The Guangzhou Travel Review – Part 1

I visited Guangzhou in the mid-February 2017. The midday temperature was around 25’C; the days were mostly full of sunshine with occasional rain. I really loved the city. It’s a huge city and you can easily spend up to two weeks exploring the city. I think Guangdong is the wealthiest province, or at least one of the wealthiest provinces in China!  You will feel the richness everywhere in Guangzhou. 🙂 There are lots of historical buildings, museums; I will name many of them in this article. People are very friendly in the city, and there is too much of the food to be tried upon. Guangzhou has a variety of distinctive cuisine, and I would recommend Dim Sum (very popular breakfast) – just don’t miss Dim Sum.

I have lots of interest in China, including the Chinese culture, people, food, etc. I find it really difficult to be away from China! And this time I was in Guangzhou, capital of the Guangdong province, China.

Related post – Living in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China (I have moved to Suzhou (Jiangsu, China – since November 2017) for a full-time research job. You can find more articles following the link). 🙂

There are lots of things to write about Guangzhou, and this article (Part 1) of my Guangzhou review, I will write more about the general stuffs about Guangzhou. In the Guangzhou review Part 2, I will be writing more about the tourist attraction details.

Update – I’ve just covered comprehensive reviews of the Chinese dating market (WeChat, TanTan, mindsets) in my books available on Amazon, feel free to stop by:

1. Online Dating in China (Paperback Edition),
   • Kindle Edition (same book – Online Dating in China).
2. Dating Chinese Women (Paperback Edition),
   • Kindle Edition (same book – Dating Chinese Women ).

In this post I’m going to share with you a very important concept about dating and relationship in China- When and How to Move On! This is where most of the beginner and intermediate dudes seem to get stuck.

Buying SIM card at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou, China

After you clear the immigration, you will be coming one floor down to clear the customs. You can buy mobile SIM card there (but before clearing the customs). It’s very easy. Just keep your passport ready. I bought a China Unicom (中国联通) mobile SIM card. For an internet data of 4GB that was valid for 30 Days, I paid exact CNY 150. I just inserted the SIM card into my dual SIM card mobile phone, and the card worked instantaneously. The 4G speed has been just awesome. I would recommend China Unicom mobile SIM card. If you need to ask someone about buying SIM Card, you can probably ask –

• Where to buy a mobile phone sim card? Zài nǎlǐ mǎi shǒujī sim kǎ? 在哪里买手机sim卡？
• Mobile phone recharge? Shǒujī chōngzhí? 手机充值？

From Guangzhou Airport to the city centre

I used the Metro train to come to the Guangzhou East railway station (in Tianhe). You also can use the metro. Take the red line (Subway line 3) from the Guangzhou Airport and get down after 10 stops at Guangzhou East Railway Station, MRT (Guangzhou dong Railway Station – 广州东站: Gǔangzhōudōng Zhàn; also known as Tianhe Station: 天河站; Tiānhé Zhàn). This is a big subway station and there are several exits. So before you exit the station, find out which exit is suitable for you. The journey from the airport to the Tianhe takes roughly 45 minutes, and the MRT fare is around CNY 6.

Public Transport

I would recommend buying the Metro Smart Card. In Chinese it’s called Yang Cheng Tong (羊城通). You can buy the metro card at any Metro station across the city.

For the first time, it would cost you CNY 50. You get CNY 32 as the balance (remaining CNY 18 is basically a service charge). For further top-ups, you have to go to the 7-Eleven stores. As such, I was not able to top up the Metro smart card at Metro station’s customer service centre. They always redirected me to the 7-Eleven stores. But it was not much of the trouble as there are lots of 7-Eleven stores located in the city (and at the metro stations). However, it seems you can only top up by an amount of CNY 50 or 100. I was not able to top up the metro card for any amount less than CNY 50. The MRT fare varies based on the distance travelled. For example, for up to 5 stations; you will be paying less than CNY 2. I think that’s already too cheap. But somehow, I feel that the metro fares in Guangzhou were still a bit expensive than that of Beijing. The metro/subway connectivity is just great in Guangzhou. As such, I didn’t use bus or taxi at all in Guangzhou.

