韩江 Hán jiāng, the Han River, is the great river of 潮州 Cháozhōu, and it runs broad and green past the old city. On its bank, facing straight across the water at the 广济桥 Guǎngjì qiáo, the famous bridge of boats and pavilions, sit a handful of inns whose rooms look over the water. A riverside inn here is the place to be if you want to watch the river work, to see the morning boats on the sandbar, and to have the bridge and the old town within an easy walk. It is a different stay from being in the middle of the pedestrian lanes: quieter at night, with the water instead of the crowd outside the window.
The inns on the 韩江 are mostly mid-sized, modern buildings with a lobby, a restaurant and a run of rooms, the best of which face the water. A river-facing room has a window or a balcony that looks over the green river and, depending on where you are, the 广济桥 and the 湘子桥 Xiāngzǐ qiáo beyond it. The rooms are comfortable and conventional – a firm bed, air conditioning, a clean bathroom – and the reason to book is the view. In the evening the bridge lights up and reflects in the water, and the banks are walked by families.
The river is the life of the city. In the morning you can watch the boats work the sandbar and the fishermen cast; at dusk the water turns gold and the bridge is lit. From an inn here the old town is a short walk along the bank and into the lanes. The 广济桥 itself is famous for its 浮桥 fú qiáo, the floating section of boats that is removed when the river runs high, and for the pavilions that sit on the piers. Staying on the river gives you both the water and the town, and it is the calmest base from which to see them both.
What the Rooms Are Like
Expect a comfortable, modern room of twenty to thirty-five square metres, a firm bed, air conditioning, a clean en-suite bathroom and often a balcony or a large window. The river-facing rooms are the reason to book and cost more; a garden- or river-behind room is cheaper and quieter but loses the point. There is usually a restaurant and reliable Wi-Fi, and a lift in these larger buildings. The view is the amenity, so confirm it is a river view and not a partial one.
Practicalities
Price. A double with a river view at a 韩江 inn runs ¥250 to ¥500 a night in the shoulder season, and more over the October week and Chinese New Year. The non-views are cheaper, and the top-floor river rooms with a balcony command a premium.
Address. The inns are on the bank of the 韩江 in the 湘桥区 Xiāngqiáo qū of 潮州, facing the 广济桥 and within a short walk of the old town and 牌坊街. 潮州 is reached by the high-speed rail to 潮汕站 Cháoshàn zhàn.
Rooms. Ask for a room that faces the river and the bridge rather than the road behind, and for a higher floor for the best view. Confirm whether breakfast is included and whether there is parking, which is limited along the riverfront. Check the bridge view, because some river rooms face a quieter reach rather than the famous crossing.
Getting there. From 潮汕站 Cháoshàn zhàn, a taxi to the 韩江 riverfront takes about half an hour. The old town and 广济桥 are a short walk from the inns, so a car is not necessary in the city.
Where to stay: the inns on the bank of the 韩江 in 湘桥区, 潮州, reached by taxi from 潮汕站. Book a river-facing room for the view of the bridge, confirm the parking and breakfast, and come for the water rather than the crowd.
flowcloud would say that a room over a broad green river, looking straight across at a bridge of boats and pavilions, is the calmest vantage on a busy old city, and that the best way to watch a place work is from the water’s edge at the end of the day.