GUANGZHOU - MOST COMMERCIAL CENTRE OF CHINA
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| Canton Tower, Guangzhou |
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| Pearl River Near Canton Tower, Guangzhou |
Guangzhou, known as Canton, is a modern, vigorous metropolis. It
is the third largest city in China and is the political, economic, sci-tech,
educational and cultural hub of southern China. It is located in south-central
Guangdong Province, north of the Pearl River Delta. It lies close to the South China Sea, Hong Kong and Macau. Pearl River (Zhujiang), the third longest river in China runs
through the city and is navigable to the South China Sea. These
geographical features bestow the name "South Gate of China" upon the
city.
During the Zhou Dynasty (1045 B.C. – 256 B.C.) the Cantonese
peoples suffered from famine for many years. Legend has it that one day five
immortals riding five goats with rice ears each of a different color descended
from heaven and blessed the area with favorable weather that produced rich
harvests. Thus, this city is also known as the "Five-Goat City
(Wuyangcheng)" and the "City of Spike (Suicheng)." To express
their gratitude to the celestial beings, the locals erected the "Five
Immortals Temple."
Many historic sights including the Western Han Nanyue King's
Tomb Museum, and the Bright Filial Piety
Temple tell us the ancient history of
the city. Baiyunshan Scenic Area and Yuexiu Park showcase the natural scenery of the city. Shanmian Island retains some of its former grandeur in the mansions with its
exotic mansions. The Guangzhou Museum of Art is one of the best in China and is
definitely worth a visit. Apart from that the real highlights are the city's
markets and vast bazaars.
The city has a massive number of malls and retail
stores. Grand shopping malls such as the TeeMall Plaza, the China Plaza plus
the trade fairs in the Guangzhou International Building provide easy access to
top-notch products from all over the world. Visitors will enjoy stroll on the
Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street and Beijing Road Business Street. The city is a
true shoppers'paradise.
Quick Facts about Guangzhou or Canton (广州
(guǎng zhōu)
Alias: Five-Goat City, Goat City, City of Spike, City of
Flowers
Location: South-central Guangdong Province, Pearl River
Delta, Southern China (34°16′N, 108°54′E)
Urban Land Area: 3,843.4 sq km (6,000 sq mi)
Area Code: 020
Airport: Baiyun International Airport
Railway Stations: Railway Station, East Railway Station,
North Railway Station, South Railway Station
Events: Canton Fair, The 16th Asian Games, 2010.
Baiyun International Hotel – 3 Nights
Why Baiyun International Hotel? – Baiyun International and Asia
International were two of our choices to put up our base in Guangzhou and
thankfully we chose Baiyun. This hotel is expensive and it shows. The place is
luxurious with a high end mall right next to it. It has comfortable beds and
the design in the lower floors is very modern. Best part about China is one can
find best of brands to stay in very average price. So it certainly doesn’t
affect your pocket much and still it has its own class. Another important thing
was, we are followers of Jain Diet and the restaurant named Sharmaji was not
too far from this hotel. 10 RMB away from cab and 20 mins walk. But no one
would enjoy walking here, since cabs are dirt cheap. Sharmaji serves amazing
Buffet and has nice spread of Jain food for 60 RMB for breakfast, lunch and
dinner. Also in the area surrounding Sharmaji, there are couple of other Indian
restaurant which serves Jain food. But we found Sharmaji to be the best. Coming
back to Baiyun hotel, it had a very helpful English speaking concierge who
helped us chalk down our day to day plan very religiously and with enthusiasm.
Lastly, Guangzhou MTR is so well connected to reach anywhere and travel across
the city with ease and MTR is just a minute away from this hotel so all in all
it served all the purpose of tourist very well. Good bed, good food, good
commute.
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| La Perle Shopping Mall |
Key Takeaway: Wherever you plan to stay, ensure that you are nearby from the MTR. Ensure you download Baidu for accessing maps in China, Ensure you have Chinese version of the places you want to visit and addresses in one printout. Please know people are not very familiar with English language there and once can rely on Indian restaurant to understand the directions and information. Also, ensure that you buy local internet connection as soon as you are there.
