At the beginning of the week, based in the stunningly tranquil and culturally fascinating village of Tangkou, situated in the Kaiping area of Guangdong’s Jiangmen region, you’ll traverse some of the province’s extraordinary greenways by bike and on foot. With us, you’ll visit some of the best-preserved examples of Kaiping’s towering, UNESCO-protected Diaolou watchtowers. In Tangkou, we’ll be guests in a heritage restoration project, a beautifully furnished converted watch factory doubling as a community cultural space, part of a wider countryside revitalization project, spearheaded by some great friends of The Hutong. Whether it’s a farm-to-table cooking class using locally grown fresh ingredients, or energetic Lawn Games, or a guided walking tour through local villages focused on heritage preservation, there’s something for kids and adults alike.

After three idyllic days immersed in Kaiping’s countryside, we’ll move on to a single-night stopover in historic Foshan as we meander back towards civilization. In Foshan, birthplace of Ip Man (Ye Wen, 葉問), there’ll be a chance for your children to master martial arts, following in the footsteps of Bruce Lee’s tutor and the Qing dynasty folk hero Huang Fei Hong (Wong Fei-hung), among others. At a lion dance training centre home to a world-champion troupe, the children will learn lightning-quick ‘hung ga’ kung fu combos, before trying their hand at some impressive lion dance routines. We’ll also visit the storied Foshan Zumiao –Ancestors’ Temple, exploring more about the region’s illustrious past. At the Nanfeng kiln, the oldest ‘dragon kiln’ still in use in China, dating from the Ming dynasty, you’ll have the chance to explore a quaint artists’ village in well-preserved surrounds, try your hand at creating ceramic art, and whipping up a bowl of shuang pi nai, 黄皮奶. You’ll leave inspired by the places you’ve been to and the things that you’ve seen. Join us in glorious Guangdong and experience the magic of the south!