Zhongshan

Understand

thumb|Downtown Zhongshan at night Zhongshan is in the Pearl River Delta region of Guangdong Province, on the west bank of the Pearl River estuary. It is connected by road and rail to Guangzhou (capital of Guangdong Province) to the north and Zhuhai to the south. Hong Kong can be reached by ferry and Macao via Zhuhai.

Zhongshan covers an area of 1,800 km² and has a permanent population of some 4.4 million in 2020. The city is in a subtropical humid zone with an annual average temperature around 23 °C.

Zhongshan has nurtured numerous prominent historical figures throughout its history. On November 12, 1866, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen (also Sun Zhongshan) the great leader of China's republican revolution, was born at Cuiheng village of Zhongshan. In memory of him, the county of Xiangshan, which was set up in 1152, was renamed after Dr. Sun as Zhongshan in 1925. It's one of very few cities in China named after a person.

Zhongshan was also the location of a strong guerrilla force during World War II, and the villages that hid the guerrillas are a short drive away through wooded lanes.

Zhongshan has a vibrant downtown river area, some beautiful Buddhist temples. It is an affordable place to live and work with housing being about one third that of its bigger sister cities nearby.

Do

thumb|View from Zhongshan Sky Wheel

Buy

There is an antique furniture shopping area in the Zhongshan Sanxiang Guhe area. The prices are high by national standards and expats should bargain fierce (hire local to assist) as Chinese business people are good bargainer. Most of the pieces look like real antiques, but are actually newly made replicas from tropical rain forest wood.

Guzhen town at the border of Jiangmen is lighting central. If you're feeling hungry or underdressed, too bad—the central town core is light shop after light shop selling everything from bulbs to chandeliers to accessories. Hotels will have multiple light shops in the lobby and banks are rare because they can't compete against the rents offered by light shops.

Drink

Beware: Chinese bars/disco are extremely loud and you can lose your hearing if you are a frequent guest. Expat bars are among the few places that one can have nice beer and still speak.

Stay safe

Zhongshan is a reasonably safe place with a low crime rate, but occasionally trouble may occur, especially, as everywhere, late at night around bars. Caution and common sense are advised at all times. Pickpockets, although not plentiful, are about and the foreign traveler is often a target.

Be careful. In Zhongshan, there are many people on electric bikes and scooters everywhere and they don't follow traffic regulations. Some bike lanes on are sideways. Watch where you are going!

On addition to that, traffic can be problematic, as there are no pedestrian signs and are just based on the vehicle traffic lights. Also, some cars are allowed to turn on reds, so be careful.