It is the third largest city in China, but culturally very distinct from both Beijing and Shanghai. It has been a centre of trade and commerce for several millennia, giving it a much more international feel. The main part of the city is built along the Pearl river, which empties in to the sea between Hong Kong and Macau.
In the 19th century, huge parts of it were given over to western powers for trade and diplomatic missions. In the 20th century the city saw the birth of the Nationalist government. Today it is again a major centre of trade and commerce. Its distance from Hong Kong, and cultural and linguistic similarities with that city, make it an ideal mainland counterpart to Hong Kong too, with several comparisons between the two being made.
Personally I loved it. It is instantly up there with Busan and Taipei as my favourite Asian cities.
We started the journey very early in the morning in front of Nanning Universities main gate. We made our way to the train station and then had the four hour bullet train ride to Guangzhou. The trains themselves are comparable to the KTX in Korea, though a bit more cramped. But overall it was a smooth trip.
The only disappointment was the Guangzhou Ocean Hotel. It boasted a sauna, airport shuttle bus, and swimming pool.... and had none of them. As a two star 150 rmb a night hotel it would be a deal. As a four star, 400 rmb a night it was a colossal rip off.
We left the hotel and headed out to what turned out to be a major bar area. Stumbled on it actually. Found a great cafe/bar called Minyoung's People's Place and enjoyed a few pints of Tiger. Guangzhou's bars and restaurants are actually VERY impressive, and feel like being in a world class city. From Euro-style bars, to Irish pubs, to Chinese bars the city seems to have it all in that respect. A 180 degree turn from Nanning.
The next day we got up and opted for a 6km walk to Shamian Island, which was at the heart of the foreign concessions before WWII. It gave us a chance to walk through the city and take it all in. It is called the Green City or the Flower city (though half of all Chinese cities seem to have this nickname). However, Guangzhou's is well deserved. The walk covered most major sights, though not stuff such as the Canton Tower. Oh well, next time.
Shamian took a few hours, with a stop to eat. It has been well preserved and the majority of tourists there were definitely Chinese. After a few hours there we cabbed back to the hotel to change, shower, and get ready to go back to the same downtown area.
The last day was basically a transit day and I ended up spending about 5 hours longer at Guangzhou airport than I needed to. However, there is enough to do there to keep you entertained, and it was fine as I know I will be back. Then it was off to Manila.
New Year
Green/Flower city
a statue that looks like a leftover from the
days of Soviet friendship.
In a state of disrepair but at one time must have
been important.
The Pearl river
Shamian colonial architecture
more colonial era buildings.
The English bridge
People's Cafe
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