The water is the point and the hills are the setting, and neither is dramatic. 长潭 Chángtán is a reservoir in the north of 蕉岭县 Jiāolíng Xiàn, in the far north-east of 梅州 Méizhōu, and the lodges above it look down a wooded slope onto a long, narrow body of water with forested ridges on both sides. There is no grand peak and no famous pavilion; what there is instead is quiet, a great deal of green, and a lake with almost nothing on it. In a province where the coast is crowded for most of the year, this is the other Guangdong: cool, wet, thinly populated, and only a few degrees away from the climate of the hills just over the border in 福建 Fújiàn and 江西 Jiāngxī.
The reservoir is the reason the county town has water and the reason the road has a view, and it is also part of a protected area, which is why the shoreline is mostly forest rather than villas. 蕉岭 is a small county and a Hakka one, and it is known in Guangdong for two things: it is the birthplace of 丘逢甲 Qiū Féngjiǎ, the late-Qing scholar and resistance leader, and it is one of the counties that claims 三及第汤 sān jí dì tāng, the pork-and-liver breakfast soup. The second claim is the more useful one to a visitor, because it means the town’s breakfast stalls take the dish seriously, and the lodge will be ten minutes from them. The hills above the lake are walked by local people on weekends, and the paths are honest hill paths rather than paved scenic routes.
The lake is best in the early morning, when mist sits on the water and the ridges come and go, and in the hour before dark. In between it is a place to swim if the lodge has access, to take a boat if one is running, and otherwise to sit above. Nights are cooler here than in the delta by several degrees, which is the other reason to come in summer, and the altitude is enough that the air dries out a little after rain. Bring a layer for the evening even in July.
What the Rooms Are Like
These are small lodges and guesthouses rather than hotels, usually two or three storeys, with rooms that open onto a shared terrace or a balcony facing the water. Expect simple furniture, a firm bed, tile floors and a modest bathroom; the value is in the balcony and the silence. Ask for a room on the lake side and on the upper floor, since the ground floor can be damp so close to a reservoir, and ask whether the balcony is private or shared, because a shared terrace changes the character of the stay. Heating is often nothing more than an air conditioner with a warm setting, which is a real consideration from December to February, when it is cold at this altitude and the buildings are not insulated for the delta’s mild winters. Hot water is usually from an electric heater in the bathroom, so expect to wait between showers.
Practicalities
Price. A double runs about ¥140 to ¥380 a night, breakfast usually included. The spread is mostly about the balcony and the view rather than the fittings. Rates rise at weekends in summer and over 春节 Chūnjié, and are at their lowest in the wet weeks of early spring.
Address. The lodges sit on the slopes above 长潭 Chángtán in 蕉岭县 Jiāolíng Xiàn, along the roads that ring the reservoir a short drive from 蕉城镇 Jiāochéng Zhèn, the county town. Ask which shore the building is on, since the lake is long and the two sides are half an hour apart by road.
Rooms. Ask for an upper-floor room with a private balcony on the lake side, and ask whether the bathroom has its own water heater. Confirm that there is a place to eat within walking distance or that the lodge cooks dinner, because this is not a town and there is no row of restaurants to fall back on. If you are here in winter, ask specifically about heating rather than assuming it.
Getting there. 蕉岭 is reached by road from 梅州市 in about an hour, and from 梅州西站 Méizhōu Xī Zhàn on the 梅汕 Méi-Shàn line in a little over that. There is no station in the county itself, so the last leg is by bus or taxi from the 梅州 terminal or from 蕉岭’s own bus station in 蕉城. Driving is straightforward and the approach road along the lake is the best part of the journey.
flowcloud would say that the argument for a night above 长潭 is not the scenery but the temperature, since a few hundred metres of altitude and a large body of water are enough to turn a Guangdong summer evening into something you need a jacket for.
Where to stay: on the slope above 长潭 Chángtán in 蕉岭县 Jiāolíng Xiàn, in an upper-floor room with a private balcony facing the water. Confirm the lake side and the room’s own water heater, find out whether the lodge serves dinner, and be on the water before seven in the morning when the mist is still on it.