Where to go with kids in Guangzhou – Lingnan Impression Park
There are many great places to visit with your family or kids in Guangzhou, after today I’m going to add Lingnan Impression Park to the list. I was a bit worried if it would be just a fake theme park, but it actually had everything needed for a fun day with the family.
Lingnan Impression Park 岭南印象园 is located in University Island, just half an hour drive from the Guangzhou city center. Tickets are 60rmb for adults and 30 for kids, small kids get in for free. Many discounts are available if you book in advance through group buying apps.
The area is big enough to spend half a day, we ended up staying for five hours, but 2-3 hours can be enough too. The village main street is the busiest, but even today on a holiday it wasn’t too crowded. Areas around the small lake were quite quiet during morning and lunch time, offering some peace and beautiful views.
The main street offers a few restaurants, coffee shops and plenty of Cantonese culture shops. All the traditional art forms are present here, including Lingnan architecture, sugar painting, paper cutting, Cantonese opera, costumes and so on. The park is full of great spots for photos!
The park is located on the spot of the original Lianxi Village. Fok family temple is one of the oldest, constructed in the Ming dynasty and renovated in 2002. There are a few other old buildings as well, but mostly is newly built replicas that continue the Lingnan architectural style.
During the day there are several shows being presented around the area, including puppetry, dancing and Cantonese opera. You can visit several temples and replicas of private houses to get a glimpse on how the wealthy lived back in the ancient China.
Don’t forget food! The main street is full of small food stalls and there are at least three Cantonese restaurants in the park. Coffee shops serve ice cold drinks and ice cream is available no more than few steps away no matter which part of the park you are.
Besides getting to know the Lingnan culture, the park is also a big playground for kids! There are several play areas for kids of different ages. Huge sand pit, climbing, slides, catching small fish and even a splash pool that is open during the Summer holiday.
Kids will enjoy the playgrounds for sure, no matter what age! Anna’s favorites where the slides and playing with the sand.
These slides have to wait a year or two before we let Anna go in them, but luckily there were smaller slides and climbing nets for the toddlers as well.
All in all we enjoyed our day at the Lingnan Impression Park a great deal. We didn’t get to visit any of the museums or temples, but today was all for having a fun family day so we spent our time at the playgrounds. Next time we want to visit the farm side and see the small animals too, this time Anna’s nap time didn’t allow us to see everything.
More family friendly sights and activities in Guangzhou coming soon!