Day 1: (Canton Tower, Pearl river
cruise, Sharmaji)
We boarded train from Hunghom at 9.04 A.M for Guangzhou and
reached at 11 A.M. The immigration happens in Guangzhou which is pretty quick
and easy and just outside the station there are Taxi stands. Beware do not get
conned by cab drivers standing near exit because they tend to quote humongous
rates.
30 minutes drive from Guangzhou station to Baiyun international
was a very exciting ride we passed by New Zhujiang town and couple of huge
malls and beautiful Canton tower. It was certainly a drive which made us curious
for our 3 days journey ahead. This hotel itself is located in fine upmarket
with a high end mall just next to it so overall it gave a pleasant feel. We
checked in and rested for a good while before we can begin our city tour!
Just below the baiyun hotel, we took MTR to reach Canton tower
stop. Again, just above the MTR Canton tower is located.
Canton Tower:
As the landmark of Guangzhou, the Canton Tower (Guangzhou Tower)
lies in Haizhu District, at the south bank of the Pearl River, facing Haixinsha Island to the north. With a height of 1,968
feet (600 meters), it is the highest TV tower in China and the third
highest in the world. The tower has been a must-see scenic spot in Guangzhou.
From the top, visitors have a birds-eye view of the whole city. Inside the
tower are wonderful entertainment items, romantic restaurants with delicious
food and several fine lookout platforms for shooting photos, some of them holding
many top world records.
The tower is also noted for its unique design. Mark Hemel, the
designer, was inspired by the bones of the female hip joint, and then he
created a slim waist in the middle of the tower just as a fair lady twists her
waist while looking behind. At the thinnest part, the diameter is about 32
yards (30 meters). The tower has become a new city landmark and one
of the Eight New Sights of Guangzhou. No matter visitors have a Pearl River cruise or just wander along its bank, they can see the majestic tower.
Especially at night, the tower seems like a resplendent dress, ablaze with
colorful lights.
The opening hours of the tower are mainly from 09:30 to 22:30, and
the ticketing time is from 09:30 to 22:00. The general admission ticket can
cost upto 200 CNY and other activities costs extra like one can go for bubble
tram and sky drop from top of the tower by paying additional cost. Though due
to heavy fog we did not prefer to go up still the mere sight of that glittering
tower had mesmerized us to keep adoring it for long long time till we were
kicked away by crowd.
P.S. We went there on public holiday and the crowd scene was
awful, we had to just keep on waiting for long long ques to move even a bit
ahead.
Key Takeaway: If you plan to visit during cold, rainy season do
not book tickets in advance since the tower is so much at height that you may
end up seeing just fog outside. One can spend 1 hour to 3 hours in this place,
so plan accordingly. We could not go up since it was extreme foggy day and the
tower itself was close for any activities.
Canton Tower
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| This is Night view of Canton tower, and its suggested to visit during during evenings. |
The Pearl River in
Guangzhou has a length of more than 2,000 kilometers (about 1243 miles) and is
the third longest river in China. It is composed of four separate river
systems: the Xi River (originating from the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau), the Liuxi
River (originating from Conghua City in Guangdong Province), the Bei River, and
the Dong River (both originating from Jiangxi Province). These four rivers join
up in Guangzhou, flow for about 70 kilometers, and then pour into the South
Sea. The section flowing through Guangzhou City is the 'Pearl River' that most
people are familiar with.
Today,
with the modern development of Guangzhou, ten bridges span the river.
Along both banks of it, high-rise buildings such as star-grade hotels and
modern shopping malls stand in great numbers. When night falls, it immediately
starts to look more interesting. The bridges, decorated by colorful shining
neon lights, seem like fantastic rainbows spanning the river.
