October 13 to 16, 2019
Population : 14.9 million
Located in Southern China, 3200 km from Beijing, 120 km from Hong Kong
Last step in Mainland Chine, Guangzhou, formerly know as Canton, is the biggest town in Southern Chine, in the Guangdong province. One of the most known and most opened to the world due to its location and history, it is large metropolis, with high density population and very intense.
Apart from discovering a new city and Southern Chine, this last stop was essentially a way to get closer to Hong Kong from Kunming.
We stayed in a (very) small apartment, close to the Pearl river (Zhujiang river), confortable enough for the 3 nights we stayed there.
We arrived quite late, after 9 hours of travel from Kunming and we did not really have time to get familiar to the area, which made it quite difficult to find a restaurant for the first dinner here. The riverside looked lively that night so we naturally headed over there. But that was a mistake, there was no restaurants and the only ones nearby were very expensive. We walked almost an hour, (or that the impression we had as we were starving) and the only one we could find was a McDonalds we though was closed… But Naema saw people inside and saved us! 😃
Downtown walks
The first day, we went to explore the city. Let’s be honest, this is not our favorite in China, too much noise, too much people, exhausting, oppressing. However, we managed to find some nice places and enjoyed some neighborhoods.
Especially Shamian Islands, quite an exception in this town. Located in the south west, it is a pleasant place, where we could find some old European town or Savannah atmosphere. And actually, it makes sense, this location was acquired by foreign concessions in 1859 (France and England), after the Opium Wars.
Some nice areas in Shamian
Bubble of history: Not very glorious for the European, these wars were started at the end of the 19th century by the French and English when China Empire decided to stop the production of Opium, which was a high source of profit at the time. It is also, following these wars that Great Britain acquired Hong-Kong.
The island is full of nice buildings, old banks, headquarters or embassy and consulate, small cafés. There is even a small church named Notre Dame de Lourdes! (same as the famous pilgrim place in southern France).
Notre Dame de Lourdes
The island is also for its photoshoot. We saw many groups of girls taking pose in front of these buildings or squares.
Photoshoot
On the other side of the river, a melting pot of modern malls and old neighborhood. We went to see the Chinese medicinal market. We could find all sorts of roots (ginseng being the most famous), herbs, berries probably for wholesale. Some products were quite intriguing. It was dried sea products (fish, sea horses, shrimp among others), apparently used in soups in old remedies.
Marché de médecine chinoise
We then walked on commercial streets, but the noise and the ambient got very tiring. We found a peaceful area in Ening streets and its old opera.
Ening Street and a commercial streets with its old remains under glass
Yuexiu park and the history museum
The next day, we escaped this crazy and noisy atmosphere and enjoyed Yuexiu park. It is a very beautiful park, located in the center of the town, on top of a hill, fresh air in the city. We also visited the history museum of Guangzhou.
Bubble of history: Guangzhou first settlement dates from 1100 BC and was incorporated to China Empire in the Han dynasty (around 200-300 AD). Thanks to its location it became an important port (11th century) and was the starting point of the maritime Silk Road (toward the west). It became a trading post for the Portuguese in the 16th century, and later for the British. And now it is one of the main ports for trade worldwide.
It also took an important role in history. Early 20th century revolution started there and it was the center of activity of the communist party led by Mao Zedong. And during the communist years (post 1949), when China was isolated from the rest of the world, its bi-annual fair was the only platform for overseas trade..
Yuexiu park
Foodies corner
Mostly due to its long-time exchange with the west, Ghangzhou cuisine is actually the Chinese cuisine as we know it in France or North America. We find most of the typical dishes we already know and because of its maritime location, most specialties involve seafood. One of the major dishes is the dim sum, steam or fried dumpling (and can be either shrimps, crabs, pork or vegetables).
Close to the Chinese medicinal market, we found a small restaurant that only had noodle soup and dim sum, made from scratch and very fresh.
We spent 2 nice days in Guangzhou but it was clearly not our favorite city. Maybe it was the crazy ness around, maybe the noise, after the relaxed mood of Kunming, or maybe it was just that we were tired after one month in China.
Next destination: Hong Kong, where we will meet my friend Laurent and then we will leave to South East Asia.
Salah
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