Tour Guangzhou

Guangzhou
Located at the north of the Pearl River delta, Guangzhou is an important trading center as well as a busy port and the capital city of the province of Guandong . Like Athens of Greece and Rome of Italy, Guangzhou also has a history of more than 2,800 years. There are a lot of interesting legends concerning its past. One of the beautiful stories which gives the city its name Goat Town. It says that five gods riding on five goats brought the first grain to the city. So, it is also known as the City of Five Goats. Besides tales and stories, here and there stand monuments of the city's democratic and revolutionary past. Guangzhou is a beautiful city with ever-green scenery and flowers blooming all the year round. The city boasts many tourist attractions, among which highlights are White Cloud Hill Scenic Spot. Yuexiu Park, Guangzhou Zoo, Six Banyan Temple and Flowery Pagoda, Dr. Sun Yatsen Memorial Hall, etc. In the Suburbs, there are such scenic spot on Conghua Hot Springs, Xiqiao Hill Scenic spot, Seven Star Crags, and Foshan City. Lots of tourists to Guangzhou like to cover one or two of them for out-of-city pleasure. What’s more, "Eating in Guangzhou" has become a popular saying both at home and abroad. Guangzhou ranks first in the number of restaurants and tea-houses in the country. Cantonese cuisine is good in color, fragrance, taste and presentation. In addition, the delicate Cantonese pastry is also well-known for its wide range of varieties, delicious flavor and beautiful color, and Cantonese cuisine is among the most famous four in the country.

Chen’s Ancestral Shrine
Located at Zhongshan 7th Road, Chen Ancestral Shrine (Chen Clan Academy) , is an important site which is preserved as a cultural relic. It was built in the 12th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1894) with donations of members from the Chen family who lived in 72 different counties in Guangdong province. It was used to supply accommodation to members of the Chen family who came to Guangzhou for imperial examinations. It is now preserved as a Guangdong Folk Craftwork Museum. Chen Ancestral Shrine has a rectangular main building and comprises six courtyards, nine main halls, and nineteen buildings. With an architectural design and decoration in traditional Guangdong style, the temple is especially renowned for its beautiful craftsmanship. Its windows, door frames, and pavilions are lavishly decorated with intricate carvings and sculptures. It is now the largest and best preserved and decorated ancient architecture existing in Guangdong province. The decoration combines wood carving, brick carving, stone carving, clay sculpture, ash sculpture, brass and iron foundry, grotto, New Year painting, and other art forms. Above all, the special historical, artistic, and scientific aspects of the temple have made it an important attraction in Guangzhou.

Yuexiu Park
Lies on Mountain Yue Xiu and other six little mountains, Yuexiu Park is the largest park in downtown Guangzhou. Covering an area of 860,000 square meters (212.5 acres), the park is made up of three artificial lakes and seven hills of Yuexiu Mountain; hence the name Yuexiu Park. Yuexiu Park is a perfect combination of cultural relics and ecological tourism, reputed for its pretty water and hills as well as cultural relics. It is a large comprehensive park with a long history in Guangzhou. From the records of the history book that the communication between Baiyue (tribe from south of Qinlin Mountain) and Chu (people from Center China) began at 826B.C., the 8th year of King Zhouyi. A lot of Chu moved to Guangzhou at that time and built a small town. Later, more and more Baiyue came to the place and got on well with Chu. Chu made a great many constructions and the scale of the town became bigger. Later it looked like a city and people called it Chuting ("pavilion of Chu"). This is the oldest name of Guangzhou. Besides the beautiful views, some other important scenic spots have attracted great many tourists. The Five Rams Statue, the River View Pagoda of Ming Dynasty, the Tomb of King Nanyue of Eastern Han, the Cannons of Ch'ing Dynasty. Although increasingly modern constructions have appeared in Guangzhou these years, the antique park still attracts many local people to have sports and rests there. The ancient construction made this park a famous scenic spot and have visitors from all over the world.

White Clouds Mountain
White Clouds Mountain is a famous mountain in South China. It is honored to be the first scenery of Goat City and the first mountain of Southern Yue since ancient times due to its magnificence and loftiness. It is made up of 30 peaks with the major peak of Mo Xing Ling whose altitude is 382 meters. The summit of the mountain will be wreathed by clouds whenever the sky clears after the rain or in the late spring time. The mountain is hence called Baiyun Mountain. The mountain range is full grandeur with majestic peaks and crisscrossed valleys. There remained the ancient site of mountain Stream Pu which is said to be the residence of Zheng Anqi of the Qing Dynasty when he secluded himself there. Travelers can appreciate the overall splendid landscape of Guangzhou and especially the beautiful jade-belt-liked Zhoujiang River when standing at the spot of Baiyun Mountain Scenery in the Dusk, leaning against the railings and staring as far as they can. White Clouds Mountain is a famous historic attraction in Guangzhou, with lots of splendid scenery and places of interest, elected as the historical and new Eight Attractions of Guangzhou. The whole scenic spot consists of seven tourist spots: Pearl Tower Tourist Spot, Mo Xing Ling Tourist Spot, Ming Chun Valley Tourist Spot, San Tai Ling Tourist Spot, Luhu Lake Tourist Spot, Fei E Ling Tourist Spot and He Yi Ling Tourist Spot. Above all, White Cloud Mountain is fairly known as a return to nature from the big city.Travelers can not only appreciate the natural scenes, but also go grassing, take slideway, and enjoy bungee there.