During the day, people can
walk the 'Scenery Corridor' alongside the Pearl River, enjoying the beautiful
water scenes. The corridor, about 23 kilometers (14 miles) long, is actually a
dike built especially for appreciating the scenery. The river is like a
ribbon that connects the historical sites and beautiful scenery along it
and shows people both the modern culture and the historical legacy of Guangzhou
City.
Key Takeaway: One can book tickets from the booth near wharfs, I
would avoid it because it was just too crowded to take cruise that day and we
did not plan well in advance about it. One can first book the ticket for pearl
river cruise and then take tour of Canton tower and come back for cruise to
wharf. The Cruise lasts from 1.5 hours to 3 hours depending on which one, is
one interested in.
Pearl river view
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| Pearl river view, its beautiful but too crowded. Well cant complain much we are in China! |
Sharmaji Restaurant, No.1 Huangtian
Zhi Street, Lujing Road, Yuexiu District, G/F DongYue Hotel, Guangzhou, +86 20 8357 0090
We started our morning with amazing breakfast and
headed towards very beautifully ornated Sun yat sen park, followed by a small
hike up to yuexiu park and finally reaching the Shamian Island.
Sun Yat sen park:
Sun
Yat-sen Memorial Hall, situated on the southern slope of Yuexiu Hill in
Guangzhou, was constructed between 1929 and 1931, a monument to Dr Sun Yat-sen,
the forerunner of Chinese democratic revolution, by the people of Guangzhou and
overseas Chinese.
The
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, a grand octagon building of typical Chinese
architectural style, looks brand new because of reconstruction in 1998. The
masterpiece of architecture history is created with a span of 71 meters (about
78 yards) without a pillar but significant outlooks and delicate interior designs.
As an important place for conferences and performances, it can hold thousands
of people with sound equipment. In the hall there is also a display gallery
showing pictures and letters of Sun Yat-sen. The oldest ceiba in Guangzhou City
grows there, like a centuries-old man, witnessing great changes of this city;
besides, you can also have a chance to see the two biggest white jade orchid
trees of Guangzhou.
A
bronze statue of Sun Yat-sen was set up in 1956 in front of the memorial hall.
Stepping on the monument by a steel spiral staircase, you are presented with a
panoramic view of the memorial hall. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall will refresh you
after visiting the bustling commercial metropolis and provide you with a moment
to touch this great man in Chinese history.
Key Takeaway: Though it looks quite plain and blank at first look
but it has a small beautifully carved garden area good for photo delight. Be
extremely prepared to walk and walk and walk. Do not forget to carry city road
maps here. Yuexiu park is interconnected
in a way from Sun yat sen park as well.
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| Beautiful Gardens near Sun Yet Sen Park |
Yuexiu Park:
Yuexiu
Park is the largest park in downtown Guangzhou. Covering an area of 860,000
square meters (212.5 acres), it is made up of three artificial lakes and seven
hills of Yuexiu Mountain; hence the name.
It is
a perfect combination of cultural relics and ecological tourism, reputed for
its pretty water and hills as well as cultural relics. The main places of
interest include the stone sculpture of the Five Rams, Zhenhai Tower, the site
of the Ming Dynasty City Wall, and Square Cannon Site.
The
Five-Ram Sculpture is one of the most famous structures in Guangzhou. It has
become the emblem of the city. Legend has it that more than 2,000 years ago,
the city was a barren land with people who despite hard work were
suffering from famine. One day five immortals in five-color garments came
riding on five rams, playing their legendary music. The rams held sheaves of
rice in their mouths. The immortals left the sheaves of rice for the local
people, gave blessings to the city and left. The rams turned into stone and the
city became a rich and populous place. Guangzhou got the name of the City of
Rams and the City of Ears.
Zhenhai
Tower, better known among the locals as the Five-Story Tower, is one of the
landmarks of the city. An interesting historical record has it that Zhu
Liangzu, Yongjia Marquis of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), saw yellow and purple
air rising over Yuexiu Mountain and was told by a sorcerer that it was the omen
of a new emperor. To subdue this omen, Zhu Liangzu ordered this tower to be
built in 1380. Over the past 600 years, the tower has been destroyed five times
and set up five times. Now it is the Guangzhou Museum,
housing relics and documents showing Guangzhou's history over 2, 000 years.
