Ancient city walls... the misty limestone peaks known as the Seven Star Crags... China's finest inkstones... the forested slopes of Dingshu Shan... Guangdong's highest pagoda, Chongxi Ta... ancient city walls.... All this and a fascinating history featuring 16th century Italian priest Matteo Ricci, one of the first Europeans to live in China make the modest city of Zhaoqing a pleasant surprise for travelers who make it to central Guangdong.

Some 110 km west of Guangzhou, Zhaoqing is still a bit out of the way for many, making it all the more worth visiting if you're looking for something a bit off the beaten path. 
 

People have occupied the site of present-day Zhaoqing since at least the Qin (221-206 B.C.) Dynasty, when it was known as Gaoyao and Guangdong defined the southern limits of the empire. During the Sui Dynasty (581-618 C.E.), the name changed to Duanzhou and served as an important administrative center and military outpost. Zhaoqing, which translates roughly to "auspiciousness rising," received its present name in 1118.

The city became known to a very early Western visitor when Italian Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci arrived in 1583. Ricci had been invited by the governor of Zhaoqing at the time, Wang P'an, who respected Ricci's skills as a mathematician and map maker. Ricci remained in Zhaoqing until 1589, having spent his time gently proselytizing Christianity and drawing up world maps based on his first-hand experiences exploring and studying Asia. 

Today, a plaque and a nineteenth-century monument commemorate Ricci's six years in Zhaoqing. 
 

Zhaoqing experiences a subtropical monsoon climate, with substantial rainfall from April to September and a late summer typhoon season. Winters are fairly wet, too, and the upper reaches of the Dinghu Shan area experience occasional snow fall, a relative rarity for Guangdong.  The yearly average temperature is 22°C and annual precipitation is 1605 mm.