Zhaoqing city (zhào qìng shì 肇庆市) is located in the west-central of Guangdong province (guǎng dōng shěng 广东省), it is a beautiful city with a long history of more than two thousand years. Zhaoqing City covers an area of 15,000 square kilometers, with a population of over 3.9 million. In the Qin Dynasty (qín cháo 秦朝)(221BC-206BC), this area belonged partly to the Nanhai Shire. In the Sui Dynasty (suí cháo 隋朝) (581-618), it was called Duanzho(duān zhōu 端州) and then changed into its present name, Zhaoqing, in the Song Dynasty (sòng cháo 宋朝)(960-1279).

There are many wonderful scenic areas in Zhaoqing City, such as Seven Star Crags Park (qī xīng yán gōng yuán 七星岩公园), Panlong Gorge Eco-tourism Region (pán lóng xiá shēng tài lǚ yóu jǐng qū 盘龙峡生态旅游景区) , Star Lake (xīng hú 星湖), Ancient City Wall (gǔ chéng qiáng 古城墙) etc.. Among them Seven Star Crags Park and Panlong Gorge Eco-tourism Region are the most famous.

Seven Star Crags Park
Seven Star Crags Park, located on the northern outskirts of Zhaoqing City, is considered as one of the most beautiful palces in Guangdong. It consists of five lakes, six rigdes, seven crags and eight caves with an area of about eight square kilometers.

The five lakes are East Lake (dōng hú 东湖), Qinglian Lake (qīng lián hú 青莲湖), The Center Lake (zhōng xīn hú 中心湖), Bohai Lake (bō hǎi hú 波海湖), Li Lake (lǐ hú 里湖), they are of different sizes by the winding green embankment. The inner lake encircling the crags is the smallest one, with lower water level as compared with the other four lakes. The seven crags are Lang Feng (láng fēng阆风), Yu Ping (yù píng 玉屏), Shi Shi (shí shì 石室), Tian Zhu (tiān zhù 天柱), Chan Chu (chán chú 蟾蜍), Xian Zhang (xiān zhǎng 仙掌), A Po (ā pō 阿坡). As for the eight caves, some are deep, tortuous and pitch-dark, some brightly-lit with their entrances located at the halfway down from the crag tops, and others filled with clear waters and cold draughts.

There are other famous sceneries in Seven Star Crags Park. For example, Pai Fang Lan Sheng (pái fāng lǎn shèng 牌坊揽胜), Ping Hu You Di (píng hú yōu dī 平湖幽堤), Lang Feng Xi Zhao (láng fēng xī zhào 阆风夕照), Yu Ping Die Cui (yù píng dié cuì 玉屏叠翠), Shi Lin Qiao Gu (shí lín qiào gǔ 石林峭骨) etc.. It is famous for its "lush mountain, exquisite waters, perilous cliffs and fascinating caves".

Seven Star Crags Park
Location: 4 kilometers away from the north of Zhaoqing City
Admission fee: RMB 60
Opening hours: 7:30 a.m.- 17:30 p.m.
Transportation: You can take special tourism sightseeing bus to get there.

Panlong Gorge Eco-Tourism Region
Panlong Gorge Eco-Tourism Region is located in the north-west of Deqing County (dé qìng xiàn 德庆县), Guangdong, twenty-three kilometers from the county. It is a primitive ecological tourism area with an area of 30,000 kilometers. The gorge is very long and deep with lots of green plants, and is abundant of water all the time. It has the rare waterfalls, among which the most famous are Teng Long Fei Pu (téng lóng fēi pù 腾龙飞瀑), Ling Tian Fei Pu (líng tiān fēi pù 聆天飞瀑) and Yan Yu Fei Pu (yān yǔ fēi pù 烟雨飞瀑). The fall of the Teng Long Fei Pu can reach eighty-six meters. The number of waterfalls in the gorge is over one hundred. It is the first tourism region which is recognized by the tourist Administration of Guangdong Province that contains ten-class waterfall. The driftage in Panlong Gorge has its own character. The most famous one is The Warrior Driftage (yǒng shì piāo 勇士漂), you may be shocked but it is riskless. The length of the driftage is about four kilometers and its fall is over one hundred meters. When taking the rubber raft, drifting alone the stream to the Jinlin Reservoir (jīn lín shuǐ kù 金林水库). You can not only enjoy the fun of playing, but also can appreciate the beautiful landscape of hills and waters. In 2002, Panlong Gorge launched the item of winer driftage, which is the leading one all over the nation. It is the only eco-tourism region that contains driftage in western area of Guangdong.

Panlong Gorge Eco-Tourism Region
Location: 28 kilometers away from the Deqing County
Admission fee: RMB 50
Opening hours: 8:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.
Transportation: You can take special tourism sight seeing bus to get there. (RMB 5/person)