Baijiao (白蕉): Zhuhai's Water Town Behind the Famous Sea Bass

Baijiao (白蕉, Báijiāo) is Doumen district's (斗门区, Dǒumén Qū) historic water town — not one island, but a web of tidal sandbank villages and fish ponds between the Modaomen waterway (磨刀门水道, Módāomén Shuǐdào) and the Huangyang River, about 35 km west of downtown Zhuhai. Lotus ponds, moored boats, tidal channels — and the reason Chinese foodies know the name: 白蕉海鲈 (Báijiāo hǎilú), the brackish-water sea bass farmed in ponds throughout the district. Doumen produces about half of China's sea bass; the fish holds a national Geographical Indication (2009) and the town is nicknamed the "Hometown of Chinese Sea Bass" (中国海鲈之乡).

The bass is the reason to come. Sit down at any Doumen seafood restaurant and order it steamed with ginger and scallion (清蒸海鲈, qīngzhēng hǎilú) — white, garlic-clove flesh. A seafood dinner runs ¥80-120 ($11-17) per person. Bargain hunters buy at the nearby Baitengtou wholesale market (白藤头水产批发市场, Báiténgtóu) and pay a small cooking fee at an attached shop.

Beyond the plate. Wander the former Tanka boat-people villages of Denglongsha (灯笼沙水乡, Dēnglóngshā) — the old paid scenic zone has closed, but the lanes, ponds and riverfront are free. Doumen's "water wedding" (水上婚嫁, shuǐshàng hūnjià), Zhuhai's first national-level intangible-heritage custom, resurfaces at autumn festivals. North of town, Zhuzhou Water Country (竹洲水乡, Zhúzhōu) hides Asia's largest stand of rare water pines (水松, shuǐsōng) on a mid-river islet.

Getting there. No ferry — it's a river district, not a sea island. Bus 601 from Qingmao Port station (青茂口岸, Qīngmào) ends at Baijiao Bus Terminal; a taxi costs ¥80-120 ($11-17). Budget a half-day for lunch plus villages, a full day with Zhuzhou.