Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province, is nicknamed the City of Goat. As a city of historic and cultural significance, Guangzhou has a history of 2,200 years of civilization, and was prominent in recent history. It is the largest industrial and commercial city and the largest important and export port in South China.
Guangzhou is located in the middle south of Guangdong Province, north of the Pearl River Delta. It lies close to the South China Sea, Hong Kong, and Macau. Zhujiang (The Pearl River), the third largest river of China, runs through Guangzhou and is navigable to the South China Sea. The city is part of the Pearl River Delta situated next to the Baiyun Mountain, which is locally referred to as ‘the lung of the city’. It enjoys a humid climate all year around, and flowers blossom in all four seasons, hence its another nickname "the City of Flowers". There are over 150 historical sites and places of interests in the city, plus various modern entertainment facilities. Here, the China Guangdong Export Commodities Fairs is held twice every year. Guangzhou is not only famous for foreign trade, but also one of China's historical and cultural tourist cities and a famous hometown of overseas Chinese. Beautiful scenery and comfortable climate make Guangzhou a great place to visit. There are many historical sites. And it is also the food and shopping paradise.
Three pillars industry such as automobile manufacture, petrochemical manufacture, electronics appliances manufacture, etc. realized ￥223.482 billion of industrial output value with a rise of 35.4% over the previous year. 7 products such as Liby detergent, Lonkey detergent, Doublefish table tennis goods, Wanli brand radial tyre, Hualing refrigerator, Wanbao refrigerator, Hengshan computer-controlled-tax fuel dispenser, etc. gained the title of 2004' China Top Brands, 28 products were awarded as Guangdong Province Top Brands. Till now, we have 17 China Top Brands and 102 Guangdong Province Top Brands.
Basic Information
Chinese name: 广州
Location: Southeast of China
Dialing code: (+86)020
Zip code: 510000
Official languages: Chinese
Currency: China Yuan (RMB￥)
Main attractions in Guangzhou: Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Western Han Nanyue King Tomb Museum, Western Han Nanyue King Tomb Museum, Shamian Island, etc.
Administration Distribution
Guangzhou City consists of Yuexiu Distric,t Liwan District, Haizhu District, Tianhe Distric, Baiyun District, Huangpu District, Panyu District, Huadu District, Nansha District, Zengcheng District and Conghua District (update in 2015).
History
Formerly known as Canton in the West, the city of Guangzhou has a history dating back roughly 2,200 years.
According to historical records, the city was built in 214BC and was known as Panyu firstly. Guangzhou became a part of China in the 3d century. B.C. Hindu and Arab merchants reached Guangzhou in the 10th century, and the city became the first Chinese port regularly visited by European traders.
As a major sea port, Guangzhou's history is full of color. In 786 the city was sacked by the Persians.
In 1511, Portugal secured a trade monopoly, but it was broken by the British in the late 17th century and in the 18th century, the French and Dutch were also admitted. In 1711 the British East India Company established a trading post here. In 1757, the government designated the city as the only port allowed business transactions with foreign nations. Trading, however, was restricted until the Treaty of Nanjing (1842) following the Opium War, which opened the city to foreign trade. In1842, the signing of the Treaty of Nanking, which made four other ports were added. Losing the exclusive privilege pushed Guangzhou to become more industrialized later.
Following a disturbance, French and British forces occupied Guangzhou in 1856. Later the island of Shamian was ceded to them for business and residential purposes, and this reclaimed sandbank with its broad avenues, gardens, and fine buildings was known for its beauty; it was restored to China in 1946.
In 1911, Guangzhou went through the revolutionary movement under Sun Yat-sen; the Republic of China was proclaimed there. From Guangzhou the Nationalist armies of Chiang Kai-shek marched northward in the 1920s to establish a government in Nanjing. In 1927, Guangzhou was briefly the seat of one of the earliest Communist communes in China. In late Oct., 1949, Guangzhou fell into the Communist armies, which signaled the Communist’s takeover of all China. Under the Communist government, Guangzhou was developed as an industrial center and a modern port, with a great trade to & from Hong Kong. nowadays, Guangzhou is metropolis in China and famous for foreign trade. Canton trade fair is the most famous event in Guangzhou, which attract tourists every year to visit China.
Climate
Guangzhou enjoys a subtropical monsoon climate. There is neither intense heat in summer nor severe cold in winter. It enjoys plenty rainfall and evergreen in four seasons. The average temperature is 22.8℃, the average relative humidity is about 68%, and the annual rainfall at the urban area is over 1,600 mm. In a year, April to July is rainy seasin; July to September is hot and dry with frequent typhoon; October, November and March has good weather with less rain and comfortable temperature; December to next February is winter season with cold weather.
• Best Time to Visit
Best time to visit is in Spring (March to mid-May) and autumn (October to September). In spring, it is flower season in the city, you can see a variety of flowers in parks or surrounding villages. Autumn is the best time to do shopping, as many shops offer large discount for consumers. And the weather is fine with cool temperature and less rain.
Note: Please note that the Canton Fair takes place annually during the Weeks from Mid-April to Early May and Mid-October to Early November, so finding accommodation at those times can be difficult and expensive.
• Dressing Tips
♦ Spring (March to mid-May): thin coat or sweater is needed
♦ Summer (May to September): T-shirts and short pants is enough.
♦ Autumn (late September to early December): Light sweater and coat is needed
♦ Winter (mid December to late February in next year): winter is not very cold in Guangzhou, most of time, a coat with a warm underwear is enough. But sometimes a overcoat is needed.
