Delights of Guang Zhou

Visiting Guang Zhou has stirred a lot of emotions within me, as I have heard a lot about this city--most of my close friends are from Guang Zhou. It was wonderful making new friends with the locals and experiencing life with them in Guang Zhou. Though this summer of 2004 is the hottest-ever summer (38 degrees!) in Guang Zhou for the past few years, and it was rather taxing walking in the hot sun, I still had plenty of fun and good times.

I especially loved wondering around the numerous parks found all over the city, shopping around and haggling for the best prices, eating at food stalls that can be found all over the place, having a relaxing stroll along the Pearl River Delta, admiring the ancient buildings in the older part of the city and appreciating the chinese culture which is my heritage. My friends showed me Guang Zhou in a way I never thought I would see it: popular hangouts and discos, cheapest buys, back alley restaurants, and best of all, home-cooked meals!

Quick Tips:

It is best to carry around a Cantonese phrase book with you wherever you go, as most people in Guang Zhou do not know English. Mandarin is not as widely spoken as Cantonese. Make sure you get your destinations written or someone to help when you get a taxi to avoid misunderstandings. Guang Zhou is well known all over China for their outstanding food, so if you are daring enough, be sure to try all the weird variety of food found in this city. Also, the best thing about shopping in China is haggling, so make sure you get the best bargains for the items you purchase. There are also alot of pickpockets and thieves around, so make sure you guard your belongings properly. Another note for tourists to Guang Zhou: try not get on the wrong side or argue with the locals, as Chinese people are known to be very aggressive. During my visit to Guang Zhou, I have seen my share of pickpockets, as well as fights and arguments.

Best Way To Get Around:

The public transportation in Guang Zhou is extremely efficient, with buses, taxis,and underground stations readily available all around the city. The buses are the cheapest transportation, they only cost around RMB1 to RMB2. The drawbacks of taking a bus is that most of the signs are mainly in Chinese, and it is usually overcrowded. Taxis are more convenient; however, they might take you all around the city before bringing you to your destination if you don't know the roads. The traffic can be horrible during office hours, so I recommmend the metro line as the best mode of transportation to get around Guang Zhou. The metro stops at almost everywhere in the city, and is cheap, fast and efficient. The signboards are available in Pinyin, and the stops are announced in English.

Guangzhou is known as the food haven of the Republic of China. Chinese people love to eat, but the people in Guangzhou love to eat everything! And I mean literally everything! Street hawkers can be seen selling grilled internal organs of pigs and cows, dog meat, cat meat, snakes blood soup and many other weird and strange dishes. For more bizarre selections, don’t miss the Qing Ping Market. This place is definitely not for the squeamish; you might come out of the place having a really sick stomach!

For a little taste of Guangzhou food without going to the extreme, head on to the Bing Sheng Seafood Restaurant. There are several outlets of Bing Sheng in the city of Guang Zhou itself, but I have only visited two of their branches and can only recommend the two I have been to. Both of the restaurants I have been to are extremely large, with a main dining area for walk-in guests, and several separate rooms for functions and parties, guests with prior reservations, or for those that prefer a little more privacy (depending on availability). Each room is equipped with a television and tables for up to 10 guests.

The specialties of this restaurant are the fresh raw fish and raw prawns. The raw prawns or fish are served in two ways, either in wine or on ice. It is dished up in such a way to sterilize the bacteria that are usually found on raw meat. The prawns are literally still alive and moving, and we have to skin them ourselves, dip them in wasabi sauce, and just eat them like that! It may seem rather disgusting at the beginning, but the prawns actually taste quite delicious and are extremely fresh. This is definitely not something to be missed! Bing Sheng also serves cooked Chinese food like porridge, chicken, pork ribs, fried rice or mee, vegetables, etc.

Beijing Road is simply a must to visit when one is in Guang Zhou. It is located somewhere near Dong Feng Lu at the center of the city. This stretch of road is simply bustling with people, music, and lights almost every night. The entire road is outlined by small private shops selling their wares, anything from clothing to electronic gadgets to souvenirs and local crafts; two large supermarkets; retail outlets like Giordano and Samuel & Kevin; popular fast food outlets, such as McD’s and Pizza Hut; as well as small eateries and food stalls. It is fun just to stroll along the road, people watching, and snacking, as well as peeping in and browsing through shops that may spark your interest. In the middle of Beijing Road lies a display of old cobblestones that used to be what belonged here in the olden days.

Shang Xia Jiu is one of the older cities of Guang Zhou, and it is truly an experience to walk along the old buildings, drawing in the centuries-old feel the city vibrates. There are small shops and eateries all about the area, and tourists and locals are seen walking around, shopping or sitting down, having a bite.

The old city is a popular tourist destination, as it offers not only the olden China days atmosphere, but also delicious local snacks and shopping at the best bargains! The famous Qing Ping market is also found somewhere along Shang Xia Jiu, which sells anything from live animals, foodstuff, herbs, and spices.

"And when the moon doth shine as bright as day, the girls and boys come out to play." The city of Guangzhou does have plenty of night activities for the night owls. Nightclubs and bars, hawker shops, tea houses and gambling spots open from dark until dawn. The only disadvantage is due to the reason that since Guangzhou is a relatively large city; you have to know where to look.

