many scenic spots and photo opportunities along the way. Be sure to visit Jinshi Temple, which is stunningly built on a cliffside and very unique. - Retrieve luggage from the homestay >> 4:55 PM: Take the tourist bus to Shaoguan Station (~70 minutes) - Note: There don’t seem to be restaurants inside Shaoguan Station, unlike Shenzhen North Station where you can buy food. So, prepare your dinner in advance or pre-order it on the 12306 app >> 7:03 PM: High-speed train back (have your meal on the train) * When I visited, it was the day after Typhoon Signal No. 10. The weather was clear with blue skies and white clouds, absolutely stunning, but it was also extremely hot. Be cautious of heatstroke! ** Regarding Danxia Mountain, the hiking trails are not difficult, but most of them are stairs with lots of ups and downs. Allocate more time to walk slowly and plan for a full day! I climbed the equivalent of 60 floors that day, and my legs were sore for three days afterward! *** Total expenses were approximately HKD 2,400.