Yijiayi Business Hotel

R & Y Wine Shop.

by Guantanamera about R & Y Wine Shop.

R & Y Wine Shop is the premier outlet in Shamian Dao for all of your oenological needs... They stock mostly various French vintages and when I asked if they had any Italian they showed me the one single bottle of Italian wine they had... They also have a decent selection of other spirits that you would find in Western countries such as Bailey's Irish Cream, and at prices fairly comparable to what you would pay in the West...!

Temple of the Five Celestial Beings Tree.

by Guantanamera

I like the story of the coming of the Five Celestial Beings... It sounds to the modern ear like some sort of visit by alien beings from another planet, bringing their technology to the ancient peoples of the Earth...! Pictured here is one of the huge and incredible trees that grow on the temple grounds, as seen from the top floor of the Ming Dynasty Bell tower. The rooftop you see at the right is the roof of the temple...

Joe Cooper's Guangzhou Page

by joecooper

"Guangzhou - City Of Change"

Guangzhou (Or Canton) is a vibrant, busy and huge city. It's history dates back to Neolithic times and it is still growing now. Guangzhou is most famous as the city where Dr. Sun Yat-Sen organised his revolution against the Qing Emperor and became the first President of the Republic. The city played an important role during colonial times as a trade gateway between East and West. All this adds up to a fascinating and diverse city, well worth at least a couple of days of anyone's time.

"Old..."

Some of the buildings in Guangzhou are incredibley old, most notable of which are the Temple Of The Six Banyan Trees and Guangxiao Temple, some of the oldest standing structures in the whole of China. Other buildings have been demolished and others added over the ages, creating a wonderful blend of architecture.

Guangzhou is under constant, systematic development. If you look at a map, the centre of the city has developed well; a mix of the best of old and new with a few parks thrown in for good measure. Leaving this area you'll find countless apartment blocks and slums, thrown up over the last 50 or so years.

"...and New!"

Moving further east is the modern, grid-based and aptly named 'New Town' with buildings such as The CITIC Plaza. Where the slums meet this area you'll find piles of rubble. The non-descript parts of the city are gradually being raised to the ground and rebuilt on an astonishing scale. Exactly where all the impoverished slum-dwellers will live when their homes are knocked down and replaced with glass skyscrapers is anyone’s guess. New Town has plenty of residential blocks but clearly not enough to provide shelter for everyone.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on Guangzhou, so please take a look at my tips and I hope that they contribute to you deciding to pay your own visit...