While
the historical traces create a serene environment, singing birds and exuberant
plants add vigor and natural beauty to the park. Three artificial lakes --
Dongxiu, Nanxiu, and Beixiu-- cover an area of more than 50,000 square meters
(538,213 square feet). Dongxiu Lake and Nanxiu Lake are tranquil and elegant,
inviting painting and sketching artists. Beixiu Lake, surrounded by trees, is
open for boating and fishing. What's more, the lakes are connected with arch
bridges and decorated with pavilions and corridors in the Lingnan Style.
Flower exhibitions are held here from time to time. For nature lovers who can't
get to the faraway countryside or forests, the park is an optimum choice with
modern conveniences.
Key takeaway: There are five gates to the park, namely the Main
Gate, East, West, North and South Gates. There are many buses at each gate
with subway line 2 arriving at the main gate. The entry is free. Its
quite widely spread and big so be prepared to walk a lot, trek and spend good 2
hours of your time here.
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| Zenhai Tower |
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| One of the oldest tree in Guangzhou. |
Shamian
Island, previous known as Zhongliusha or Shicuizhou, is an elliptic sandbar in
the Liwan District of Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. The island's name
literally means "sandy surface" in Chinese. Surrounded by
water, it is just like a giant ship mooring alongside the wharf. Get
further and one will find that the island is carefully planned. Three east-west
avenues, Shamian Avenue, Shamian North Avenue and the South Avenue, and
five north-south streets, Shamian Street 1 to the Street 5 divide the
whole area into 12 parts, with various buildings, namely White Swan Hotel,
Shamian Hotel, and Poland Consulate in Guangzhou, scattered around.
The
mansions there form the best preserved Western Europe style building complex in
China. Forty-two out of 150 buildings are counted as the most exotic ones,
Gothic, Baroque, and Neoclassical, in Guangzhou. Since the early
2000s, the Island has become well known for many Western couples who
reside there, seeking to adopt Chinese babies and young children, most of whom
are orphaned and female. In particular, the White Swan Hotel, adjacent to the
Consulate of United States in Guangzhou and convenient to file paperwork
and handle bureaucratic matters, has become a hotel of choice.
Shamian
Island is a good place for a stroll. As it is just 900m long from east to
west and 300m from south to north, one will not feel tired even after walking
around the island twice. Due to traffic control on the island, it showcases a
different atmosphere and pace of living. Problems such as traffic jams and
exhaust gas pollution don't exist here. Now partly reserved for pedestrians,
its broad boulevards are like long gardens topiaries. A line of bars and cafes
on the southwest side with views over the Pearl River serves modern expats.
We ended the day with dinner at Sharmaji again J This restaurant is well located on ground floor of Dongyue hotel.
The restaurant is spacious and offered a veg buffet for CNY 60. The variety was
good with 3 vegetable dishes, hot fulkas, 1 dal, soup, 2 starters, salads,
desert and buttermilk/juices. The best part of buffet was unlimited stuffed
parathas, all cooked fresh with curd. The food was tasty and must go for all
Indians, especially the vegetarian ones.
Key Takeaway: It’s a beautiful place away from hustle and bustle
of city life but as a tourist we really found it to be average. We travelled
quite much to reach here however didn’t find it of any great value. One thing I
loved it, there was subway and English speaking staff ;) This is the place where one can spend around 2
hours.
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| Shamian Island overview |
Today we started early by 8.00 a.m. Took MTR to Chimelong. Guangzhou Chimelong Tourist Resort is located in Panyu District. The holiday resort is mainly composed of Chimelong Paradise, the Xiangjiang Safari Park, the Water Park, the International Circus, the Crocopark, and the Golf Center. All are full of excitement and made with much detailing. There are whole packages of which we selected to go for safari park and international circus.
