Our First Time to Guangzhou

My parents enjoyed Guangzhou! This GZ trip was my first time bringing my parents to China - just me and 2 elderly folks. The weather was kind, like being in aircon and not humid (we went in mid-Jan). GZ food suited my parents’ palate well. Language was easy for them as they speak Cantonese and Mandarin. And it was easy to get around, both the metro and ride-hiring (Didi).

Installing WeChat prior to the trip is a must, you will need it for cashless payment, communicating with local service providers and hiring Didi. Here are some useful resources for your trip planning and visiting GZ:

1. Trip - Online booking site owned by Ctrip, so it contains more china related resources and hotels here.

2. Amap - Our preferred map app to download by Alibaba. Amap is available in App Store and Play Store. Be sure to download the app before your trip, no google services in China!

3. Baidu - China’s “Google”. The best search engine for China related stuff.

4. Guangzhou Metro Map - Useful with other chinese and english station names.

5. Guangzhou Weather - We adapted our itinerary to the weather forecasted.

#1 - Attractions

There are plenty of attractions in Guangzhou. Here are the top 3 that gave us a varied experience in GZ.

1. Baiyun Mountain 白云山 - My mum heard of Baiyun from the shows she watched. Baiyun is not so much a “mountain” and more a “hill”. Fun fact - there is no official difference between a mountain and a hill. We took the cableway up and strolled down, taking in the fresh morning air. Riding the cableway up is relatively cheap (alternatively, there is paid shuttle service too) and gave us a nice view of GZ city. Apparently, Baiyun is a nice place for sunsets too.

   It is best to Didi to Baiyun Cableway 白云山索道. The nearest metro station is quite a distance away.

2. Canton Tower 广州塔 - The tallest tower in China and right by Pearl River (珠江), Canton Tower is a rainbow spectacle at night and has recreation activities you can do at it’s peak. Definitely worth a visit and the ticket price if you enjoy 360° city views. Combine your visit there with a walk along Flower City Square 花城广场.

   Nearest Metro - Canton Tower (Line 3/APM) Exit A, 广州塔 (3/APM线) 站A口.

   

   View of Pearl River 珠江 from Canton Tower

3. Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King 南越王博物院(王墓展区) - There are 2 spots to visit - the Tomb and Palace/Garden, both located a distance away from each other. We only visited the Tomb. There is much to see there and we find the ritual behind the King’s burial intriguing. Access to the tomb and main exhibits are on the top level, do allocate more time to visit this area. Combine your visit with another popular sightseeing place - Yuexiu Park 越秀公园.

   Nearest Metro - Yuexiu Park (Line 2) Exit E 越秀公园 (2号线) 站E口

Retail Shopping

Guangzhou is a shopping paradise. There is definitely something for everyone. Most of retail shops and malls open till 9/10pm so shopping after dinner was our favourite thing to do.

1. Beijing Road Pedestrian Street 北京路步行街 - THE place to go and a must go. A sprawling shopping area, imagine Bugis and maybe 4 times bigger. Expect huge crowds there during the weekends, you have been warned 😆.

   We made the choice of staying nearby, and we were glad we did. We wouldn’t recommend the apartment we booked though (it was so run down). Seek repute hotels and trust the negative reviews more than the positive ones.

   When you are here, don’t miss the Great Buddha Temple 大佛古寺. You will see devotees in the morning and tourists taking pics for instagram at night.

   TeeMall 天河城购物中心 is at one end of the street, and occupies 2 buildings. It makes for a good start or end point as it is right above Beijing Lu metro.

2. Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street 上下九步行街 - Another popular shopping street, and a lot less crowded than Beijing Road Pedestrian Street. Fans of waxed meat, be sure to visit 皇上皇腊味店.

   

   Waxed meat of all kinds at 皇上皇腊味店!

