Guangdong is a big place and, to the surprise of many first-time visitors, it's not all as overdeveloped as the Pearl River Delta. The far north of the province features weird mountain formations, ancient temples and white-water rafting.
Shaoguan is the place to base yourself. It sits on the old road north to Hunan province. Built at the meeting of two rivers, the city has waterfront promenades on both sides - the locals use the outdoor space to practise their ballroom dancing. It's one of the nicest cities in Guangdong and is easily reached by train or bus from Guangzhou.
The Ming dynasty Fengcai Tower was built in the same era as Beijing's imperial palace, and matches its style. The old gents drinking tea in the room at the top will turn on the lights for you to view a photo exhibition, and will then go back to sitting in the dark. Fuxing Road is a traffic-free stretch of shops and food stalls, and parallel to this there is a series of lanes and alleys - a great mish-mash of old and new houses, shops with bags of spices and chillies, vegetable hawkers and a streetside fish market.
South of the town, the Nanhua Temple was founded in 502 AD after a travelling Indian monk recommended the site for its natural beauty. Today, it is regarded as a spiritual home of the Chan (Zen) school of Buddhism. But most people come to Shaoguan to visit the striking Danxiashan World Geopark nearby.
The mountainous area has given its name to the Danxia landform: high eroded peaks of red sandstone, sculpted by wind and water into shapes suggesting elephants, tortoises, candles and giant teapots. The 100-yuan (HK$122.50) entry is as steep as the rock formations, but it includes optional transport around the park on a fleet of buggies.
The Yangyuan Mountain area is closest to the park entrance. Its most famous rock formation is Yangyuan Stone, carefully described on a guide map as a 'peak of eternal masculinity'. The local tourism bureau puts it more directly: 'It looks from a distance very much like a male genital.' The Yinyuan Stone elsewhere represents the female equivalent.
For 40 yuan, a cable car will take you up to the top of Danxiashan itself, one of the larger ridges. From here, you can look out over many of the park's major features during a two-hour walk to the Biechuan Monastery, which is almost Tibetan in its cliffside setting. Along the way you pass the Dragon King Spring and caves once inhabited by hermits. Red stone steps lead down the cliff face to the monastery - an attractive set of buildings around a flag-stoned courtyard - and then down further, beside rock engravings, to a line of shops where you can catch another buggy. Most locals, and the monks, seem to walk up rather than take the cable car; there is also a group of sedan-chair bearers at hand.