Chimelong Safari Park:
The Chimelong Safari Park is a national-grade wildlife world which is considered to reach international standards. It is the biggest wild animal theme park in Asia and home to over 500 species and 20,000 rare animals including 10 giant pandas, 50 koalas, Honduras anteaters, pygmy hippopotamus, black rhinoceros, white tigers and white lions. The world's only panda triplets born on July 29th 2014 are treasures of the park. Visitors are allowed to drive their cars inside the stock area to get a close up view of the wild beasts and this is the best way to watch animals in China. You can feed the animals and take pictures with them. The once fierce beasts such as tigers, bears and lions now cooperate to present you with an excellent performance.All the below pictures in itself speaks thousand words! No need for caption :)
Key takeaway: 650 CNY for entry tickets for both Safari and International circus. Safari is open till 6.00 PM and then take a quick bus to circus which starts at 7.30 PM however its important to reach little early to block good seats. Chinese people are just to smart to capture right seats and trust me when I say they are SMART. They will even fight their guts out to reserve place. There is no Seat numbers system so whoever reaches well before time get through some good viewing seats. Also ensure you are not too much ahead since…the parade phappens in the gap between the seating arrangement and they give away too many goodies which you ought to miss it if you are too far away, just like us ;)
Key takeaway: The map is available only on entrance and spend some
time to ensure you have english map otherwise you are sure shot going to be
lost. It’s a huge huge place after all!
Key
takeaway: There are lot of shows that one should not miss. Timeout your entire
visit as per the show timings because none of them are worth a miss. There are
three shows, 1) All animals shows in Hippo theatre, 2) Elephant show in
Elephant theatre and 3) Wild animals and birds show in Chimelong ark theatre.
Ensure you cover all!
Chimelong International Circus
The
International Circus has the biggest professional circus performance venue in
the world. Since its opening in 2000, it has constantly performed the
world-class circus for spectators. The new program "Forest Code"
successfully creates a vivid feeling of "you-are-there" by adopting
the combination of special lighting effects and movable scenery. The acrobatic
"One Hand Balance" is one of the shining spots of the new program
list. A girl dresses up as a fairy in the forest, standing upside down with one
hand supporting the body against a tree stump and dances with the clear and
swaying melodies. All the beautiful birds such as peacocks, white doves and
parrots are walking or flying around her. Sometimes the white doves perch on
the girl, which creates a touching scene of a human living harmoniously with
birds. Have you ever seen meat-eating beasts perform together with herbivores?
Here the animal tamers have made great efforts to train white tigers and horses
to perform together on stage. Your eyes will certainly be opened on seeing this
marvelous wonder.
Day 4: Yide lu market near Haizhu
square (One link Int'l Toys & Gift Wholesale Mkt)
Today we started day
after relaxing in hotel for good time till 11 AM. Took MTR to Yidelu market. It’s
a big market, not very cheap for how much can one find in wholesale streets of
Guangzhou but goo one stop shop for all your gifts and souvenirs purchases.
Key takeaway: Be
assured, they are not way too cheap. So if you are not convinced better do not
get conned.
Address: No.10 Nanzhou Road, Haizhu District, Guangzhou 510220,
China
Finally we bid adieu to this wonderful warm Chinese city
and board 8 pm train to fast paced Hong Kong. The winter is ready to welcome us
in Hong Kong J Looking forward to explore more of China…
What we wish we could have done
more?
Zhujiang New Town:
Zhujiang New Town:
Zhujiang New Town or New City is an area in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is bounded by Huangpu Avenue on the north,
the Pearl
River on the south, Guangzhou Avenue on
the west and the South China Expressway on the east. Covering an area of 6.44 km2, it is divided by Xiancun Road (Chinese: 冼村路) into two parts. The larger eastern part contains
mainly residential complexes and in the centre lies the Zhujiang Park (Chinese: 珠江公园). Such a layout was modelled on the Central Park in New York where the park itself provides a green oasis in the city
centre and increases the value of the surrounding properties. This is very near
to Canton tower and if planned well can be covered on Day1.
