Xiangzhou District 香洲区

Getting oriented

Created in June 1984, the district lies in the east of Zhuhai and has six national first-class ports of entry, including the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge crossing, Jiuzhou port (九洲港) and Gongbei (拱北), which the district government lists as the largest land crossing in the country. The Guangzhou–Zhuhai intercity railway stops at Zhuhai Station (珠海站) and several others in the district, and outlying islands of the Wanshan (万山) group also fall within Xiangzhou's boundaries.

What to see

The district government lists Lovers' Road (情侣路) and Yeli Island (野狸岛) among its sights. The Zhuhai Fisher Girl (珠海渔女), an 8.7-metre granite statue by the sculptor Pan He (潘鹤) holding up a pearl, stands at 63 Qinglü Middle Road and was listed as a city-level protected relic in 2011. On the north side of Yeli Island, the Zhuhai Grand Theatre (珠海大剧院) is built as two shells, one large and one small, inspired by the painting The Birth of Venus; the district government calls it the only theatre in China built on an island.

Yuanming New Garden (圆明新园), below Shilin Mountain (石林山), was built by the city for the 1997 handover of Hong Kong as a full-scale copy of 18 of the 40 scenes of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, grouped into imperial, Jiangnan garden and Western buildings; it was among the first national 4A scenic areas. The Meixi arches (梅溪牌坊), three stone memorial gateways built in 1886 and 1891, were listed as a national key cultural relic in 2006 together with the house and family tomb of Chen Fang (陈芳), the first Qing merchant-consul in the Kingdom of Hawaii.

People and heritage

The district government counts Xiangzhou as an important source of Xiangshan culture (香山文化), with 95 registered immovable relics. Notable figures from the area include Yung Wing (容闳), the first Chinese graduate of an American university; Tang Shaoyi (唐绍仪), the first premier of the Republic of China; the labour leader Su Zhaozheng (苏兆征); the writer Su Manshu (苏曼殊); and Rong Guotuan (容国团), the first world champion of the People's Republic. Its provincially listed intangible heritage includes Shatian folk song (沙田民歌) and the Qianshan phoenix-chicken dance (前山凤鸡舞).

Highlights

• Zhuhai Fisher Girl 珠海渔女: 8.7-metre granite statue by Pan He, a city-level protected relic since 2011.
• Zhuhai Grand Theatre 珠海大剧院: Twin-shell theatre on the north side of Yeli Island, described as China's only theatre on an island.
• Yuanming New Garden 圆明新园: Full-scale copy of 18 Old Summer Palace scenes, opened before the 1997 Hong Kong handover.
• Meixi arches 梅溪牌坊: Stone gateways of 1886 and 1891, national key cultural relic since 2006.