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Take the fast boat to China, and then relax

Welcome to the first in a series of destination guides to the Pearl River Delta, Hong Kong's hinterland. We start today with Jiangmen, a city with four counties under its administration that sprawls behind Macau and Zhuhai on the western side of the delta. Never heard of it? Well, you should have. But you might not have taken note, because it isn't exactly on the international tourist map. Yet that's what makes it a must-see destination now. This is pre-Starbucks China, a China of childhood imaginings and novels by Pearl Buck, where pagodas and waterfalls peek through shrouds of mist enveloping emerald mountains.

Jiangmen has it all, for weekend getaways or longer, more leisurely stays. Walk in the footsteps of Confucian scholars, Buddhist monks, and Taoist priests. Weep for the spilled blood of revolutionary martyrs. Haggle for bargains at open-air markets. Then pamper yourself at the hot springs of Enping before heading off to Taishan's off-shore islands to catch some rays at palm-studded beaches. And as for the food - well, it simply tastes fresher here than in Hong Kong.

Jiangmen - more people in the worldwide Chinese Diaspora can trace their roots here than to any other city on the mainland. And it's only two and a half hours by jetfoil from Hong Kong. If you feel like more than a day trip, however, there are plenty of accommodation options. You won't find any Hiltons or Sheratons or Ritz-Carltons in this part of China, but who cares? Wouldn't you rather stay in a Youth Hostel that looks more like an early-20th century inn? And if that's not to your liking, there are always picturesque retreats tucked away in the mountains of Xinhui and Heshan.

To be sure, it won't stay this way forever. See Jiangmen now - so that you can one day say, 'I remember when . . .'

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