Guangzhou Travel Guide

Destination overview Destination sketch It is the capital of Guangdong Province in southern China. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 12.7 million, making it the third largest city in China after Shanghai and Beijing. It is […]

Destination overview

Destination sketch

It is the capital of Guangdong Province in southern China.

According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 12.7 million, making it the third largest city in China after Shanghai and Beijing. It is a part of the Pearl River Delta, which also includes Shenzhen, Dongguan, Hong Kong, Macau, Foshan, Jiangmen, Huizhou, Zhongshan and Zhuhai.

In the era of tea clippers, Guangzhou was known in the West as “Canton”. The food and the language of the area are still known as “Cantonese” and it is perfectly acceptable to use either the western or Chinese terms interchangeably. The Cantonese are proud and hard working people known throughout China and the world over for their famous cuisine and talent for business. One thing you will notice in Guangzhou’s city centre is that there isn’t much of the horn-honking cacophony that is present in other Chinese cities. Cantonese drivers seem to follow the rules of the road a bit more than in other cities where it is generally more chaotic.

Best travel season

Spring and autumn are the perfect time of year to visit the region, with October to December offering less rainfall than the spring, but temperatures in spring reaching slightly higher. Avoid the in between months if possible to escape the high rainfall and chance of typhoons.

Intercity traffic

Aircraft

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport

One of China’s main intercontinental hubs, located 28km north of Guangzhou and the most convenient airport to get into the city.
Flying to Hong Kong is another option, although transportation times are significantly increased owing to having to cross the border. From the Hong Kong International Airport, you can take cross-boundary coach to Guangzhou and other cities in Guangdong. These coaches include China Travel Service, Trans-Island Chinalink and Eternal East, fares range from HK$220–250 one way.

Train

Guangzhou East Railway Station
Trains to Hong Kong and some mainland cities.

Guangzhou Railway Station
One of the biggest stations in the country. Trains go all the way to Harbin.

Guangzhou South Railway Station
The newest and serves the high-speed network.

Long distance bus

Provincial Station
Address: 145-149 Huanshi West Road
Arrival method: Metro 2 & 5 Guangzhou Railway Station Exit F1, F2, H1, H2). The station serves mostly long distance lines outside the Guangdong Province.

Liuhua Station
Arrival method: Metro 2 & 5 Guangzhou Railway Station Exit D4). Across from Provincial Station, it mostly serves nearby cities in the province.

Tianhe Station
Address: 633 Yanling Road
Arrival method: Metro 3 & 6, Tianhe Coach Terminal). The station services Southern and central China, reaching as far as the Gansu Province. There are also many routes to cities in Guangdong.

Haizhu Station
Address: 182 Nanzhou Road
Arrival method: Metro 2 Nanzhou Station Exit A). Located in the southern part of Haizhu, serving major cities in the province and other Southern China provinces, including Hainan.

Fangcun Station
Address: 51 Huadi Middle Avenue
Arrival method: Metro 1 Kengkou Exit B, The station serves similar routes to the Haizhu Station.

Yuexiu Nan Station
Arrival method: Metro 6 Tuanyida Square. Besides destinations in this and other provinces, it also has lines to Macau and Hong Kong.

Guangzhou South
Arrival method: Metro 2 & 7 Guangzhou South Railway Station. The station mainly services nearby cities. There is a bus to Lo Wu, a commonly used border crossing between Hong Kong and mainland China. The fare is ¥65 and it runs every hour.

Ferry

Nansha Port Passenger Terminal
Address: 2 Nan Er Road, Haibin Xincheng Trade Avenue, Nansha Economic Development Zone (Very far from the city center. Metro line 4 ends here.)
Serves boats traveling from Guangzhou to Hong Kong (90 min, four times daily, ¥180), Hong Kong International Airport (70 minutes, twice daily, ¥300), and Macau (80 min, twice daily on weekends only, ¥180).

Lianhuashan Port
Address: 1 Gangqian Road, Shilou Town, Panyu District
Arrival method: Metro 4 Shiqi Exit A, a free shuttle bus conveys passengers from the metro station to the port
Serves boats traveling from Guangzhou to Hong Kong (four times daily, ¥180) and Hong Kong International Airport (three times daily, ¥300)

Dashatou Pier
Arrival method: Metro 6 Donghu.
Used for evening cruises on the Pearl River.

