Pengjiang District 蓬江区

Setting and landscape

The district is an alluvial plain tilting from hills in the northwest to plains and river terraces in the southeast. Its highest point is Chishi Mountain (叱石山) in Duruan town (杜阮镇), at 457.4 m. The Xi River (西江) runs along the eastern side, where Hetang (荷塘), Chaolian (潮连) and Guyuanzhou (古猿洲) islands sit in the stream; the Jiangmen waterway (江门水道) cuts through the main city, and its largest tributary, the Tiansha River (天沙河), flows north to south through the district. Frost-free days exceed 360 a year, and snow never falls.

History

The area lay in Panyu county under the Qin and Han and in Xinhui county from the Three Kingdoms on. Jiangmen city was carved out of Xinhui's Jiangmen town on 12 January 1951; a suburban district set up in 1984 was renamed Pengjiang in August 1994, and in 2002 it gained Tangxia (棠下), Duruan and Hetang towns from Xinhui.

What to see

The Changdi Historic District (长堤历史文化街区), between the Pengjiang River and Penglai Road, is described as Jiangmen's point of origin, with some six centuries of urban memory from the late Yuan and early Ming. In the 1920s and 1930s it was a major passenger wharf for the Wuyi (五邑) region and earned the nickname "Little Guangzhou". About 1,300 qilou arcade buildings survive, most paid for by overseas Chinese, in Baroque, neoclassical and arcaded styles. It is a Guangdong provincial historic district, and its core, Qimingli (启明里), is a national-level tourism and leisure street. Revitalisation began in 2019, a Changdi branch of the Jiangmen Museum opened in December 2025, and many street scenes of the 2023 TV drama The Knockout (狂飙) were filmed here.

Other sights include the Chen Baisha Ancestral Hall and Memorial (陈白沙祠), Jiangmen Zhongshan Park (江门中山公园), the Luo clan ancestral hall at Liangxi (良溪罗氏大宗祠), the former Jiangmen Customs House (江门海关旧址) and the site of Beijie Station on the Xinning Railway (新宁铁路北街站旧址).

Food and local products

Duruan bitter melon (杜阮凉瓜) is a national geographical-indication product. The melon is shaped like a chisel, with sharp ridges, a thick crisp skin and dense flesh, and its bitterness leaves a sweet aftertaste. Duruan town held its ninth bitter-melon food and tourism festival in May 2026.

Getting oriented

Heshan and Jiujiang town (九江镇) in Nanhai lie to the north, Heshan to the west, Jianghai District to the south, and Guzhen in Zhongshan across the river to the east. By road the district is 101 km from Guangzhou, 107 km from Macau and 265 km from Hong Kong.

Highlights

• Changdi Historic District 长堤历史文化街区: About 1,300 qilou arcade buildings on the Pengjiang River; Guangdong provincial historic district.
• Qimingli 启明里: Core of the Changdi quarter, a national-level tourism and leisure street.
• Chishi Mountain 叱石山: The district's highest point, 457.4 m, in Duruan town.
• Duruan bitter melon 杜阮凉瓜: National geographical-indication product with a thick crisp skin and a bitter-then-sweet taste.