Temple of the Six Banyan Trees
Having a long history of about 1,400 years, the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees is one of the four best Buddhist temples in Guangzhou and located on the Liurong Road (meaning the Six Banyan Trees Road). It has a rich collection of cultural-relics and is renowned both at home and abroad. This temple was originally called the Baozhuangyan Temple, but it was ruined in fire during Northern Song Dynasty and was rebuilt in AD 989 and also renamed Jinghui Temple. In year 1100, a well known literateur and calligrapher named Su Shi traveled to this temple and saw six age-old banyan trees, so he inscribed “Liu Rong” (means six banyan trees) for this temple cheerily. And this temple has since been called the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees. Nowadays, there are no banyan trees, but six banyan trees indeed existed about one thousand years ago, and there is still a nice pagoda. Hua Ta (Flower Pagoda) is the highlight of this Liurong Temple. This pagoda is 57 meter high with a cool structure. Flower Pagoda of Six Banyan Trees Temple consists of a viewable 9 stories, but in fact, the interior or viewing from inside actually consists of 17 layers. From this pagoda, you will get a view of interesting variety of surrounding residential housing. The largest bronze figure existed of Guangdong Province is in Liurong Temple. After entering by the mountain gate, the Tianwang Hall is the first hall you will see. The Laughing Buddha is there with smile all over his face to welcome visitors. Behind it is the Weituo Hall. According to legend, Weituo was a general who recaptured the Buddhist relics which had been stolen. He keeps a straight face, looking very serious and frightful, in distinct contrast with the Laughing Buddha.So amazing and splendid.

Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
Guangzhou Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, situated on the southern slope of Yuexiu Hill, was constructed between 1929 and 1931, a monument to Dr Sun Yat-sen, the forerunner of Chinese democratic revolution, by the people of Guangzhou and overseas Chinese. The hall is really a magnificent building in the shape of octangle. It is not only one of the symbolic constructions in Guangzhou with its majestic appearance and the infused rich Chinese national color, but also an important place for large scale meeting and performance.The masterpiece of architecture history is created with a span of 71 meters without a pillar but significant outlooks and delicate interior designs. As an important place for conferences and performances, it can hold thousands of people with sound equipment. In the hall there is also a display gallery showing pictures and letters of Sun Yat-sen. The oldest ceiba in Guangzhou City grows in the hall, like a centuries-old man, witnessing great changes of this city; besides, you can also have a chance to see the two biggest white jade orchid trees of Guangzhou. A bronze statue of Sun Yat-sen was set up in 1956 in front of the memorial hall. Stepping on the monument by a steel spiral staircase, you are presented with a panoramic view of the memorial hall. Above all, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall will refresh you after visiting the bustling commercial metropolis and provide you with a moment to touch this great man in Chinese history.

Pearl River
The third longest river, the Pearl River, measures 2,129 meters in length. The Guangzhou section of the river is where Guangzhou's most scenic spots are located. Many famous sights are clustered along the river and are the reasons for many people taking a trip to Guangzhou. It is so called because it contains a stone island resembling a huge pearl, polished by the constantly-flowing water of the river. Spanning eight provinces, the Pearl River is composed of four river systems including the West River, North River, East River and Liuxi River. The four river systems converge in Guangzhou and flow into the South China Sea. One can not be considered to have visited Guangzhou if he hasn't cruised the scenic Pearl River. Views along the Pearl River in Guangzhou City are charming and gentle. Historical sites and unique architecture scattered along the Pearl River are numerous and are a goodly reflection of the Guangzhou culture. Among them are architectures in Shamian where converge a number of ancient architectures from various countries, the White Goose Pool that is one of the eight most famous scenes in Guangzhou, and ten characteristic bridges. Compared with the daytime cruise on the Pearl River, the night cruise is even more fascinating under the sparkling lights. The night cruise starts from the White Goose Pool and ends at the Guangzhou Bridge in the east and Baihedong (White Crane Cave) in the south. This section offers visitors vistas such as 'Night Moon over the Goose Pool' and 'Red Heart of the Pearl River'. Every visitor will be captivated by the beauty of the Pearl River during this two-hour evening cruise.