Guangzhou, formerly known as Canton, has a population approaching thirteen million, making it the third largest city in China. It’s long history of trading with the West continues to the present day and I only half-jokingly say that the region manufactures just about everything that comes to the U.S. with the "Made in China" stamp. The high volumes of trade has allowed the local citizens to gain a comparably high amount of wealth relative to other areas of China. Despite the city's economic progress the city doesn't seem to have the same buzz of Beijing or flash of Shanghai, which leads to it be overlooked by the non-business traveler.
I did not know quite to expect when I emerged from the Guangzhou Metro. This was my first stop in China after spend the past week in Hong Kong. I had just arrived in China - after clearing customs I boarded the metro and headed to the hostel. The train ride from Hong Kong passed through a heavy manufacturing area. I expected to see smog and factories out the window but instead only saw green trees and blue skies. What awaited me on the streets of Guangzhou was another surprise - instead of emerging onto a chaotic, dirty, and loud roadway I was greeted with relative silence, cleanliness, and more trees.
I did not know quite to expect when I emerged from the Guangzhou Metro. This was my first stop in China after spend the past week in Hong Kong. I had just arrived in China - after clearing customs I boarded the metro and headed to the hostel. The train ride from Hong Kong passed through a heavy manufacturing area. I expected to see smog and factories out the window but instead only saw green trees and blue skies. What awaited me on the streets of Guangzhou was another surprise - instead of emerging onto a chaotic, dirty, and loud roadway I was greeted with relative silence, cleanliness, and more trees.
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I turned around the corner and in a pleasant, nostalgia sense it felt like I was walking through a recreation of 1950s main street America - each street was tree-lined with mom and pop storefronts offering every range of products. There was more bicycle traffic than vehicles. That's main street America below - before all the malls and big box shopping centers came along, filled ironically with Chinese goods.
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The initial difference I noticed with Guangzhou's commercial streets was that every hundred yards or so there was a break in the storefronts and an entrance gate led to a hutong/alleyway. A walk through the entrance gate revealed open pedestrian walks and courtyards. It appeared that the original Chinese city life had been preserved in these walled off areas. I spent the rest of the day walking through Guangzhou always taking a detour whenever a hutong opening appeared.
I would have spent more time on subsequent days in Guangzhou's Hutongs but mistakenly believed I'd see similar city neighborhoods elsewhere in China - Beijing has historical hutongs, however, these are narrow streets then tree lined pedestrian walkways leading to a courtyard surrounded by residential apartments.
I would have spent more time on subsequent days in Guangzhou's Hutongs but mistakenly believed I'd see similar city neighborhoods elsewhere in China - Beijing has historical hutongs, however, these are narrow streets then tree lined pedestrian walkways leading to a courtyard surrounded by residential apartments.
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There are two pedestrian walking street areas: Xiajiu Lu (the images below) and Beijing Lu (the first images shown). Xiajiu Lu has a large open square where you can grab a Tsingtao and people watch. Both streets have store employees standing out front and clapping their hands to draw your attention.
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Guangzhou has always been a port and shipping town. I visited the Huangpu Ancient Port area which made for a decent afternoon walk.
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Qing Ping Market (the source of the 2002/2003 SARS outbreak) is renowned for specializing in exotic meats deemed to have medicinal value by the Chinese. The market is closer in style to a mall but instead of selling brands of clothes the market offers In the past it was possible to purchase dog and cat meat, rhino horns, tiger paws, and other similarly unusual animal related items. In recent years the Chinese have curbed what’s available and made the public more aware of the endangered species impacted. There did not seem to be a wide range of meat available when I went - I saw mostly mushrooms - some three feet in diameter - and roots. The more interesting products available include deer horns, snake skins, and dried sea horses. The market wasn’t crowded - there were more store owners than customers. Strangely a block away from Qing Ping Market was a series of pet stores selling dogs, cats, birds, and exotic fish.
Meat is a staple of the Cantonese. There's a phrase saying "the Chinese will eat anything with four legs except a table" which I think results from prior famines where the locals ate anything to survive (I think there's a reference to this in Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth." I saw live butchers on the street and a few in marketplaces. I decided to join an open air dining area for dinner. I will add that not only do the Chinese eat just about anything with four legs but they also eat the entire animals. I ordered a hot pot that came with various pieces of unidentifiable meat. I'm not even sure if the dish was meat or organs. It was not very good. It was the only drawback to Guangzhou but it was still an exciting place to eat a meal.
Meat is a staple of the Cantonese. There's a phrase saying "the Chinese will eat anything with four legs except a table" which I think results from prior famines where the locals ate anything to survive (I think there's a reference to this in Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth." I saw live butchers on the street and a few in marketplaces. I decided to join an open air dining area for dinner. I will add that not only do the Chinese eat just about anything with four legs but they also eat the entire animals. I ordered a hot pot that came with various pieces of unidentifiable meat. I'm not even sure if the dish was meat or organs. It was not very good. It was the only drawback to Guangzhou but it was still an exciting place to eat a meal.
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Another popular are in the city is Yuexiu Park and the Statue of the Five Rams. Nearby is the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King. The tomb was discovered in 1983 while a construction company was excavating to build a mall. The massive tomb complex dates back to 100 BC and contain the remains of a former Han Emperor, fifteen additional sacrificed bodies, hundreds of pieces of jade jewelry, and other period artifacts such as weapons and cookware. The museum was well planned and fortunately the artifact signage was translated to English which is not always the case in small museums.
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For additional Guangzhou photos see FLICKR ALBUM.