VPN

I had a premium account of ExpressVPN, and it did work. However, the speed was quite slow compared to my previous China trip. I was able to use the Facebook, Gmail, etc. with the VPN, but even uploading one photo on Facebook was consuming a lot of time. I was quite unhappy with the slow VPN speed. I will write separately about the VPN issues in China.

Chinese Kids

They are cute everywhere in China. I have decided to write a separate article about them.

Crowded

Yes, like any other Chinese city, Guangzhou is a crowded city. However, this was not the first Chinese city for me. Having seen cities like Beijing, there was no surprise for me in Guangzhou. If you want to have a look at the crowd in China, here is the video– I recorded it using my CANON 60D DSLR at Tiyu West Road Metro Station (体育西路).

Emerging Economy?

I think China has already emerged. There are people from all across the world coming to China to find jobs. I saw a white couple singing in the street while returning from the Dafo Temple (near Exit D of Gongyuanqian Station 公园前站 – to be more precise). There were Chinese people donating money in the little donation box placed nearby. I am not sure about the language of the song. If you can interpret the language, let me know, I will update it accordingly. Here is the Video for your reference. 🙂 Update – It’s a Russian wartime folk song. Audio, Video!

Language

The local language is Cantonese. However, I used English all the time. Somehow I feel that the English of students in Guangzhou is better than that in Beijing. One incident is worth mentioning here. To go to the Canton towers, and following the Google Maps, I had to take metro at Tiyu West Road station. However, I didn’t see Tiyu West Road written anywhere on the station. In fact, what was written is “Tyu Xi Lu” using the English characters. For a moment I was confused, but then I recalled that in the Chinese language, Xi means west, and Lu means Road. That means, the names “Tiyu Xi Lu” and “Tiyu West Road” are one and the same. 🙂

Food

There is way too much food in Guangzhou. I will suggest following dishes

• White Cut Chicken (白切鸡) – very famous Cantonese dishes.
• Yum Cha / Dim Sum (饮茶) – just walk (especially in the morning) around in any area of Guangzhou, and you will find Dim sum stalls. There are hundreds of varieties of Dim Sum in Guangzhou.
• Siu Mei / Shao Wei (烧味) – Cantonese barbecue, includes roasted ducks, chicken, barbecued pork (叉烧), roast goose (烧鹅), roasted pig (烧肉) etc.
• Dessert (甜品,糖水) – you can try double layered milk (双皮奶) and ginger milk curd (姜撞奶).

Shopping and the Night Markets

I would recommend following places, don’t miss any of them

• Beijing Road (北京路步行街) Shopping Area – Metro Gongyuanqian, take exit C. There is lots of food there. You should try the stinky tofu – just for CNY 10. It’s very delicious and spicy. When I went there, it was drizzling. But still people were queuing for the stinky tofu – It’s that tasty. After I finished one bowl of the tofu, I got into the queue again (it was still drizzling). Even vegetarians can try.
• Shangxiajiu Commercial Pedestrian Street (上下九步行街) – Metro Changshou Road (长寿路), take Exit A.
• Tianhe Teemall: Guangzhou’s Biggest Middle Price Mall – Take line 1 or 3 to Tiyu West Road Station (体育西路)

Pearl River (珠江– Zhūjiāng) cruise

you need to go to the Tianzi Wharf (Tiān zì mǎtóu- 天字码头). The Wharf is also known as ‘The First Wharf in Canton’. The wharf is located at the end of Beijing Road.

Visiting universities

There are several prestigious universities located in Guangzhou. If you are lost around any university, just remember that a university in Chinese is called dàxué. So Jinan University is called Jìnán dàxué. I will list a few of them here, and if you have time and interest, you can visit them

• South China Normal University (SCNU; Chinese: 华南师范大学)
• South China Agricultural University (SCAU) (华南农业大学)
• South China University of Technology (SCUT; 华南理工大学) – The SCAU and SCUT are located very close, and you can visit them together (Metro station -Wushan).
• Jinan University (暨南大学-Jìnán dàxué)

Museums

There are several museums in the Guangzhou. You can visit the following

• Guangdong Museum(广东省博物馆新馆) (Metro 3,5 Zhujiiang New Town Exit B1; APM Opera House Exit C) Open 9AM-5PM, Tue-Sun
• Guangzhou Museum (广州博物馆) in Yuexiu Park. Admission: ¥10.
• Guangdong Museum of Art (广东美术馆)

