Skip to content
Voykit
Back to Ganzhou

In the print dialog pick “Save as PDF” to keep it on your phone. A5 makes a pocket booklet; A4 suits a desk printer.

Include in the print. Unchecked sections stay on screen, dimmed, and drop out of the PDF.

Voykit pocket guide · China

Ganzhou

赣州

Give Ganzhou one full day for the old wall, the floating bridge and the Fushou Ditch; add a second only for Tianyao Rock or a Hakka village run.

Ganzhou is southern Jiangxi's rail and air junction, on the Beijing–Kowloon line about 2 h from Shenzhen and 2.5 h from Guangzhou by high-speed train. The draw is a compact old core on the Gan River — Song-dynasty wall, a pontoon bridge, a 900-year-old drainage system — plus Hakka culture in the surrounding county towns. It is a stop between Guangdong and Jiangxi, not a destination in itself.

AbaAletaiAli, TibetAnjiAnningAnshanAnshunAnxiAnyangAojiangBaichengBaiheBaiseBaishaGanzhou1,000 kmdots: other places in this guide
Sketch, not to navigate by: shapes follow this guide’s areas and places, not official boundaries. North is up.
Country
China
Local name
赣州
Best months
Mar–May, Oct–Nov
Avoid
Jul–Aug (34 °C (93 °F) highs, heavy rain), Chinese New Year week
Stay
1–2 nights

Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.

Essentials

Currency
CNY
Money
Alipay and WeChat Pay accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex cards; single payments over ¥200 carry a fee of about 3% on a foreign card (smaller ones are free), and per-payment and yearly caps apply — check the app. Keep a second way to pay.
Daily spend
Budget ¥250–450 excl. bed · Mid ¥450–900 excl. bed · High ¥900+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
SIM and data
A roaming eSIM from outside China routes traffic through its home network, so Google, WhatsApp and Instagram work without a VPN — the simplest setup.
Emergency
Police 110 · Fire 119 · Ambulance 120
Plugs
Types A, C, I · 220 V · 50 Hz · Many sockets take flat two-pin (A), round two-pin (C) and angled three-pin (I) plugs; UK plugs need an adapter.
Tipping
Restaurants: No tip; upmarket hotels add 10–15% service.; Taxis and DiDi: No tip.; Tour guides and drivers: Expected on organised tours: about ¥100–200 a day for a guide, ¥50–100 for a driver.; Hotel porters: Not expected; ¥10–20 in luxury hotels.
Water
Not for drinking from the tap; bottled water ¥2–5, and kettles and free bottles in hotel rooms. Restaurants serve hot water or tea.
Toilets
Public toilets are frequent and free; squat toilets outside hotels and malls. Carry tissues — many have no paper.

What things cost

ItemPrice
Ganzhou rice noodles (米粉)¥15–30
Jiangxi dishes at a local restaurant¥50–100
Hotpot, per person¥80–150
Roast duck¥60–120
Tianyao Rock entry¥80
Buddhist pagoda entry¥30
Ganzhou MuseumFree
eSIM or data SIM, about a week¥50–150

Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.

Get in

By air

KOW · Ganzhou Huangjin Airport
About 16 km (9.9 mi) northeast of the centre in Zhanggong District; domestic flights from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Check current schedules.

Typical fares

Airport → city centre, taxi
about ¥60–100, 30–40 min (check)
Ganzhou → Shenzhen North, high-speed
about 2 h; book ahead (check)
Ganzhou → Guangzhou South, high-speed
about 2.5 h (check)
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card

Get around

Taxis are the fastest way across the city; buses cover the same routes more slowly and cost a few yuan. The old core around the wall and Gan River is walkable in an afternoon. For Tianyao Rock and the county sights you need a taxi, a tour or a car.

See and do

Known for

  • Ancient city wall and floating bridge
  • Fushou Ditch drainage museum
  • Hakka culture and folk songs
  • Tianyao Rock grottoes

Day trips

WhereHowTime
Tianyao Rock (Tongtian Yan)Taxi or car, about 15 km (9.3 mi) from the centreAbout 1 h each way
RuijinHigh-speed or regular train from Ganzhou, then local taxi2–3 h
Nanshan Park and Nanshan TempleTaxi from the centreAbout 30 min
Hakka villages of the Ganzhou regionBus or car to county towns such as Longnan or Anyuan2 h+

Sleep

Zhanggong District old core
Walk to the wall, floating bridge and museum; best for a one-night stop.
Ganzhou Railway Station area
Wuzhou Avenue; practical for early trains, 10–15 min by taxi from the riverfront.

Phrase card

EnglishSay or show
Hello你好nǐ hǎo
Thank you谢谢xiè xie
How much is it?多少钱？duō shao qián
Please use the meter请打表qǐng dǎ biǎo
Where is the toilet?洗手间在哪里？xǐ shǒu jiān zài nǎ lǐ
I don't eat spicy food我不吃辣wǒ bù chī là

Etiquette, safety and scams

Etiquette

  • Greeting: Handshake and a nod; use surnames with a title; avoid: Hugs and cheek kisses
  • Face: Disagree privately and indirectly; avoid: Correcting or embarrassing someone in front of others
  • Gifts: Give with two hands; expect the gift to be refused once or twice and opened later; avoid: Clocks, umbrellas, white flowers, sets of four
  • Business cards: Present and receive with both hands, read it, keep it on the table; avoid: Writing on it or pocketing it at once
  • Queues and crowds: Hold your ground politely in scrums at buses and lifts; avoid: Taking pushing personally
  • Temples: Walk clockwise around Tibetan stupas and prayer wheels; remove hats; avoid: Touching statues or photographing where signs forbid
  • Politics: Listen; follow your host's lead; avoid: Raising Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang, 1989 or the party leadership
  • Numbers and colour: Red and 8 are lucky; red envelopes carry money gifts; avoid: Writing names in red; the number 4

Scams and watch-outs

  • Summer is hot and wet: July and August average 34 °C highs with 135–155 mm of rain.
  • Ganzhou Museum closes Mondays and stops issuing tickets at 16:00.
  • Tianyao Rock is about 15 km out of town with no metro: fix a return ride or a driver before you go.
  • Card and mobile payment work in hotels and chains; small noodle shops may be cash or QR only.

Ganzhou is a low-crime city and normal precautions are enough. The real risks are summer heat and rain, unlit riverbank paths at night, and taxis that do not use the meter — ask for the meter or agree the fare first.

One and two days

No timed day plan for Ganzhou yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.

  • Ancient city wall and floating bridge
  • Fushou Ditch drainage museum
  • Hakka culture and folk songs
  • Tianyao Rock grottoes

Sources

Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.

Pocket card

Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.

Ganzhou赣州

请到这个地址

To this address, please

My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)

No US or UK consulate in Ganzhou; nearest consulates-general are in Guangzhou, with embassies in Beijing.

Show the Chinese address in characters to taxi drivers.

Voykit · checked 2026-09

Printed from Voykit (/ganzhou). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.