Traffic in the city

Metro

Most of the signs and announcements are in Chinese and English. Trains can become extremely crowded during morning and evening rush hours, especially on Line 3. The fare varies by distance, from ¥2 to ¥19. Tickets can be bought from vending machines in the stations. ¥5 and ¥10 bills or ¥1 coins are accepted. You can break up your big bills at the customer service counters. The ticket is a small plastic round token, which you tap over the blue reader at the gate to enter the platform, and at the exit where you insert the token into the slot like a vending machine. Most of these machines do not accept old or torn notes. If needed, tell the officer at the counter where you want to go, and he or she will return your note with the requisite fare in coins and the rest in notes. The Yang Cheng Tong card (see details above) is easier to use, and also gives you a 5%-40% discount.

Bus

There is also a comprehensive public bus service that covers Guangzhou from end to end. By far, it is the cheapest way to move around. Bus fares are ¥1 for the older buses and ¥2 for the air-conditioned ones, although the older buses have been mostly retired. Information at bus stops is mostly written in Chinese, although the current stop’s name is also written in either pinyin or English (not always consistent with the recorded announcement in English) and stops close to subway stations are (usually) marked with the Guangzhou Metro logo, which is handy if you are lost. On-board announcements are made in Mandarin, Cantonese and sometimes English. Exact fare or a Yang Cheng Tong card is needed when boarding. If traveling on a quiet bus, it is advisable to signal to the driver that you wish to get off when approaching your stop by pressing the red buzzer next to the exit door or by saying “xia yi zhan you xia (pinyin:xià yī zhàn yǒu xià),” meaning “I’m getting off at the next stop” or simply “you xia.” In Cantonese “you xia” is “yau lok.”

BRT

The Bus Rapid Transit system went into service in early 2010. It is essentially a long segregated bus lane (not an elevated busway like in Xiamen) running along the Tianhe Road and Zhongshan Avenue corridor towards the eastern suburbs. Some intersections are traversed by bridges and tunnels, which cuts journey times considerably, but other intersections have traffic lights and therefore traffic jams, and crowds can be as dense as in Metro stations but with fewer doors and a narrower standing area compared to Metro trains.

Taxi

Guangzhou taxis are very affordable. The starting charge is ¥10 for the first 2.3 km, or about 1.4 miles. After that is ¥2.6 for each km. No fuel surcharge is added. A 50% surcharge is automatically added when the trip reaches 35 km. A few taxis also accepts Yang Cheng Tong as payment, but it is not preferred by the drivers. The taxi hotline is 96900. This comes in handy if you forget your valuables in a taxi. Save your receipt because it contains the taxi’s identification number.

Activity

Pearl River Night Cruise

Dashatou Pier , Tianzi Pier and Xidi Pier
This is a one to two hour cruise in the evening and a great way to see the Guangzhou skyline along the Pearl River, including a light show at Bai-E-Tan. Tickets for the deluxe dinner cruise can be bought from most high-end hotels. Prices from ¥50-¥200 per person. Higher end cruises usually include dinner buffet.

Daytime River “Cruise”

As cheap as ¥5, you get a ride down to the last terminal at ZhongSan University and back. Just tell the ticket seller at the jetty, in front of Riverside Hostel, you just want a joyride. On your way back, you can get off on the other side of the river at the heart of the commercial district. After spending a couple of hours walking around or even dinner, it will cost you only ¥1 to cross back to the Riverside Hostel.

Ride the public buses

Cheap and generally safe, but beware of pickpockets. The electric trams are even cheaper at flat rate of ¥2. Hop on to any one of the public buses.

Attractions

Yuexiu Park

The largest park in the city, gets its name from Yuexiu Mountain, which is located in the park. Yuexiu Park is famous for its beautiful scenery and its large number of historical relics such as the Five-Ram Sculpture, Zhenhai Tower, the site of the Ming Dynasty City Wall, and the Square Cannon Site.

Pearl river

The Pearl River in Guangzhou has a length of more than 2,000 kilometers (about 1,243 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 (43.5 miles), and then pour into the South Sea. The section flowing through Guangzhou City is the ‘Pearl River’ that most people are familiar with. In ancient times, it was called ‘The Pearl Sea’ for its 2,000 meters-wide (about 2,187 yards) channel. Later, the channel gradually shrunk, and now it is only 180 meters wide (about 197 yards). Its name is said to derive from a huge boulder in the river bed. This rock, with the name of ‘Sea Pearl’, is so round and smooth that it looks like a large, shining pearl.

Canton Tower

As the landmark of Guangzhou, the Canton Tower (Guangzhou Tower) lies at the south bank of the Pearl River, facing Haixinsha Island to the north. As 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.

Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family

Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family is also called Chen Clan Academy or Chen’s Lineage Hall which was a place in Guangzhou both for offering up sacrifices to ancestors and for study. Now it serves as Guangdong Folk Arts Museum to show the most characteristic Guangdong architecture. The Chen Clan Ancestral Temple in Guangzhou City, the Ancestors’ Temple in Foshan City, the former Residence of Sun Yat-sen in Zhongshan City and the Opium War Memorial Hall in Dongguan City are regarded as the four major cultural tourist sites in Guangdong Province.

Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

As the forerunner of Chinese democratic revolution, Sun Yat-sen has been respected by all Chinese home and overseas. Stepping into the area from the south gate, you can first catch sight of a Bronze Statue of Sun. It’s 5.5 meters (18 feet) high and 3,900 kg (3.8 long tons). The statue is shaped from the pose in which Sun was making a speech in Sun Yat-sen University. Under the Bronze Statue is the supporting foundation made of white granite which was carved with the content of one of Sun’s important written works.

White Cloud Mountain

People always describe the natural beauty of Guangzhou as being composed of white cloud and pearl sea, the white cloud referring to the mountain, located about 17 kilometers (10 miles) north of the city. The total area of White Cloud Mountain is about 28 square kilometers (10 square miles), consisting of 30 peaks. Moxing Ridge (Star-Scraping Ridge), known as ‘the first peak under the southern sky’, is about 382 meters (417 yards) high. You can stand on the summit and look over the whole city and the beautiful Pearl River, the most famous river in Guangzhou.

Guangxiao Temple

Initially built during the Western Han Dynasty (207 BC – 24 AD) as a private house, Guangxiao Temple was used as a lecture hall before being dedicated completely to the function of a Zen Buddhist Temple during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 – 1279). The many noted monks and sutra-translators who have resided there have contributed greatly to the spread of Buddhist culture. The pride of the temple is Hui Neng, the famous sixth master of Zen Buddhism, who had his hair cut and was initiated into monkhood there.

Baishui Village

Noted for the Baishui Fairy Waterfall, the highest in China, Guangzhou Baishui Village (White Water Village) is situated in Paitan Town, Zengcheng District of Guangzhou, and 70 kilometers (44 miles) from the city center. The whole area is surrounded by the Southern Kun Mountain in the east and Conghua Hot Spring Town in the west. The village consists of several mountains, and the main peak is 828 meters (2,700 feet) high. Now it is a scenic area of provincial level which covers an area of about 170 square kilometers (66 square miles). Baishui Villages’ chief feature is its beautiful waterfall, and because the Tropic of Cancer goes through the scenic area, it is also famed as ‘a magnificent jade on the Tropic of Cancer’.

Baomo Garden

Baomo Garden was built in the late Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911 AD) as an extension of the Temple of Lord Bao located to the east of the Garden. The Temple itself was built during the reign of Emperor Jiaqing of Qing Dynasty, to praise Lord Bao Zheng of the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279 AD) and his qualities of incorruptibility and justice. The original garden was destroyed in the 1950s. Reconstruction work began in 1955 and lasted for eight years. Large and elegant, the rebuilt garden is a good example of south China gardens.

Chimelong Tourist Resort

Guangzhou Chimelong Tourist Resort is located in Panyu District. It is a world class tourist kingdom which always brings happiness to the world. 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 wonder waiting for your arrival.

Guangzhou Ocean World

Situated within Guangzhou Zoo, Guangzhou Ocean World covers an area of 13,000 square meters (about 139,931 square feet) and has more than 200 kinds of fish and many other rare ocean creatures. It is a high-tech exhibition hall serving sightseeing, entertainment, research and education purposes.
Guangzhou Ocean World is divided into different areas to exhibit the marine world from all aspects.

Huaisheng Mosque

The Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou, also named the Light Tower Mosque or the Lighthouse Mosque, is located at No. 56, Guangta Road. With an area of 2,966 square meters (3,547 square yards), it is the oldest mosque existing in China, confirming its remarkable position among the four oldest mosques in the coastal areas, with the other three being Quanzhou Kylin Mosque, Yangzhou Crane Mosque, and Hangzhou Phoenix Mosque. Huaisheng Mosque was first built in 627, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when Islam was introduced to China for the first time. It was invested and constructed by some Arabs and named as Huaisheng Mosque, meaning ‘remembering the sage’, in honor of Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Guangdong Museum

Guangdong Museum is a first-rate provincial museum in China, containing 166,000 items, including calligraphy, paintings, ceramics, woodcarvings, and gemstones. Covering an area of 67,000 square meters (721,182 square feet) in downtown Guangzhou, it looks like a jewel box from the outside with five floors above ground and one floor below. There are five permanent exhibitions in the museum: Guangdong History and Culture, Chaozhou Gilded Woodcarvings, Natural Resources, Ceramics, and Duan Inkstones.

