The Dinosaur Museum and Ancient Fossils
Walk into the Heyuan Dinosaur Museum and you step into a room where 10,008 dinosaur egg fossils line the walls—a Guinness World Record collection that gives you a tangible sense of scale and time. The eggs themselves, many dated to 66 million years ago, are small enough to fit in your palm, each one a small, bumpy sphere that was buried and preserved in the earth until unearthed near the Dong River. Dinosaur skeletons and fossilized footprints are also on display, telling the story of creatures that once moved through the same landscape you've come to explore. The museum is closed Mondays, and it's wise to arrive well before 17:00 when the last tickets sell; the admission price is ¥30 for adults and ¥15 for children.
Pagodas and River Views in the City Centre
Just a short walk from the Dinosaur Museum stands the Guifeng Pagoda, perched on Guifeng Mountain with views down across the urban spread below. The pagoda itself is modest in scale but commanding in position, and the climb rewards you with perspective on how Heyuan sits at the confluence of two rivers. The entry fee is ¥5, and the pagoda is open from 09:00 to 17:00, closed Mondays. In the evening, head to the First High Fountain in Asia, a musical fountain that erupts at 20:00 nightly in the middle of the Xinfeng River, free to watch from the riverbank near Chashan Park.
Boat Tours and Vast Artificial Lakes
Wanlü Lake is not a natural feature but an enormous artificial reservoir created to supply drinking water to Heyuan and parts of the Pearl River Delta—yet it has transformed into a landscape of its own. The water is ringed by green hills and forest that stay verdant year-round. You board a boat on the hour, with the last departure at 14:00; the standard charge of ¥192 covers both your entrance fee and the boat tour itself. Bring time to walk the shoreline or swim if the weather permits. The journey gives you a sense of the scale of engineering that shapes this region.
For a different perspective on water and geology, Guishan Mountain sits within the Xinfeng River Reservoir about 20 kilometres from the city. Special buses run from Heyuan Railway Station, or you can reach it by boat from Wanlü Lake. The mountain opens at 08:00 and closes at 18:00, with an entry fee of ¥45. The vantage point lets you see how water and mountain terrain define the geography of northeastern Guangdong.
Mountain Walks Beyond the City
Huoshan Mountain in Longchuan County offers a more strenuous outdoor experience. The mountain is open from 07:00 to 19:00, with standard entry at ¥88; if you want to cross the glass bridge—a feature that appears designed to test your nerve—the combined fee is ¥115. Special buses run from Longchuan Railway Station. The climb takes you through terrain typical of this part of Guangdong: forested slopes and views that extend across the region's hilly landscape.
When to Visit and What the Land Produces
Autumn (September to November) is the ideal season: sunny and dry, with reliable weather for outdoor exploration. Spring brings heavy rain; summer is hot and humid but green and lush. Winter is mild and increasingly wet as the season progresses. The area is known as the "Hometown of the Dinosaur in China," but it is also a major producer of Chinese kiwi fruit, dried mushrooms, garlic, sweet tangerines, and green tea—foods that appear on local tables and at markets throughout the city. Hakka brewed liquor is another regional specialty worth tasting.
Heyuan asks you to think in geological time—millions of years compressed into fossils—while standing in a modern city built on water and surrounded by rainforest and mountains. Begin planning your visit by booking buses or trains from Guangzhou or other regional hubs; the Hong Kong-Beijing railway serves the city at both Heyuan and Longchuan stations.