I would have gotten completely lost in the darkness of the city, if not for the direction of my local friends. We headed to one of the famous night spots in the city, where a few nightclubs were located side by side or just across the road. A friend had reservations at the DJ Club (Koko), which apparently was one of the top clubs in the city at the time I was there. The club is located along a row of shop houses and has a spiral staircase leading up to the entrance. I would not have noticed it as a club except for the large fluorescent lights illuminating its name.

For the period I was in Guangzhou, I visited the DJ Club (Koko) about three times. The main area of the nightclub is actually quite small… it has a rather spacious bar, a small dance floor, a house DJ and a few sofa seats. Nevertheless, the club expands further in with two private karaoke lounges, and a second floor with plenty of tables and seats to accommodate their growing popularity. The color theme of the club is red… red chairs, red tables, red curtains, red walls… it’s just red, red, red everywhere!

The house DJ plays a mixture of trance, techno and R&B depending on the day of the week. Due to its popularity during the time I visited Guangzhou in 2004, the DJ Club usually gets crowded by midnight and can get pretty packed on weekends.

The Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall is situated on the original site of Sun Yat Sen's Presidential Office. It was built with funds raised by the local people and overseas Chinese to commemorate Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the great forerunner of the Chinese revolution. He is the first president of the Republic.

The memorial hall has magnificent exterior and elegant interior decorations. The whole building--octagonal in shape--is of a typical Chinese architectural style. Behind the large building is a smaller one that is dedicated to a short history of Guang Zhou. There is also a 5-meter-high bronze statue of Dr. Sun in front of the hall. The Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall is surrounded by beautiful, vast landscapes of trees, tree sculptures, and flowers, giving it a feel of vitality, vibrancy, and grandeur.

The Chen Clan Ancestral Temple is also now known as the Guang Dong Folk Art Museum. It was built with the donations from Chen family members from all over the Guang Dong Province. The temple was used at that time to provide lodgings for the Chen family candidates, who came from all over the province to prepare for the imperial examinations in Guang Zhou.

The temple has architectural designs of traditional Guang Dong style. There are 19 buildings on the property, each displaying a different kind of exhibition, such as antiques, wood carvings, stone carvings, sculptures, calligraphy, paintings, and so on. The walls and roofs of the temple are beautifully carved and decorated with pictures and paintings of gods, dragons, people, flowers, and sceneries.

The Chen Clan Ancestral Temple was definitely built with complete care and detail and is the largest, best-preserved, and best-decorated ancient architecture existing in the Guang Dong Province.

Yue Xiu Park is the largest park in Guang Zhou and contains small hills, artificial lakes, and flower gardens, as well as famous monuments and buildings. Frequent visitors to Yue Xiu Park are the elderly, who come for short walks around the park or to settle in small huts found all around the area for a chat or a game of cards.

The famous symbol of Guang Zhou, The Sculpture of the Five Rams, is found in the vicinity of Yue Xiu Park. This sculpture is seen as a symbol of Guang Zhou due to an ancient legend. This legend tells of five celestial beings with robes of five colours that rode rams through the air to Guang Zhou, each carrying a stem of rice. They presented it to the people, and they took it as a sign from heaven that the city will always be free from famine. Therefore, Guang Zhou is also known as the City of Rams or Goat City.

Other than that, The Zhen Hai Tower is also located here. This tower was built during the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368 to 1644) and is one of the oldest buildings in Guang Zhou. The Zhen Hai Tower was used as a watchtower during that time, guarding the city against invasions. It now houses the city museum, displaying antiques, sculptures, and porcelains from ancient dynasties.

Ding Hu Mountain is located in Zhao Qing, a small city in the Guang Dong province. It is a range of heavily forested mountains reaching up to 1,000 meters in height. The whole mountain range has been designated as an area of special interest by the United Nations, and there are at least 17,000 types of plants growing in this area. Some of the species found here are strange, like a foreigner as myself is unfamiliar.

In the hills of Ding Hu Mountain there are serene lakes, beautiful waterfalls, magnificent temples, and ancient pavilions. The mountain is said to be the best area for breathing anions - the air up here is simply soothing and relaxing! There are trams that take passengers up the mountain, stopping at several points where attractions can be found. There is a lot of walking involved, so I suggest a pair of good walking shoes. Make sure they are easy to take off, though; you might want to dip your feet into the cool water at the waterfall.

Lotus Hill, or Lian Hua Shan, is located at the mouth of the Zhujiang River in the city of Pan Yu. The hill was named Lotus Hill because it is filled with striking lotus flowers. It is also locally known as the Great Wall of Guang Zhou due to its vastness. The hill is famous for its beautiful Buddhist temple and overlooks paddy fields and plantations. Locals often come here to pray for good luck and fortune, thus rows and rows of shops selling praying materials can be found at the foot of the hill.

The Buddhist temple on the hill houses the Guan Yin Goddess of Mercy of a Thousand Hands and Eyes. This statue is located in the biggest pavilion for the Goddess of Mercy in the world. Inside the pavilion, other statues of gods can be found at both sides of the main statue.

A little beyond the pavilion is the Holy Ground of the Statue of Mother Buddha facing the sea. The statue is simply magnificent, dignified, and great in scale. It stands at 40.88m and is said to be the biggest gold leaf-coated bronze statue in the world. It is here that most people light humongous joss sticks for prayers, and the area is filled with the delightful sound of firecrackers lighted by the locals who come for prayers. The Lotus Pagoda stands just over the hilltop.