Lingnan Impression Park

The Lingnan Impression Park, covering an area of 16.5 hectares (40.7 acres), is located on the south part of Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center on Small Guwei Island. Its construction is based upon the original local Lianxi Village and it epitomizes the culture of the Lingnan area (a region that refers to the modern Chinese Provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong and Macau). Houses and temples are to be seen in traditional Cantonese style on both sides of the park’s main street – Lianxi Street. Walking down this street, visitors may feel they are in an old Guangzhou city.

Lotus Hill

Lotus Hill, one of the famous hills of the Pearl River Delta, is located in the eastern outskirt of Panyu City, 20km (12.4 miles) from Guangzhou and 110km (60 sea miles) from Hong Kong. Covering an area of 2.54sq km (628 acres), it is composed of 48 red sandstone low hills, the highest of which is 108m (354 ft) tall. It has the best preserved ancient quarry site, with a history of 2000 years in China. The lotus city itself was built during the Kangxi’s reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). There is also the gold statute of the Goddess of Mercy, which is the biggest in the world. The statue was cast in 1994 with 120 tonnes (118 long tons) of bronze and 180 taels of gold coating and measures 40.88m (44.7 yards). The Lotus Hill Tourist Resort displays a combination of ancient ruggedness and modern delicacy. Do not miss it when in Guangzhou.

Nansha Tin Hau Palace

Nansha Tin Hau Palace was built to worship the Goddess of sea, also called Mazu (or Tianhou in Chinese, literally meaning Heavenly Empress) by the people, whose real name is Linmo (960-987). There are many touching stories about her helping people in shipwrecks, so she was thought to be the incarnation of the goddess of sea and was paid homage by over 100 million believers in more than twenty countries.

This palace was first built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), then was renovated during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1737-1795) in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), but was later ruined. The one we see now was rebuilt in 1994 and completed in 1996.

Nanyue Garden

Nanyue Garden has grand architecture as well as many beautiful attractions within the complex such as the ninedragon screen, winding corridor, Welcoming Pavilion and Joyful Pavilion, five exhibition halls including the Zhao Tailai Exhibition Hall, HuoZongjie Exhibition Hall, pearl exhibition hall, jade-ware exhibition hall, and pottery and porcelain exhibition hall. The site also has plants, water, and rocks, etc., all carefully constructed and laid out based on the local terrain and water characteristics.

Qingping Market

The composite Qingping Market consists of many markets. The Agricultural Complementary Products Market, Chinese Herbal Medicines Market and Aquatic Products Market are the three major ones not far from each other.

Sacred Heart Cathedral

Sacred Heart Cathedral in Guangzhou, also known as the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, or Shishi Catholic Church, is regarded as the “Notre Dame of East Asian”. Located at Yide Road near the Haizhu Square in the city center, this 130-year-old Roman Catholic cathedral is a holy and peaceful site in the bustling urban area. The cathedral was designed by two French architects, and completed by Chinese craftsmen within 25 years from 1863 to 1888. With a gross area of 3,300 square yards (2,754 square meters), it is the biggest in Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guangzhou and one of the grandest double steeples Gothic architectures in China. Featuring all of the walls and pillars made of granite, the Sacred Heart Cathedral is nicknamed the “Stone House” (Shishi in Chinese) by the locals. It is the largest granite Catholic structure in Southeast Asia, and one of only four all-granite Gothic churches in the world.

Shamian Island

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 Shamian 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.

Shawan Ancient Town

Shawan Ancient Town looks very primitive and elegant. Rows of houses, old streets and long alleys show the features of the ancient style. The most common attractions you can see here are ancestral halls, the number of which has reached 100. Some intangible cultural heritages, such as Cantonese folk music, the lion dance, and Piaose (a kind of folk art integrating play, magic, acrobatics, music and dance), are well preserved. Visitors can not only have an insight into the lives of the local people, but also experience the special folk culture.

South Sea God Temple

The South Sea God Temple (Temple of South Sea God) is situated in Miaotou Village, Huangpu District in Guangzhou on the southern coast of China, facing the South China Sea. It was built in 594, and is the only preserved, and the most complete and biggest group of buildings among the four ancient temples of the sea god in China. In ancient times there was a dock nearby. As an important site of the ancient Maritime Silk Road and a place for worshipping Zhu Rong, the God of the South Sea, the South Sea God Temple attracted many merchants from both home and abroad who stopped at the dock and offered sacrifices to the god for safety and good luck. Emperors of all dynasties also dispatched their officials to offer sacrifices. Today, each year between February 11th and 13th according to the lunar calendar, the temple fair attracts thousands of people, and is thus one of the biggest temple fairs in Guangzhou. Visitors coming to Guangzhou usually go there to worship.

