Get to know Shunde District
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- Administrative area
- District · 市辖区
- Part of
- Foshan
- Chinese name
- 顺德区
- Local areas
- District guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 806.00 km²
- Population · 2020
- 3,229,090
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
History and traditions
Shunde County was created in 1452 from land of Nanhai (南海) and Xinhui (新会) after the uprising of Huang Xiaoyang (黄萧养) in 1449; the name means "follow Heaven and make virtue shine", and the seat was renamed Daliang (大良). Between the Southern Song and the late Qing the area produced three top graduates of the civil examinations, among them Huang Shijun (黄士俊). From the 1980s village and township factories turned a landscape of mulberry dykes and fish ponds (桑基鱼塘) into an industrial one.
Four Shunde traditions are on the national intangible heritage list: dragon-boat singing (龙舟说唱), the dyeing and finishing of gambiered silk (香云纱), the human dragon dance (人龙舞) and eight-instrument gong and drum music (八音锣鼓). Shunde is one of the birthplaces of Cantonese opera, and dragon-boat racing is active.
What to see
Qinghui Garden (清晖园) in Daliang, one of Guangdong's four famous gardens and a national key protected site, began as the house of Huang Shijun and was shaped over generations by the family of the scholar Long Yingshi (龙应时). Its 2.2 hectares hold ponds, rockeries, lattice windows and halls such as the Boat Hall (船厅) and Bixi Thatched Hall (碧溪草堂).
Fengjian Water Village (逢简水乡), at the northern end of Xingtan town (杏坛镇) on the Jinli River (锦鲤江), keeps more than a hundred old houses and stone-paved lanes, with over ten kilometres of waterways around the village. Two Song-dynasty three-arch stone bridges are provincial protected sites, and the Qing Jin'ao (金鏊) stone arch bridge also survives.
Shunfengshan Park (顺峰山公园) is laid out around Taiping (太平山) and Shenbu (神步山) hills and Guipan (桂畔湖) and Qingyun (青云湖) lakes, with an 8-kilometre path circling the two lakes past an archway the district bills as China's foremost (中华第一牌坊), a Cantonese opera garden and wetlands.
Food and local products
Shunde cooks are known for river fish and steamed and stir-fried dishes with fresh, light flavours; eleven Shunde snacks, double-skin milk (双皮奶) among them, have been listed as famous Chinese snacks. Other named local dishes include Daliang fried milk (大良炒鲜奶), Shunde raw fish salad (顺德捞鱼生), Jun'an fried fish cakes (均安煎鱼饼), Lunjiao cake (伦教糕) and Chencun rice noodles (陈村粉).
Highlights
- Qinghui Garden 清晖园: Former house of a late-Ming top graduate in Daliang, now one of Guangdong's four famous gardens.
- Fengjian Water Village 逢简水乡: Canal village in Xingtan with two Song-dynasty three-arch stone bridges.
- Shunfengshan Park 顺峰山公园: Two hills and two lakes circled by an 8-kilometre path.
- Double-skin milk 双皮奶: Daliang milk pudding listed among famous Chinese snacks.
Sources for this guide
佛山市顺德区人民政府网 基本概况 · Shunde District People's Government, Foshan
清晖园（清晖毓秀） · Shunde District Publicity Department (Culture, Radio, Tourism and Sports Bureau)
逢简水乡（书香水韵） · Shunde District Publicity Department (Culture, Radio, Tourism and Sports Bureau)
顺峰山公园（顺峰揽胜） · Shunde District Publicity Department (Culture, Radio, Tourism and Sports Bureau)
顺德区 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Shunde District
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Shunde District
Changlu Tourism and Leisure Park · 长鹿旅游休博园Changlu Tourism and Leisure Park长鹿旅游休博园
Changlu is a large leisure park in Shunde, combining Lingnan rural themes with amusement and family attractions.
Read the place guide →East gate of Qinghui Garden, Shunde · 清晖园东门 Photograph date recorded by the source: 9 July 2013 (according to Exif data).Qinghui Garden清晖园
Qinghui Garden is a Lingnan garden in central Daliang, Shunde, where water, compact courtyards and domestic buildings form a sequence of close views. The southern area centres on a pond and waterside structures, including…
Read the place guide →
The Jinshi Memorial Archway in Fengjian Water Village, Xingtan, Shunde, Foshan · 佛山顺德杏坛镇逢简水乡的进士牌坊 Source-recorded photograph date: 2021-04-30 18:34:36.Fengjian Water Village逢简水乡
Fengjian (逢简水乡) is a canal-laced village in Xingtan town, Shunde District, Foshan, Guangdong, about four kilometres north of the town centre. It is a Lingnan water village of creeks, bridges, ancestral halls and fish ponds, and it is still lived in.
Read the place guide →
The main paifang gate of Shunfeng Mountain Park with its pagoda, Shunde District, Foshan · 佛山市顺德区顺峰山公园正门牌坊及宝塔 Source-recorded photograph date: 2016-01-31 00:24:45.Shunfengshan Park顺峰山公园
Large Shunde park of two hills and two lakes, opened in 2004, with an 88-metre stone paifang and the 1602 Qingyun Pagoda.
Read the place guide →
Shun De Huan Le Hai An Plus · 顺德欢乐海岸PLUSShun De Huan Le Hai An Plus顺德欢乐海岸PLUS
Shunde Happy Coast PLUS (顺德欢乐海岸PLUS) is a large leisure and commercial precinct built by the OCT group in the core of Shunde New Town, Shunde District, Foshan, Guangdong. It mixes a theme park, a water park, a themed shopping street, a shopping mall and a wetland park across a single planned area.
Read the place guide →Plan your visit
Getting there
Shunde District is about 25 km in a straight line from central Foshan. Search for 顺德区 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Changlu Tourism and Leisure Park and Qinghui Garden are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Foshan →More in Foshan
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 顺德区 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Changlu Tourism and Leisure Park · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Qinghui Garden · User:Zhaofeng Li · CC BY-SA 1.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Fengjian Water Village · PQ77wd · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Shunfengshan Park · Nissangeniss · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Shun De Huan Le Hai An Plus · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.