Go to Guangzhou
Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province in southern China has a population of just over 10 million making it the country’s third largest city in. It forms something of an urban triangle in terms of location with Hong Kong and Macau. The food and language of the Guangzhou area are known as “Cantonese” and its food in particular is known all over the world. Guangzhou is also known for foreign trade and business and is the home of China’s largest trade fair. It’s a thoroughly modern city of skyscrapers, malls, restaurants and bars as well as many historical attractions and is something of a contradiction as upmarket dwellings sit side by side with slums and the frenetic street market at Qingping street can be a bit of a culture shock though some peace and quiet can be had in the city’s gardens including the Flowery Pagoda at Liurong Temple.
The city is made up of ten districts and most activity for visitors is concentrated in the central half dozen including Liwan which is the old Guangzhou, and attractions include Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel on the colonial Shamian Island, Xiguan Old Houses, and Shangxiajiu shopping districts; Yuexiu is the political and cultural centre and includes Yuexiu Park, Beijing Lu Shopping District, and Huanghuagang Martyrs Memorial Park which is also home to the Guangdong Revolutions History Museum. The Haizhu district is south of the Pearl River and includes the Canton Fair Pazhou Exhibition Center, and the Pearl River Promenade; Tianhe is very much the new city centre and is buzzing with new developments of plaza’s, apartment blocks and shopping centres and Baiyun is a mainly rural district which is seeing more development – the Baiyun Mountain is here as is the beautiful Yuntai Garden.
There are a plethora of restaurants in the city and Cantonese cuisine should be experienced and there are also a number of vegetarian restaurants as well as restaurants serving a variety of south-east Asian cuisines and the typical Italian/pizza/American places too. Guangzhou is a great city for taking in a few pubs and bars as it has a relatively large foreign population and there is a wide variety of nightlife to cater to all tastes. Equally there are plenty of options for accommodation also though be aware that during peak trade fair months of April-May and October-November, hotel rooms may be extremely difficult to get and rates may be hiked by a significant amount.