A city that loves to kickback.

   In 1997, during my very first visit to Zhongshan, hometown to the famous?political Chinese hero Sun Yet-sen, I was instantly struck by afree-spirited joyfulness rarely felt in Guangdong Province. I also fell in love with the city's tree-shaded lanes, the calmness, and the old houses, of which the roofs had grass growing on the tiles.
And yet here was a city, as I return 11 years later, which still hasn't caught the economic tidal wave that has swept through most of the PRD. Zhongshan remains one of the least money-oriented cities in a province moving at staggering speed, with a more civilized pace and a more free-wheeling take on life. In fact, it makes you rather giddy to be here. . .
   Firstly, the best place to be introduced to Zhongshan is Qi Jiang Park, along the Qi River in the commercial district. Like many cities in China and around the world, life begins and ends on the river. Everything comes back to fashion, as they say. In northern China, Beijing 798 has successfully transformed itself from a former state-owned factory, which used to produce electronics, to the honeypot of contemporary art, architecture, and city culture. In Zhongshan, such a cyclical transformation is also taking place. 
   When Qi Jiang Park was awarded the winner of the ASLA (The American Society of Landscape Architects) back in 2001, it surprised many people. Yet, with its way of using seemingly ordinary factory equipment as the ingredients for urban art, the award now seems obvious. The water tower, the chimneypot, the large crane, the scaffolding, the ship and the railway - everything that belonged to the Yue Zhong Shipyard has now become part of this artistic park. You don't have to take your children far from a polluted and noisy factory to find wonders, yet strolling around the park provides an opportunity to see this equipment in a new light (and all surrounded by trees, of course).
   It's a haven of nature in the city center. Clear ponds mirror the sky, and it's large enough to make you forget what lies beyond its green perimeter. Parents bring their kids for family outings, lovers steal private moments on the grass, and idle youngsters pass the days playing cards. But mostly Qi Jiang park is for old people, and as I walked through it, I followed the sound of Yue Opera to find clustersof elders gathered under banyan trees, playing stringed instruments while others danced the day away. Their laughter was carefree and highly infectious. We should be grateful for the City's government and the talented designer, Yu Kongjian, who made this little wonderland happen. As city trips go, Zhongshan is right up there.

Famous Almond Cakes
   There's no avoiding Zuixiangyuan in Zhongshan city, a mandatory stop for its famous almond cake scene. Although known as specialty of Macau, real Chinese almond cake is originally from Zhongshan. Surprisingly, there are no almonds in their almond cake. The name comes from its original almond shape. But the almond cakes in Hui Zan are famous for their taste, which is far less "pumped up" than those in Zuixiangyuan. It's just a home-style bakery of nearly 100 years, with treats still wrapped in their cute rice paper, but they are utterly delicious. Save some room for other traditional snacks like chicken cake, white sugar cake and cakes soaked with sugar.

Address: Dingzi street, Shiqi, Zhongshan (Take the No10 bus from Zhanshan bus terminal to Minquan Rd) ?For appetizers try their cucumber rolls and fishballs. For mains try the spiced salt snake.
 
Address: Bei yuan street, west district, Shi Qi Zhongshan. (Take the No29 bus from Zhongshan bus terminal to Xingchen square)