Zhuhai

Breezy and set by the sea, Zhuhai is fringed with bicycle-whizzing parks and long coastal walkways topped with palms. It's a popular R&R retreat for Chinese and international tourists, with a convenient location between the mega casinos of Macau and the shiny skyscrapers of Hong Kong, not to mention a buzzing nightlife and culture scene all of its own.

Most Zhuhai tour guides will start by bringing you down to the iconic Fisher Girl Statue on the waterfront, where Lover's Road, the lively promenade offers stunning broadsides of the Macau skyline in the distance. Behind those is an electrifying town that's packed with big banks, bustling bazaars, shopping plazas, and slick cocktail joints, giving way to salt-scented seafood streets in Wanzai and Gongbei (a must for fish lovers).

For that fix of culture, the Jintai Buddhist Temple dating from the Song Dynasty, and the New Yuanming Palace with its fusion of oriental and western design features, come top of the bill. And there's always an island escape to be had. Yep, countless little specks in the South China Sea are linked by ferry or bridge to Zhuhai, from diving-mecca Dong'ao to the pristine beaches of Wailingding.