Travel China Guide: Fascinating Guangzhou

If the thought of going back in time to travel the ancient Silk Road thrills you, here’s a fantastic idea of how to spend your next vacation. Guangzhou might not have as many cultural attractions as Beijing, or not be the hotbed of commerce Shanghai is, but the city has its charming highlights.

Located in the middle south of Guangdong Province, near to Hong Kong and Macau, Guangzhou stands at the confluence of the East, West and North Rivers and is a historic river port.

The city’s 2,000-year history is highlighted with its giving birth to the ‘sea-route’ Silk Road trail, where merchants transported silk and luxuries to the West. Guangzhou was also the first Chinese port which welcomed Western traders in the 19th century.

Sun Yat-Sen, who overthrew the Manchus in the 1911 Revolution, was born a few miles north of the Macau border. He is memorialized today in Guangzhou’s famed Yatsen Memorial Hall.

Today,

Guangzhou is a big center of southern China’s political, economic, educational, and cultural life. High-rise blocks and new highways stand side-by-side the city’s many historical monuments.

Also known as the Southern Gate of China, Guangzhou is filled with scenic spots and attractions, from temples and mountains to shopping streets and karaoke bars. Visitors shouldn’t miss the Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family, the White Cloud Mountain (Baiyun Shan), the Bright Filial Piety Temple, Yuexiu Park, and the Teem Plaza. You can find bars to suit any taste along the famous bar streets Binjiang Lu, Huanshi Lu, and Bai'e Tan.

Located in China's subtropical area, Guangzhou has a lovely climate year-round with almost no winter. Annual average temperature is 21.8 degrees. Spring is humid and rainy; summer is a little hot with occasional typhoons. Autumn, from October to December, is very moderate, cool and windy, and is the best travel time. Like right now. Winter is a little chilly but very short.

Guangzhou: Travel Facts and Information

· It’s China’s 3th largest city with a population of over 10 million.
· Thanks to glorious summers and almost no winter, it’s always in bloom and is known as Flower City.
· It’s home to Cantonese Opera, popular throughout South East Asia.
· In ancient times, Guangzhou was the capital city for three Chinese dynasties: the Nan Yue, the Nan Han and the Nan Ming .
· Guangzhou folks like to travel. It boasts the largest population of overseas Chinese.
· Hualin Jadeware Street can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), when it was already famous for its Jadeware Fair.
· Guangzhou is the communications hub of the Guangdong Province, with railways and highways radiating in all directions and convenient river, coastal and deep ocean transport.
· People say "pearl sea and white cloud" to describe the natural beauty of Guangzhou.