Named "China's Most Beautiful Rural Tourist Destination" due to its unique natural ecological landscapes, profound historical and cultural resources, and location advantage, Doumen in Zhuhai is easily accessible if taking the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (HZMB).

If you're after a quick break that mixes stunning architecture, comfort food and a wander through a genuinely old Chinese street, Doumen and its surrounds tick every box. Here's how I do it.

Favourite hotel in Doumen (actually it’s in Jinwan)

I like to stay at the Zhuhai Marriott Hotel Jinwan and have always found even the standard rooms to have a generous amount of space along with all the usual amenities. If you're after a proper five-star hotel in Zhuhai, go here, even though it’s not actually in Doumen but makes for an excellent base and, as you'll see, there are several excellent reasons to stay here.

Point one being the breakfast buffet is fabulous, and the seating areas are usually packed out. And yes, there is a service robot! The Chinese restaurant is incredibly good, and the private rooms have a magnificent view.

There's parking outside (free) and in the underground car park, which I think is free if you stay at the hotel.

There is another reason for staying in this hotel, and that's the rather splendid views of the Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Centre, which was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and completed in late 2023. Make sure you request this view, because we had a side room once which gave us an ordinary office-block view.

The Zhuhai Jinwan Civic Art Centre

Sitting on an artificial island and connected by walkways, this 100,078-square-metre cultural complex bears a faint resemblance (I think) to the Sydney Opera House because of its sweeping roof canopy. Inside is a grand theatre, a science centre and an art museum. It really is a sight to behold from any angle, and easily one of the best places to visit in Jinwan.

Huafa Jinwan Mall and Commune

In the right of the above photo is the Jinwan Huafa Shangdu Center (also known as Huafa Jinwan Mall), a huge retail development with many dining options , coffee shops, and play areas for children and dogs. If you like shopping, this is one of the biggest and newest malls in the Jinwan area.

This photo doesn't do Huafa Jinwan Mall justice at all by showing a minute slice of this huge mall.

My favourite restaurant here is Commune (there are a few branches in Zhuhai) and the seats outside offer fantastic views of the art centre and the fountains at night.

We used the Alipay HK app to scan the table QR code, which then served the Commune menu, making choosing and paying convenient. After selecting the dishes and drinks you want, pay, and show the resulting QR code to the staff.

Commune's food menu is mostly Western family favourites such as spaghetti, exceptional pizzas, chicken wings (go for spicy if you dare), salads, and other good stuff. They have a bar serving all the usual drinks, including glasses and towers of beer.

[We went there one Thursday night, which was ladies' night, and the drinks were cheap (the ladies' package was RMB99 for three hours of cocktails and one round of chicken popcorn (deep-fried chicken bites)),

I was just drinking water because I was driving, which turned out to be quite fortuitous.

Because…

I was stopped at a roadblock on the way home. Unlike the random breath tests I've done before, where you blow into a straw connected to a box that does the analysis, this was different.

The police officer waved what looked like a plastic baton with red lights down the side near my face and said, ‘Blow’. No blowing into a straw, just blowing in the baton's direction. The air is then analysed, and the baton’s AI voice said No alcohol detected… No alcohol detected. All within ten seconds.

Doumen Old Street

If you want to swap new with old, then head towards the countryside and swap the malls and Doumen Old Street, which dates back to the late 1800s.

Rev. John Galloway — a Canadian priest and architect — along with his team, blended Chinese and Western styles into a single stretch of shopfronts. The town quickly grew into an important hub for moving goods due to its location on the southern bank of the Pearl River Delta.

In 2013, Doumen Old Street earned the title of a "Historical and Cultural Street in China".

From the hotel to Doumen Old Street is about 40 kilometres, with most of the trip on a fast road into the countryside. Even then the road is quality and only the last kilometre is on a smaller road.

The old street itself is walkable, and there's plenty of quaintness to see and photo opportunities. Here you'll see low-rise old buildings with shops selling fruit & veg and coffee shops. It's all rather enjoyable and away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

If you're planning to visit, this is a two-hour tops stop.

Address: Old Street (Jiu Jie), Doumen Town, Doumen District, Zhuhai

Final Thoughts

Stay at the Zhuhai Marriott Hotel Jinwan, take a trip to Doumen Old Street, be awed by the Zaha Hadid art centre and travel across one of the world’s most extraordinary bridge crossings and you've got yourself a properly different weekend. Whether you've got one day in Zhuhai, a two-day trip, or a full three-day itinerary, there's more than enough here to fill it.

If you're wondering what currency to use in Zhuhai, most of the time you'll be paying by phone rather than with notes and coins. However, using real money is possible everywhere (it’s legal tender), I just rarely see people paying by cash preferring WeChat or Alipay. Forget credit cards – rare to find anyone accepting them apart from Western brand hotels. You can link your credit card to the apps.

As the founder of Eight PR, a PR agency in Hong Kong, Ivan first visited China in 1987 by train from Hong Kong to Guangzhou and has since travelled extensively on the mainland and in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). He passed his China driving test in March 2024.

Places visited in China (by car, plane, train, high speed train, ferry, coach, bus) include: Beijing, Beijou, Chengdu, Dali, Daya Bay, Dongguan, Ganzhou, Gaoming, Guangzhou, Hainan, Hailing Island, Heishan, Huizhou, Junan, Kunming, Lijang, Longjiang, Nanhai, Shanghai, Shanwei, Shenzhen, Shilin Yi, Shunde, Wuzhou, Xiamen, Xiqaio, Yingde, Yinghe, Zhuhai, and Zhaoqing.

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