Baomo Garden:
Built at the end of the Qing Dynasty, Baomo Garden is
situated in Zini village near Shawan town and is a fine example of Lingnan architecture. Baomo Garden consists of the culture of an upright
official-Baozheng, ancient buildings in South China, traditional gardening arts
of South China, and waterside scenery in the Pearl River Delta. The buildings, the gardens, the hills, the water
and the bridges are distributed reasonably and naturally, and they make all the
grand sights. Baamo Garden is a bit far from the city center and sometimes you
need to take the Metro then the bus. By metro from Guangzhou to panyu is about
35-45 minutes and it is depend where you start then by bus from Panyu to Baomo
Garden it is about 40 minutes. You can take taxi from Guangzhou to Baomo Garden
if you want to save your time (Price is about 100 RMB).
Conghua Hot spring:
Conghua Hot Spring is located in the northwest of Conghua County and is
situated at a distance of 80 kilometers from Guangzhou. It was originally built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is a nationally
renowned tourist attraction and health resort. In 1989, hot spring sightseeing
zone was awarded ‘Excellent World in Guangdong Tourism ‘ by Guangdong Province.
The warm water bubbles to
the surface at 12 different springs; it is clear and enriched in more than 10
kinds of minerals like calcium, magnesium, and sodium. The temperature of the
springs ranges from 30 to 71 with an average of 60 degrees centigrade. The area
enjoys the advantage of a beautiful natural environment and tranquil rural scenery,
with fresh air, green mountains, meandering streams, and old landmarks like Bi
Lang Bridge, Di Cui Pavilion and Tao Ran Hall. Furthermore, Conghua is known as
the “hometown of the lychee”, and in mid-summer you can enjoy some of the
best-tasting lychees while bathing in the hot spring water.
Temple of the Six Banyan Trees:
Having a long history of
about 1,400 years, the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees is one of the four best
Buddhist temples in Guangzhou and located on the Liurong Road (meaning the Six
Banyan Trees Road). It has a rich collection of cultural-relics and is renowned
both at home and abroad.
Originally built in
537, it has been rebuilt several times, and the name has also been changed
several times from Changshou Temple (meaning Longevity Temple) to Jinghui
Temple and finally the current name. It is a name given by the great
liiterateur Su Dongpo in the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279). It is said that he
visited there while returning to the north. During the visit, he found six
banyan trees there particularly striking. The vitality of the trees put him in
a good mood and cheered him up. When the abbot of the monastery invited
him to suggest a name, Su Dongpo wrote down its present name. Finally, its
former name (Jinghui Temple) was changed to the present one, Temple
of the Six Banyan Trees. A pagoda inside is known variously as Six Banyan
Pagoda or Flowery Pagoda.
After entering by
the mountain gate, the Tianwang Hall is the first hall you will see. The
Laughing Buddha is there with smile all over his face to welcome visitors.
Behind it is the Weituo Hall. According to legend, Weituo was a general who
recaptured the Buddhist relics which had been stolen. He keeps a straight face,
looking very serious and frightful, in distinct contrast with the Laughing
Buddha.
The architecture that
catches the visitors' eyes most is the Six Banyan Pagoda. It is a pagoda where
Buddhist relics are placed. Its roofs curve upwards and look like dark red
flower petals. The tip of the pagoda is like stamens, while the whole
construction looks like a huge stigma high in the air. Therefore, people like
to call it the Flowery Pagoda. The pagoda not only has a nice appearance, but
also provides visitors a good place to overlook enchanting scenery around.
Key Takeaway: Its a nice atleast 4N5D city to discover and spend good time with family. We will definitely look forward to come back here and just relax and enjoy food from Sharmaji. Really can't for how amazing Vegetarian Jain food it offered. Ekdam jaise khar ka khana :)
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