Guangzhou - Do & See
Pearl River Night Cruise
Cruises through the heart of the city take up to 2 hours depending on routes and dinner (optional). Routes typically go past Shamian island, returning through Renmin bridge and Haizhu bridge before winding up at the Gaungzhou suspension bridge. Options include a light show at Bai-e-Tan.
Nanyue Tomb (near Lihua Park)
Discovered in 1983, it is in its own way a match for Xian’s much lauded Terracotta Army. It houses the tomb of Zhao Mo dating back some 2,000 years and grandson of the Nanyue kingdom founder Zhao Tao. Exhibits include host of gold, jade and other trinkets from the period.
Huaisheng Mosque
It boasts Guangta, believed to be the world’s oldest minaret outside Mecca dating back to the 7th Century. The mosque was the pivotal point of the 15th century foreign quarter. Not open for internal viewing.
Liurong Si
Not far from Huaisheng Mosque is Liuring Si. Not that much remains of the original temple but it is worth a visit for the 57 meter high pagoda garden dating back to the 3rd century if only to develop an understanding of the extraordinary care and symbolism attached to a Chinese garden.
Guangxiao Si
Guangzhou’s oldest Buddhist temple dates back to at least 113 BC. It was visited by the Indian founder of Chan Buddhism Bodhidharma and is a peaceful and spacious haven of tranquillity within the city.
Peasant Movement Training Institute
A Confucian academy of some 600 years, its real fame now resides in the curiosity that Mao Zedong was its dean in 1924 along with fellow revolutionary stalwarts Zhou Enlai and Peng Pai before it closed in 1926 in the run up to the ill-fated communist uprising in Guangzhou in 1927.
Martyrs’ Memorial Gardens
Poignant memorial to the 5,000 plus victims of the 1927 communist uprising, who, promised reinforcements, saw their dreams crash and die as they were left to the mercy of the army.
Yuexiu Park
China’s biggest park covers an expanse of 90 hectares. Amid all the greenery it includes a hall built in the memory of Sun Yatsen, the man considered to be the founder of modern China. Also has the oldest and largest Taoist temple, Sanyuan Gong, in Guangzhou dating back to AD 319.
Baiyun Shan (White Cloud Mountain)
If you have a day to while away, this is hard to beat. For rest and a bit of peace from the heat of the city, it’s well worth the trip where at the weekend, you will be joined by the locals in their multitudes. Cable car will take you to the top. Tour buses 1 and 3 go there as well as taxis.
Lianhua Shan (Lotus Mountain)
Approximately two hours from Guangzhou by bus (302, 308). It includes an awesome statue of Buddhist God of Compassion Guanyin.