Tourism
Guangzhou city is very rich in natural and cultural attractions. Yuexiu District is home to the Old Town of the city, with Yuexiu Park, Guangxiao Temple, Temple of Chen Family, Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, Shamian Island and other representative attractions. Liwan District is features with all kinds of the Guangzhou food streets and shopping streets, such as Laoxiguan, Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street, etc.. South of the city is home to beautiful natural scenery, as well as Chime-Long Paradise, Xiangjiang Wild Animal World and other popular places for children and young people. In the north is Conghua County, where has famous Conghua Hot Spring Area with attractive view. The eastern part, Zengcheng Village, has a distinctive style of water town views.
• Best Places to Visit
♦
Shamian Island – there are more than 150 European-style buildings around this place, including the new Baroque, imitation of Gothic style, arcade style, neo-classical style and other styled buildings. Here is the place that has the most exotic feelings. It is suitable for photograph. Many people take wedding photos here.
♦ Temple of Chen Family – also known as Chen Clan Academy, Guangdong is the largest, best preserved and most beautifully decorated existing temple architectures of China Qing Dynasty in this city. This emple started to build in 1888 and finished in 1894. It has an ancient architectural style, full of flavor of southern China’s style.
♦ Guangzhou Chime-Long Tourist Resort - Guangzhou Chimelong Tourist Resort encompasses several of China’s top theme parks and hotels including Chimelong Paradise, Chimelong International Circus, Chimelong Water Park, Chimelong Safari Park, Guangzhou Crocodile Park high-end restaurants and Chimelong Hotel. If you travel with families, it is a great place to have fun together.
♦ Dr. Sun Yat sen Memorial Hall - it was built in 1931 with the funds raised by the Guangzhou people and overseas Chinese in memory of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the pioneer of China's bourgeois democratic revolution.
♦ Temple of Six Banyan Trees - it is a famous ancient Buddhist temple with a history of more than 1400 years in Guangzhou.
Shopping
Guangzhou is one of shopping malls in China. There are high-end shopping malls, as well as street markets for your bargaining.
If time and weather permit, walking is perhaps the best way to see the city as the back streets, which are not accessible by motorized vehicles and are littered with local life. Most trades and goods categories are concentrated in a specific area or along one main street, which is called street market. You can feel exotic atmosphere by strolling around these places, such as, Qingping Market, Flower Street, Guangzhou Wholesale Market, Xiguang Antique Street, etc.
High-end shopping malls and centers includes Shangxiajiu Street, Beijing Road Pedestrian Street, China Plaza, Taikoo Hui, Tee Mall, etc.
Transportation
Option to get to Guangzhou is quite a lot, by air or train are the most convenient. With Guangdong province, taking bus to travel between cities is quite convenient.
As for internal transport in Guangzhou city, the most convenient means of transportation is by subway. One can reach almost every corner of the city by subway, to airport, to train stations. As traffic jams is common in Guangzhou, it is not recommended to travel in town by bus and taxi.
Air
There is only one international airport in Guangzhou: Baiyun International Airport. It has flight lines connecting most of cities in China, Southeast Asia, Middle Asia, Europe, America, Australia, and other areas. It is linear distance of 28 kilometers from the center of Guangzhou, Haizhu Square. The terminal building of it is divided into two parts: A District and B District.
♦ A District serves for international flights and domestic flights except for Southern Airlines.
♦ B District serves for Southern Airlines. Passengers can leave from here direct upon arrival. No need to pass by the main terminal.
Rail
There are four train stations in the city: Guangzou Railway Station, Guangzou East Railway Station, Guangzou South Railway Station Guangzou North Railway Station.
Guangzou Railway Station
This train station serves for Guangzhou-Shenzhen railway, Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, Guangzhou-Sanshui Railway, and the interchange station of Metro Line 2 and Metro Line 5. It is the main train station in the city and the largest in south of China.
♦ Add: Shixi Road, Yuexiu District
♦ How to get there: take Metro Line 2 or 5
Guangzou East Railway Station
This train station serves for Guangzhou-Shenzhen, Guangzhou-Hong Kong, Guangzhou-Shantou and other rails to east of China.
♦ Add: Linhe West Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou
♦ Tel: 020-61346222
♦ How to get: take Metro Line 1 and North Extension Line of Metro Line 3
Guangzhou South Railway Station
It is the main station serving for departure and arrival of intercity rapid rail transit trains within Guangdong province.
♦ Add: Shibi Village, Zhongcun Town, Panyu District, Guangzhou.
♦ Tel: 020-95105688
♦ How to get: take Metro Line 2
Guangzhou North Railway Station
♦ Add: Xinhua Ave., Huadu District, Guangzhou
♦ Tel: 020-86832288
Bus
There are many bus stations in Guangzhou, including Guangzhou Bus Terminal, Yuexiu South Bus Station, Guangzhou Tianhe Bus Terminal, Nanpu Bus Terminal, Guangzhou Guangyuan Bus Terminal. There are many buses leaving for different cities within Guangdong province and other places from those stations.
Guangzhou Bus Terminal
There are more than 100 buses departing and arriving in this station every day. buses here leave for The Pearl River Delta Region, and Hainan, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Hubei, Guizhou Provinces.
♦ Add: 158 Huanshi West Rd., Guangzhou
♦ Tel: 020-86684259
♦ How to get: take Metro Line 2 and 5.
Yuexiu South Bus Station
Buses here mainly leaves for cities in Guangxi, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Shannxi provinces.
♦ Address: 2 Dongyuanheng, Yuxiu, Guangzhou
♦ Tel: 020-83833949
Guangzhou Tianhe Bus Terminal
Buses here leaves for different cities in Pearl River Delta Region, Fujian, Zhejiang, and other places.
♦ Tel: 020-37085070
♦ How to get: take Metro Line 3
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