Historical places

There are too many in Guangzhou

• Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall (中山纪念堂 zhōng-shān-jì-niàn-táng) (Metro 2 Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall – Exit C)
• Martyrs’ Memorial Garden(广州起义烈士陵园) -(Metro 1 Martyrs’ Park Station Exit D)
• Peasant Movement Institute(农民运动讲习所 nóng-jiǎng-suǒ) 42 Zhongshan 4th Road (中山四路42号),(Metro 1, Peasant Movement Institute Exit C).
• Mausoleum of the Nanyue King(西汉南越王博物馆) – Metro 2 Yuexiu Park Exit E

Parks

There are several parks in Guangzhou. You must visit Yuexiu Park (越秀公园) which is home to the Guangzhou Museum. Guangzhou Sculpture Park(广州雕塑公园) and Yuntai Garden (云台花园) are also worth visiting.

Temples and religious places

Guangzhou has a good mix of religious structures, which includes the Muslim mosque, temples, and churches. There are lots of temples in Guangzhou. I will list some of them that I visited, and I think you can’t give them a miss

• The Dafo Temple (大佛寺 – Dàfó Sì), No. 21 Huixin Xijie, Huifu Donglu, Yuexiu District (No. 22 Huixin Zhongjie).
• Huaisheng Mosque (怀圣寺 huái-shèng-sì) 56 Guangta Road (光塔路) (Metro 1 Ximenkou Exit C).
• Wu Xian Guan Temple(五仙观 wǔ-xiān-guān)
• Sacred Heart Cathedral – Shishi Sacré-cœur Catholic Cathedral(石室圣心大教堂 shí-shì-shèng-xīn-jiào-táng) 56 Yide Road (一德路旧部前)(Metro 2 Haizhu Square Exit B1).
• Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel (露德圣母堂)- One of the old structures is Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel,located at 14 Shamian Street.
  • Hualin Temple (华林寺 huá-lín-sì) (Metro 1 Changshou Lu)
  • Sanyuan Temple(三元宫 sān-yuán-gōng) Yingyuan Road (Metro 2 Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall Exit C).

Other culturally significant places

• Xiguan Dawu Culture Life Hall – Xiguan Residence(西关大屋 xī-guān-dà-wū) and Cantonese Arc (骑楼)
• Chen Clan Academy(陈家祠 chén-jiā-cí)  Zhongshan 7th Road (中山七路) (Metro 1 Chan Clan Academy – Exit D).

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (廣州白雲國際機場)

The airport is really nice and there are several international and domestic flights. However, I saw unique issues at the airport while returning from the Guangzhou. There were too few chairs at the airport (around the boarding pass counters), and the number of food outlet was surprisingly very less. There were too many people at the airport, and most of us were simply standing (or had to sit-down on the ground) as there were not enough chairs. I had to literally sit-down on the ground. I had to eat Burger in at the Airport.

Canton Tower

This is a must visit place. Go into the night. There will be lots of tourist taking photos. The food around the tower is a bit expensive. The tower is directly connected by the metro (Canton Tower station). The lighting on the tower is just amazing in the night. The tower lighting is switched off at sharp 11.00 PM. The metro services would be off after around 11.30, so make sure that you return on time – if you’d plan to return by metro.

Islands around Guangzhou

I think you must visit the Haixinsha Island (海心沙), and the Shamian Island(沙面岛). Both are worth visiting. Haixinsha Island was the venue for the grand opening and closing ceremonies of the Guangzhou Asian Games (2010). If you have to choose between these two, I would recommend Shamian Island, where you must visit “Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel”- (露德圣母堂)- located at 14 Shamian Street. The whole Shamian island can be covered by just walking. There are lots of lush green plantations across the island. I will write more about Shamian Island in another post.

Apart from the inflight smoking incident, and then the standing at the Guangzhou airport, I didn’t have any issues during the whole trip. As such, I have very sweet memories from the Guangzhou like any other Chinese city. I would love to be back in the city.

You can also check out my other posts about China, or other countries.

Alright, it’s already around 2700 words in this article. I will write more details, along with additional photos in the Guangzhou review Part 2.

Hope it helps. 🙂

 Last updated: Saturday, June 6, 2020