Guangzhou Tourism
3 min read“Guangzhou is the opposite of the rest of china.There is not much to see but there is loads to eat.”
“Whoever said that Hong Kong was a Mecca for shopping had obviously never been to Guangzhou！”
The central shopping street Shang Xia Jiu（shangxiajiu）sports glossy department stores and fashionable boutiques line the main pedestrian street.Every alleyway leads back in time to reveal classic Liwan architecture.Take a shortcut through the modern shopping ma1l that is Liwan Plaza（liwan guangchang），to discover the jade market and literally hundreds of antiques dealers.
The recently opened subway means that the bird market at Huadiwan（huadiwan）is now easily accessible.Animals of all shapes and sizes fill the stores but it may well be the inanimate objects such as viewing stones and bonsai landscapes（calledpenjing in Chinese），that many international visitors will find most fascinating.Huadiwan has its own stop on subway line 1 and is located in the Fangcun District just south of the river from Shamian Island.
Perhaps the most representative wholesale area in this vast city of markets is the one found at Haizhu Square（haizhu guangchang）.Anything and everything that bears the ubiquitous”Made in China”tag can be found here.More colorful than any Arab souk and certainly to have more bargains，this is a fantastic display of the export machine that feeds the rest of the world.
Baiyun Shan（baiyinshon），which is a small mountain that dominates the town，is approximately 9 miles（15 km）north of the town centre.Hardly a mountain at only 1，253 feet（382 m），it’s part of the Kun Shan（kin shan 昆山）mountain range.Pagodas，monasteries and teahouses are dotted about its base and when the weather is clear and the pollution isn’t too bad，views from the top can be gorgeous.However，it is often difficultto get away from other tourists.Some cramped cable cars ascend to the peak-known as the “Ridge that Scrapes the Stars”（moxing ling），but be aware that it’s a good 3-hour trek back down to the base.Recently，bungee jumping，grass skiing and tobogganing facilities have opened.
For a more relaxed stroll，the former British Concession area，Shamian Island（shamiandao），offers peaceful surroundings.Here you can see the old British and American consulates and buildings of colonial foreign powers such as Jardine&Matheson and Butterfield&Swire.Heading eastward is the old French concession，which includes the former French Consul’s garden，now a public park，and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.At one time，overseas traders were restricted to this small island，the bridges were close at 10 pm and merchants were forbidden to learn Chinese.These days it’s home to some of the priciest shopping in the city.Many visitors are also attracted to the tranquility of the Overseas Chinese Village（huaqiao xincun）on Huanshi Lu.
A little outside of town is the Chen Clan Temple（chenja ci），the former academy and ancestral shrine for the large Chen family.Built at the end of the 19th century from funds given by Chens throughout the province，this compound was built in a broad and open classic southern Chinese style.The lavishly decorated compound was where the family ran their private school and maintained their ancestral shrine；today it exhibits local crafts such as potteries and carvings.
