Maoming 茂名Màomíng

About Maoming

Founded as a city in 1959 around an oil-shale refinery, Maoming is still called China's 'southern oil city', yet it also grows more lychees and longans than anywhere else in Guangdong, and nine trees in the old Tribute Garden at Genzi are more than a thousand years old. Lady Xian, a sixth-century chieftain of the Li people, is honoured at her hometown and tomb in Dianbai, where China's First Beach runs for 12 km. Villages hold nianli fairs, said to outdo New Year.

What to eat in Maoming

• Shuidong duck congee (水东鸭粥)
• Zhenlong starfruit duck (镇隆杨桃鸭)
• Xinyi chaiqiang noodles (信宜柴枪粉)

Listed sites in Maoming

12 sites in Maoming are on the official lists. Those with a page of their own link to it; the rest open as cards on the map.

• China's First Beach 中国第一滩 4A scenic area · on the map
  A 12 km sweep of sand about 300 m wide on the Dianbai coast, opened as Maoming's seaside resort in 1993 and named by local officials.
• Datang Lychee Country, Genzi 大唐荔乡 4A scenic area · on the map
  A lychee-culture park of about 500 mu at Baiqiao in Genzi town, now officially named Baiqiao Lychee Park, in an area where lychees have been grown for more than 2,000 years.
• Douzhou Ancient Town 窦州古城 4A scenic area · on the map
  The old walled seat of Xinyi county at Zhenlong, founded in 621 and the county town until 1952, which also served as the seat of Douzhou prefecture from 634 to 1071.
• Fangji Island (Chicken Island) 放鸡岛 4A scenic area
  An island of about 1.9 km² off the Dianbai coast, Maoming's largest, with a sandy beach on its north side, cliffs on the east and a hilltop lighthouse.
• Guangken National Tropical Agriculture Park 广垦国家热带农业公园 4A scenic area · on the map
  A large agricultural theme park of about 5,000 mu on the edge of Huazhou, built by the state-owned Guangdong agricultural reclamation group and approved by the Ministry of Agriculture.
• Lady Xian's Hometown and Tomb 冼太夫人故里 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
  The home district of Lady Xian, the sixth-century chieftain of the Li people of Gaoliang who served the Liang, Chen and Sui courts and is honoured as the 'Saintly Mother of Lingnan'.
• Lotus Lake Manor, Xinyi 莲花湖庄园 4A scenic area · on the map
  A lakeside resort of about 600 mu in Chidong town north of Xinyi, near the Guangdong–Guangxi border, built around Lotus Lake.
• Maoming Forest Park 茂名森林公园 4A scenic area · on the map
  A provincial forest park of about 4,500 mu on the south-western edge of Maoming city, opened in 2002 on the site of an old state forestry farm.
• Romantic Coast Resort 浪漫海岸 4A scenic area · on the map
  A seaside resort on 5.3 km of natural coastline in Maoming's Binhai New Area, built in South-East Asian style around a 'love and romance' theme.
• Xianrendong Scenic Area, Gaozhou 高州仙人洞 4A scenic area · on the map
  A forested mountain area around Xianrendong village on the southern slopes of Datianding, the high range in north-east Gaozhou, known locally as an 'air-conditioned village' for its cool summers.
• Yushui Ancient Hot Spring 御水古温泉 4A scenic area · on the map
  A hot-spring resort of about 500 mu at the foot of Reshui (Hot Water) Mountain in Magang town, Dianbai, on what was once an old post road.
• Baoguang Pagoda 宝光塔 National heritage site · on the map
  An octagonal nine-storey brick pagoda on the west bank of the Jian River in Gaozhou, built in 1576 under the Ming to guard the city's waterway, and one of the city's landmarks.

On the map

Open Maoming on the illustrated map to see its outline, its places and listed sites together, and to add them to a trip.

Learn more

• Wikipedia
• Official website
• Wikipedia (Chinese)