Guangzhou or Zhangjiajie?

Neither city is a place for a beach vacation, and swimmers in either will end up in a hotel pool. Guangzhou at least has real sand within reach, on the east side of Shenzhen about two hours away. Its own estuary shore is muddy and industrial, and in summer water parks fill the gap.

Zhangjiajie lies far inland in the mountains of western Hunan, and its lakes are only for boat rides. The nearest it comes to a day in the water is summer rafting through the gorges, which is more adventure than swim.

Guangzhou is the home of Cantonese cooking, and a whole trip can be planned around its tables: morning dim sum in the big halls, roast goose and clay-pot rice in Xiguan and Liwan, late congee and seafood at the night markets, and Tianhe's high-end restaurants for a special meal.

Zhangjiajie's western Hunan cooking is good in a narrower and fiercer way, with chilli, sour pickles, wood-smoked bacon and the sanxiaguo stew bubbling on the table. Eat on the city's evening food streets rather than at the tour-group places by the Wulingyuan gates, and expect very little beyond Chinese food.

Guangzhou has far more to see. The Lingnan carving of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, the jade burial suit of the Nanyue King, some of southern China's oldest Buddhist temples and the colonial villas of Shamian Island fill two or three days, though they are scattered sights rather than one old town.

Zhangjiajie's town has Puguang Temple, a Tujia folk-customs park and a few rebuilt streets, all seen in half a day. Its richer heritage lies outside town, in the Tujia villages and old towns.

Guangzhou wins easily, though mostly on local terms. It has clubs along the river and in Tianhe, cocktail bars in Zhujiang New Town, karaoke and, above all, siu yeh, the late supper of seafood and beer that goes on until two or three. Zhangjiajie goes to bed early because everyone is up at dawn for the parks, and a beer by the river after dinner is about as far as an evening goes.

Zhangjiajie is far ahead here. The quartz-sandstone pillars of Wulingyuan, the viewpoints over Yuanjiajie and Tianzi Mountain, Heaven's Gate on Tianmen Mountain and the glass-bridged Grand Canyon are scenery people cross China to see. The paths are paved steps, though, and crowded in the peak weeks.

Guangzhou's outdoors are pleasant rather than remarkable: the forested hills of Baiyun Mountain on the edge of the city, the Pearl River promenades, and green outings to Conghua or the waterfalls of Dinghu Mountain. They are good for a walk, but not a reason to travel.

Guangzhou makes the better base. Foshan and Shunde are next door, the crags of Zhaoqing are an hour away, and the Kaiping watchtowers make a full day. Hong Kong and Macau are each a day out by train, but check your visa before crossing.

Zhangjiajie has three strong outings: the riverside stilt houses of Fenghuang, Furong Town on its cliff and the old Tujia stone capital of Laosicheng. Beyond those, the options thin out into more mountains.

Guangzhou suits children far better, mostly thanks to the Chimelong resort in Panyu with its drive-through safari park, theme park, water park and circus. The city also has a zoo, a science centre and a metro with lifts for buggies.

Zhangjiajie thrills older children with cable cars, a lift up a cliff, glass walkways and macaques beside the path. But the days mean queues and steep stone steps, and small children and pushchairs struggle.

Guangzhou's metro is huge, signed in English and reaches the airport and rail stations. The city is so large, though, that forty-minute journeys are normal, and paying by phone is close to essential.

Zhangjiajie is harder work. The forest park is about 30km from the city, the outlying sights need buses, taxis or a hired driver, and the park shuttles are confusing, with signs mostly in Chinese. Splitting your nights between Wulingyuan and the city makes it easier.

Guangzhou is a trading city, with wholesale districts for clothing, leather and electronics, the vast Fangcun tea market, Hualin's jade street, the Beijing Road pedestrian street and luxury malls in Tianhe. Zhangjiajie sells souvenirs and mountain produce, and its one real find is Tujia xilankapu brocade, along with some Miao silver.

Both are cheap places to sleep and eat, and the difference is where the money goes. In Guangzhou most temples, parks and museums are free or nearly so. Costs climb only with imported drinks, international restaurants and hotel rates during the spring and autumn trade fairs.

In Zhangjiajie, meals, rooms and taxis cost little, but the forest park pass, the Tianmen cable car, the glass bridges and the lifts are each ticketed separately, and together they soon become the biggest part of the budget.

Guangzhou has a proper stage: the Opera House on the river for touring opera, ballet and musicals, the Xinghai Concert Hall for its symphony orchestra, and Cantonese opera in the old western districts, though non-Chinese speakers have to make an effort to find programmes. Zhangjiajie's evenings bring large tourist spectacles of Tujia and Miao folklore, the most striking set in the valley under Tianmen Mountain. They are colourful, but the town has no music or theatre of its own behind them.

Guangzhou is the easier place to unwind. The hot-spring resorts of Conghua are an hour away, massage parlours on almost every block stay open late, and long morning tea is a local habit you can join, even if the city itself is loud and fast.

In Zhangjiajie, relaxing mostly means recovering: a foot massage after the stone steps, a hotel spa or the hot springs in the countryside. The calmest hour is dawn in the lower valleys of the forest park.