3. Taobao 淘宝 and JD 京东 - Undoubtly the best place to shop is still online. It may sound ironic to shop online in GZ, but the local shopping experience is very much a hybrid one. Some shops will tell you that some items are available for online order. Delivery is generally 2-3 days, so plan your buys early in your trip. Check with your hotel that they can help you accept deliveries and go crazy!

Wholesale Shopping

The GZ shopping experience is not complete without wholesale shopping. We visited a number of wholesale markets, and there were many more we couldn’t go. If this is your first time to a Chinese wholesale market, prepared to be overwhelmed by seemingly infinite stalls touting their wares. Take awhile to get your bearings when you first arrive at each area, then let your curiosity lead you to the interesting finds and best bargains.

Some stalls only do wholesale business and don’t sell individual pieces. And for those who do, remember to bargain. Do note that unlike retail shops, most wholesale places close at 5/6PM.

1. Fashion/Clothes/Shoes - 白马服装市场 / 天马 / apM. We prefer the shops in the newer apM, with more fashionable options there. 天马 is probably the oldest. It was winter clothes season when we were there. Nearest Metro - Guangzhou Railway Station (Line 2/5) Exit 5, 广州火车站 (2/5号线) 5号口.

2. Bags/Leather - 白云皮具城. Leather good and bags everywhere. This area is a mini city on it’s own. We didn’t manage to even cover a third of it. Didi to 白云皮具城 and start exploring. Don’t miss the non-leather stalls at the opposite side near 金亿国际箱包城.

3. Audio Visual Electronics - 盛贤通讯器材城 / 星之光电器城. Audiophiles will love this area. It is also dotted with random electronic shops, we got some phone accessories here too. The surprise find here are the shops selling old electronics - CRT TVs, vinyl records, CDs and casettes tapes. Nearest Metro - Donghu (Line 6), 东湖 (6号线).

4. Textile/Beddings/Curtains - 海印布艺总汇. A relatively small area for textiles that is a few streets down from 星之光电器城. Nearest Metro - Donghu (Line 6), 东湖 (6号线).

5. Dried Seafood and Medicinal Herbs - 清平中药材专业市场. The best place to buy all sorts of chinese medicinal herbs. Most of the stall owners are friendly and will educate you what to get. This area is also a 20mins walk to Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street. Nearest Metro - Huangsha (Line 1/6) Exit E, 黄沙 (1/6号线) 地铁站E口.

6. Electronics 新亚洲国际数码电子城 / 南方大厦. We didn’t manage to visit this place. The place to go for gadgets and electronics.

Food

We love Guangzhou food. It is common for restaurants to charge a table fee per head that includes a selection of tea. Expect long queues during weekends for popular restaurants. We had to wait over 1.5 hours for one of our dinner meals. It will be smart to collect your queue ticket before you start shopping.

Restaurants we recommend:

1. 点都德 for Dim Sum. The elderly get their table fee waived during weekday mornings. My parents liked it and we tried it at 2 different outlets.

2. 向群饭店. A restaurant we went twice because it was just next to our hotel. It is also in Michelin Guide. We enjoyed the beef cubes and chicken.

3. 陶陶居. Another place for Dim Sum. But we went there for dinner, and it was good too.

4. 赵记传承 for desserts. Their 姜撞奶 is a must try.

There are 2 places in particular we like for the food variety and unique local experiences.

1. Xihua Road 西华路 has plenty of eateries and a nice place to discover local life. We spent the morning exploring the market (西华市场) there. Be sure to check out 珍珍小食店 (famous for their beef noodles but their 猪肠 is even tastier) and the freshly baked cakes at 全土鸡蛋无水蛋糕.

1. Flower City Square 花城广场 is a huge garden with an underground city of eateries, spanning from APM metro station 妇儿中心 to 大剧院. Take a stroll at 海心沙亚运公园 after your meal.

It was fun visiting China. We will defintely be visiting Guangzhou with my parents again. Hopefully we can do day trips to Foshan 佛山 and Qingyuan 清远 next time. Let us know if you have day trip locations to recommmend.

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