Asia - xiao nan guo bathhouse: shanghai

Visiting bathhouses is one of my favorite downtime activities in Asia. I typically inspect facilities prior to partaking so I rarely end up in any disgusting places; most are pretty good and certainly a better bang for the buck than your typical no-frills massage joint (though I do have a soft spot for Taipan Massage).

But, sometimes I come across establishments that deserve special recognition. I visited the Xiao Nan Guo ( 小南国 ) -- yes, the restaurant chain -- bathhouse in Gubei (past the Carefour) for the first time today and it is worthy of comment.

Unlike the Heaven Spa Club in Beijing, which I rank as my all time favorite, the Xiao Nan Guo facilities were quite crowded when I visited (mid day on Monday), which is certainly not good thing. However, it wasn't so crowded that I couldn't always get jacuzzis to myself and everything seemed really clean (typically, there is an inverse relationship between number of guests and cleanliness).

What's worthy of pause, is that at y48, it is one of the best deals I've encountered in China. That gets you around 20 jacuzzis with different water temps and kinds of salts, including an outdoor Japanese-style pool, three tastefully apointed saunas, 4 floors of recreational facilities, a 25m pool,....

Plus, (budget travlers take note) you can stay overnight for an additional y20 or y180 for a private room. The food wasn't to my liking an there was nothing special about my foot massage, but the prices for everything were quite reasonable.

Getting out there on the front end of rush hour was a bit of a pain so I certainly won't be going back on a daily basis (not to mention, the added cab fare offsets a lot of the savings). However, I will definitely keep it on my weekend radar screen going forward.

I'm returning to Beijing for a few days tomorrow and will be sure to revisit "Heaven" to see if it is still as blissful as it was when I left town over a month ago.

moondog, nice tips.

going to the saunas/spas are my favorite thing also while traveling in Asia. I will always look for a local spot, where the prices are always reasonable. In Bangkok I have found a lot of good ones! It did get me in trouble though one time when I found a sauna in Seoul, but didn't realize it was a gay sauna until I was actually *in* the sauna. :eek:

I've gone to Sea Clouds a few times during the past several weeks and think I prefer it to Xiaonanguo because it is less crowded, even on weekends. It is also closer to town (888 Panyu Rd near Hongqiao Rd; 64070011). The service isn't as good as Xiaonanguo and the facilities aren't quite as cool, but they have a few things that I really like: 1) Chinese medicine sauna; 2) very cold pool inside dry sauna; 3) outdoor spa with rain effects from above; and 4) comfortable sleeping chairs.

Visiting bathhouses is one of my favorite downtime activities in Asia. I typically inspect facilities prior to partaking so I rarely end up in any disgusting places; most are pretty good and certainly a better bang for the buck than your typical no-frills massage joint (though I do have a soft spot for Taipan Massage).

But, sometimes I come across establishments that deserve special recognition. I visited the Xiao Nan Guo ( 小南国 ) -- yes, the restaurant chain -- bathhouse in Gubei (past the Carefour) for the first time today and it is worthy of comment.

Unlike the Heaven Spa Club in Beijing, which I rank as my all time favorite, the Xiao Nan Guo facilities were quite crowded when I visited (mid day on Monday), which is certainly not good thing. However, it wasn't so crowded that I couldn't always get jacuzzis to myself and everything seemed really clean (typically, there is an inverse relationship between number of guests and cleanliness).

What's worthy of pause, is that at y48, it is one of the best deals I've encountered in China. That gets you around 20 jacuzzis with different water temps and kinds of salts, including an outdoor Japanese-style pool, three tastefully apointed saunas, 4 floors of recreational facilities, a 25m pool,....

Plus, (budget travlers take note) you can stay overnight for an additional y20 or y180 for a private room. The food wasn't to my liking an there was nothing special about my foot massage, but the prices for everything were quite reasonable.

Getting out there on the front end of rush hour was a bit of a pain so I certainly won't be going back on a daily basis (not to mention, the added cab fare offsets a lot of the savings). However, I will definitely keep it on my weekend radar screen going forward.

I'm returning to Beijing for a few days tomorrow and will be sure to revisit "Heaven" to see if it is still as blissful as it was when I left town over a month ago.


do you have the address for this place? thanks.

do you have the address for this place? thanks.

no, not off hand. even if google weren't of use (unlikely), most cab drivers seem to know it (gubei xiaonanguo). (i've never once had a problem getting there; bathhouse is in the back.)

but, since my op, i've learned never to go there during busy times.

no, not off hand. even if google weren't of use (unlikely), most cab drivers seem to know it (gubei xiaonanguo). (i've never once had a problem getting there; bathhouse is in the back.)

but, since my op, i've learned never to go there during busy times.

ok thanks, will keep in mind for upcoming trip.

thanks for the info... good tip.

I was just in the Causeway Bay (Times Square) Xiao Nan Guo ( 小南国 ) for dinner. Love the crab and siu lung bao