Walk the Fisher Girl legend along the waterfront
On Lovers' Road, where the eastern coastline curves past the border with Macau, you'll find the Fisher Girl statue at a pocket of coast where the air tastes of salt and history. The statue commemorates a local legend: a heavenly being who gave up immortality for love, removing her magical bracelets one by one until mortality claimed her—only to be resurrected by her grieving fisherman with resurrection grass watered by his own blood. Stand here and look across at the Macau skyline. The water below is brown and muddy, unglamorous, but real. This is where Zhuhai meets the sea.
- Walk or bike the length of Lovers' Road, which stretches along a big chunk of Zhuhai's eastern coastline near the border with Macau
- Stop at the Fisher Girl statue itself, reachable by bus 9, 99, or the sightseeing bus
Wander through reconstructed imperial grandeur at New Yuanming Palace
At the foot of Big Shilin Mountain, New Yuanming Palace is a full-scale imitation of the destroyed Yuanming Palace in Beijing, sprawling across 1.39 km². The park is free to enter—you pay only for specific shows and attractions. Walk the grounds past traditional Chinese architecture and little pagodas, hire a pedelo on the 80,000 m² lake, or take the cable car for views back toward the mountains. When evening comes, head to the northern side for stage shows depicting traditional Chinese dances and stories in Broadway-style musical presentations (¥85 for adults). Later, watch a sea-battle re-enactment with real boats, explosions, and cavalry troops. You can also dress in emperor's clothes for photographs (¥40).
- Take bus 1, 25, 30, or 60—a 15-minute ride from Gongbei Road—to reach the park
- Open 08:30–21:00
- Explore traditional architecture, gardens, and lake areas at no entrance charge
- Catch evening performances (¥85 adults, ¥60 seniors and children under 150cm with student card)
- Hire motor boats or pedelos around the lake
Encounter art, history, and natural heritage across the districts
Zhuhai's museums and historical sites reveal layers of the city's past. The Guyuan Museum of Art (free, near bus stop on routes 13, 16, 17, b5, b6, or tram 1) displays works by local artist Gu Yuan. The Zhuhai Museum (free, 191 Jingshan Road, Xiangzhou District) charts the region's history and hosts travelling exhibitions. For earlier centuries, visit the Former residence of Su Zhaozheng on Qi'ao Island—the home of an early 20th-century communist activist, now a museum with exhibits on local history and a notable wall of oyster shells. The Meixi Royal Stone Archways (¥50), built in 1886 and extended in 1891, were erected to honour a Qing consul; they were damaged during the Cultural Revolution but remain standing. The Doumen District Museum (free, 2233 Xidi Road, Doumen) covers the district's past and honours John C. Young, a Chinese-American army colonel with roots in the area. Walk the Doumen Old Street to see commercial buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries when the town was a trading post.
- Guyuan Museum of Art: 388 Meihua East Road, 09:00–17:00, closed Mondays, free
- Zhuhai Museum: 191 Jingshan Road, Xiangzhou District, 09:00–17:00, closed Mondays, free
- Former residence of Su Zhaozheng: 461 Baishi Street, Qi'ao Island, 09:30–17:00, free
- Meixi Royal Stone Archways: 268 Lüyou Road, Qianshan, 09:00–17:30, ¥50
- Doumen District Museum: 2233 Xidi Road, Doumen, 09:00–17:00, closed Mondays, free
- Doumen Old Street: Dama Road, Nanmen Village, Doumen Town, free
- Jintai Buddhist Temple: Doumen Town, a historic temple with roots going back to 1740
Escape into wetlands and nature reserves
Zhuhai sits at the mouth of the Pearl River where water meets land in ways that support rare ecosystems. Mangzhou Wetland Park on Hengqin Island is free and offers pontoons where you can feel the sea wind and watch the flow of water—a genuine escape from the city without paying for a theme park. Qi'ao Mangrove Forest Wetland Park, a province-level preserve, is another free sanctuary for experiencing nature and watching birds. These parks give you the landscape as it exists, not as it has been reimagined.
- Mangzhou Wetland Park: Qinhai North Road, Hengqin Island, 09:00–19:00, bus Z58, free
- Qi'ao Mangrove Forest Wetland Park: Qi'ao Island, take buses K1, K2, K3, 3, 3A, 10, 10A, 68, or 69 to Tangjia Station, then bus 85 to Qi'ao North Station, free
Experience Zhuhai's islands by water
One of Zhuhai's nicknames is the city of a hundred islands—146 to be exact. Several are accessible from ports by ferry boat. Qi'ao Island, in particular, holds historical sites including the Former residence of Su Zhaozheng and the Qi'ao Mangrove Forest Wetland Park, as well as old temples and oyster-shell walls worth seeing in the surrounding neighbourhood. Ferry access and island exploration add another dimension to your visit.
- Ferries depart from multiple ports to islands throughout the city
- Qi'ao Island combines historical sites, nature reserves, and traditional village architecture
Zhuhai has recovered from its history of piracy, wars, and forced evacuations into a liveable resort city where past and present coexist in the landscape. Whether you walk Lovers' Road at dusk, explore palace reconstructions, wander centuries-old streets in Doumen, or sit on a wetland pontoon watching birds, you'll move through a place shaped by water—the Pearl River, the South China Sea, and centuries of human movement through them. Begin planning a few days here to move slowly enough to feel the difference between tourist spectacle and actual place.