Things to Do in Guangzhou

Shamian Island (literally translated as “Sandbar” Island), a 44-acre sandbank separated from Guangzhou by a canal, was given as a concession to the French and British governments after the First Opium War in 1841. The island quickly grew into a prosperous expat enclave where trading companies from Europe, the United States and Japan came to do business.

The stone mansions, churches, yacht club and sporting venues drew the envy of Guangzhou residents, who didn’t even have paved roads until the early 1900s. Local Chinese authorities restricted traders to the small area and forbade them from learning Chinese or bringing over their children and wives.

Today, many of the colonial mansions have been restored to their former glory, and the island, now partly pedestrianized, is home to a series of bars, cafes and boutique shops. The neo-gothic Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church has reopened for worshippers in recent years and is worth a visit; along with the riverfront area along the Pearl River in the center of the island where locals come to fish or practice tai chi.

One of the oldest and most famous historic sites in Guangzhou, the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees (Liurong Temple) was originally built in 537 AD to serve as a shrine for Buddhist relics from India. The temple grounds suffered from a series of fires during its first few hundred years, but most of the structures standing today date back to the eleventh century.

The temple got its current name when, in 1099, poet Su Dongpo commented on the temple’s courtyard banyan trees in a poem. While the actual banyan trees are long gone, the characters from Su Dongpo’s poem remain above the gateway to the temple.

The Temple of the Six Banyan Trees remains an active Zen Buddhist place of worship with some of the biggest and oldest Buddha statues in the province housed within the main temple hall. The temple’s 17-level flowering pagoda, where the Buddhist relics are stored, is one of the city’s most prominent and recognizable landmarks, and a visit to the top of the pagoda offers pleasant views of the surrounding temple grounds.

According to legend, Guangzhou was founded when five immortal beings, three men and two women, descended upon the city during the reign of King Yi in the Zhou Dynasty. The five celestial beings rode on top of rams and brought with them rice and the valuable knowledge of cultivation to help the people of the area avoid famine. The immortals then ascended back into the heavens, leaving behind the five celestial rams to protect the city.

In honor of the five immortals, the people of Guangzhou built the Temple of the Five Immortals (Wuxian Guan) in 1377 at the location of a footprint left behind by one of the beings. The Ming-style Taoist temple features a main hall just west of small pond in the shape of a foot.

Within the temple sits a large stone sculpture of the five immortals on their celestial rams (Five-Ram sculpture) and it is home to a huge bell tower dating back to the Ming Dynasty. The massive bronze bell can be heard through much of the city each time it rings.

Yuexiu Park, covering 247 acres in the heart of Guangzhou, is laced with walking paths winding past lakes, playgrounds, landscaped gardens and recreational areas. The park’s most recognizable landmark, the Five Ram Statue, is an emblem of Guangzhou City, depicting the five immortals who came to Guangzhou on the back of rams to deliver grain and prosperity to the starving people.

For a look at Guangzhou’s past and present, the park is home to the Guangzhou City Museum, housed within Xhenhai Tower. The five-story tower, built in 1380 during the Ming Dynasty, was originally used to protect the city from pirates before the British used the structure as a garrison after the first Opium War. Now the Ming-style building houses relics from the city’s 2,000-year history.

Visit the park early in the morning to see locals practicing tai chi or playing musical instruments. Throughout the day the lakes become crowded with fisherman looking to catch dinner and the paths become scattered with artists sketching or painting their surroundings.

Perched on the southern slope of Guangzhou’s Yuexiu Hill sits the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, a monument built in 1931 in honor of the Chinese revolutionary. A bronze statue of Sun Yat Sen was erected in front of the Memorial hall several years later in 1956.

Sun Yat Sen is best known as the father of the Republic of China (Taiwan), but he started his life in Guangzhou prefecture and later became involved with a group of revolutionaries in Hong Kong in the 1890s. After taking part in the First Guangzhou uprising against China’s Qing Dynasty in 1895, Sun spent several years in exile before returning and successfully overthrowing the Qing Dynasty in 1911.

The Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, a large, octagonal structure built in a traditional Chinese style, is primarily used for hosting performances, but the collection of photos and letters from Dr. Sun Yat Sen on display in one of the halls makes it well worth a visit.

Considered one of the best museums anywhere in China, the Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King (sometimes called the Museum of the Southern Yue Royal Mausoleum) houses the contents of the royal tombs of the Nanyue-ruler Zhao Mo.The tomb was discovered in 1983 when a bulldozing crew digging up a basement for a hotel uncovered the ancient mausoleum.

Zhao Mo ruled the southern Chinese kingdom of Nanyue from 137 BC to 122 BC after being sent south by the emperor to establish a new sovereign state. The skeletons of Zhao Mo, along with 15 of his courtiers who were buried alive to serve him in death and several thousand objects from the empire are on display, and the compact tomb sitting behind the museum is open to visitors as well.

An audio tour available in English will walk you through the history of the Han Dynasty by way of the relics and artifacts once housed in the tomb.

The Chen Clan Academy, also called the Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family, is to Guangzhou what the Forbidden City is to Beijing. The complex consists of 19 traditional southern Chinese buildings that were erected by the Chen Family in the late 1800s as a place for the members of all 72 Chen clans in the province to stay as they studied for their provincial exams.

In 1905, the traditional examination system was dissolved and the area became an industry college for the clan. In 1957, the complex was designated as a Guangzhou City preserve, and in 1959 the local government began using the Academy to house local folk arts.

Serving as the Guangzhou Museum of Folk Art, the Chen Clan Academy is the largest and best-preserved clan complex in Guangdong Province and houses an exquisite collection of Cantonese folk art. The structures themselves are works of art, with carvings on nearly every column, ceiling beam and wall. The halls and courtyards of the complex display wood, stone and brick carvings, engraving art, pottery and paintings.

As the tallest structure in China and the fourth tallest freestanding structure in the world, the Canton Tower dominates Guangzhou’s modern skyline. The twisted, tapering tower rising just over 2,000 feet (609.6 meters) is home to the world’s highest and largest outdoor observatory at 1,601 feet (488 meters) above the ground. Sixteen transparent cabins carry passengers around the slanting, elliptical rooftop, offering views that extend as far as Hong Kong and Macau.

Thrill seekers can plummet from a height of 1,600 feet (488 meters) down the side of the tower with the Mega Drop. For a milder thrill, take on the Spider Walk, the world’s longest sky stairs with 1,028 steps, some of which have transparent glass flooring with views of the ground far below.

For the tame of heart, the Canton Tower houses a rotating restaurant on the 106th floor as well as a 4D cinema, wine bar and science exhibition center highlighting the engineering technology behind the tower.