The old quarter of 阳江 Yángjiāng is a low grid of lanes on the west bank of the 漠阳江 Mòyáng jiāng, the Moyang River, gathered around the historic commercial street of 南恩路 Nán ēn lù, where the shophouses still carry their arcaded fronts and the upper floors their old timber balconies. A boutique hotel in this quarter is a conversion of one of those shophouses: a dozen or so rooms behind a restored 骑楼 qí lóu, the arcaded facade that shades the pavement, with the morning market a lane away and the river a few minutes on foot. It is the best base in the city for someone who wants to eat their way through 阳江 rather than sit by a beach.
The conversions keep the bones of the buildings and add very little. A typical one has a narrow frontage on the lane, a deep plan running back to a small courtyard or light well, and a stair of worn stone or timber climbing to the rooms above the shopfront. The facade is the heritage: the arcade at street level, the shuttered windows and the carved or moulded trim above them. Inside, the fittings are new and simple – a firm bed, good air conditioning, a clean bathroom with a proper shower – because a building this old is cold in winter and damp in summer, and the comfort has to be modern even when the shell is not.
The rooms are small and the point is the position. Expect eighteen to thirty square metres, a bed under an old beam, a window that may look onto the lane, the courtyard or a tiled roofscape. The quietest rooms face the courtyard rather than the street, and the ones with a balcony over the lane are the liveliest. It is a stay for people who like to open a shuttered window in the morning and hear a market rather than a sea.
What the old quarter gives you is the city at close range. In the morning the lanes fill with the 猪肠碌 trolleys and the vegetable stalls of the market; through the day the 骑楼 arcades shade a slow commerce of provision shops, 豆豉 sellers and tea houses; in the evening people walk the river bank by the 漠阳江 and the park at 鸳鸯湖 is loud with families. Everything the city is known for eating is within a few minutes of the door, and the old town is compact enough to walk in a morning. Come for two nights and treat the lanes as your larder.
What the Rooms Are Like
Expect a room of eighteen to thirty square metres, a firm bed, air conditioning that works, a clean en-suite bathroom with a shower, and a finish that leans on the age of the building rather than on gloss. The courtyard-facing rooms are quieter and the lane-facing ones are livelier, so pick by how you sleep. There is usually a kettle, tea and a simple breakfast, and Wi-Fi is reliable. Some of these houses have no lift, and the old stairs are steep, which is worth knowing if you carry heavy bags.
Practicalities
Price. A double at an old-quarter boutique hotel runs ¥200 to ¥450 a night in the shoulder season, and more over the October week and Chinese New Year, when the city is busiest. The courtyard-facing and balcony rooms cost a little more, and the busiest weekends sell out.
Address. The hotels are in the 江城区 Jiāngchéng qū old quarter of 阳江, on and around 南恩路 Nán ēn lù near the 漠阳江, within a short walk of the market and the river. 阳江 is reached by the high-speed rail to 阳江站 Yángjiāng zhàn.
Rooms. Ask for a courtyard-facing room if you want quiet, and confirm the bathroom is en-suite and the air conditioning is in the room, because the old houses vary. Ask whether breakfast is included and what time the market starts if you are a light sleeper. Check the check-in time, as converted shophouses are often small operations with set hours.
Getting there. From 阳江站 Yángjiāng zhàn on the high-speed line, a taxi to the old quarter takes about twenty minutes. In the city the quarter is walkable, and a car is more trouble than it is worth once you are here; ask about parking if you are driving, because the lanes are narrow and the car parks are a walk away.
Where to stay: the boutique conversions of the 江城区 old quarter of 阳江, on the lanes around 南恩路, reached by taxi from 阳江站. Book a courtyard-facing room, confirm the breakfast, and come for the market and the food rather than for views.
flowcloud would say that a room behind an old arcade on a market lane, where you wake to the sound of a city selling vegetables and rolling rice noodles, is the most honest way to arrive somewhere, and that a place which hands you its breakfast before its scenery has its priorities right.