Yuyin Garden

Small as it is, it is complete with everything: pavilions, bridges, lotus pool, rock hills and beautiful flowers. Bas reliefs and decorations on the buildings are all made by experienced craftsmen. A few minutes’ walk after entering the main gate, you will see the entrance to the inner garden with a Chinese couplet on it describing the lovely scenery – ‘flowers spread all around the small yard like red raindrops; trees shade every corner like green clouds’.

Museum of the Western Han Dynasty

Museum of the Western Han Dynasty Mausoleum of the Nanyue King: The owner of the tomb is the second king, Zhao Mei of Nanyue State of the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-24 A.D.). Hidden 20 meters (65.6 feet) underground, the tomb is made up of 750 huge stones with colorful murals. The over 1,000 pieces of cultural relics, bronze ware and terra cotta ware in particular, feature the Yue Culture of south China (Nanyue Culture). Represented also are traces of central Chinese culture, the Chu culture of south China, the Bashu culture of southwest China, the Hun culture from the northern grassland, and even foreign cultures.

Food

By far one of the biggest attractions of Guangzhou is the food. Cantonese cuisine emphasizes the freshness and flavor of ingredients such as green vegetables and just-caught seafood, avoiding the strong seasoning and saucing of northern Chinese cuisines. Roasted meats such as goose, duck, and pork are a regional specialty and are often served sliced on the bone with a plate of dipping sauce. Head to the Xiguan district to sample a range of the authentic local dishes.

However, if you only have time for one meal while in Guangzhou, make it dim sum (also known as yum cha). Served primarily at breakfast and lunch, a dim sum meal consists of dozens of small plates of buns, steamed dumplings, and noodle dishes, accompanied by copious amounts of tea.

Guangzhou’s history of bustling trade means there are also many international restaurants to be found around the city, especially if you head to the old concession area.

White Cut Chicken. This is one of the most popular Cantonese cuisine. It is lightly flavored to allow one to taste the true chicken meat. Many Cantonese restaurants have their signature dish based on this, such as the Wenchang Chicken from Guangzhou Restaurant, Real Taste Chicken from Bingsheng Restaurant and Qingping Chicken from various restaurants.
Yum Cha / Dim Sum “A pot of tea with two pieces ” is Guangzhou’s dim sum culture. Many locals stay for hours chatting and reading newspaper with just a small order of food. The varieties of dim sum dishes in many restaurants are easily over a hundred. The bite-size quantity of each dish allows one to venture out and try new things that will satisfy one’s taste bud.
Siu Mei / Shao We Cantonese barbecue is famous around the world where many have seen the image of roasted ducks and chicken hanging in front of a store. Siu mei is a staple item in Cantonese restaurants. Some Varieties include barbecued pork, roast goose and roast pig.
Seafood Eating fresh seafood the Cantonese way is a good way to explore Cantonese culture. From picking live fish or lobsters in front of your eyes to eating the sea creatures with their heads attached, this is a great advanture for any visitors.
Dessert A Cantonese meal is not complete without Cantonese desserts. Soupy or custard desserts are common. Two distinct Guangzhou favorites are double layered milk and ginger milk curd. Other popular choices include tofu pudding, red bean paste, green bean paste, guilinggao , black sesame paste and sago.

Accommodation

Hotels can be found across the city, but particularly in the Yuexie and Tianhe districts.

Youth hostels are uncommon in Guangzhou, unlike many other big cities in China. Most hostels in the city are illegally operated and unlicensed, mostly located in residential apartment buildings. The management usually discourages most socializing activity, worrying that any noise may lead to complaints from their neighbors and result in government crackdown.

Shopping

Canton Sculpture includes Canton Ivory Carvings, Jade Sculpture, Wood Sculpture and Olive Sculpture.
Canton Enamel is short for Guangzhou Colorful Pottery. It has a history of over 300 years.
Canton Embroidery, namely Yue Embroidery, is one of the Four Famous Chinese Embroideries together with Su Embroidery, Xiang Embroidery and Shu Embroidery.
Canton Bacon is the general designation of cured meat in the this area.
Wang Laoji Herbal Tea is a kind of medicine that is healthy for the human body.

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