Pics: A very comfy looking ceramic pillow from the Nanyue King’s Tomb Museum. A monument in Guangzhou’s sprawling Yuexiu park. Guangzhou at dusk.
My stop in Guangzhou was something of an accident. I had hoped to quickly transit through to Longyan and then Yongding, but I missed the daily overnight train by 15 minutes. This turned out to be a lucky accident as I rather enjoyed Guangzhou. Known to the Western world as Canton, Guangzhou has been the cultural and economic capital of Southern China for centuries. It also happens to be one of modern China’s wealthiest and most modern cities, as it was among the first special economic zones in the country.
The city’s architecture was equivalent to Shanghai or Beijing in terms of its starkly contemporary flavor (at least among the big, newer buildings). Its bisected by the pearl river, which holds Shamian Island which was occupied by Western powers when the city was established as a treaty port after the Second Opium War. Supposedly very nice and has a bunch of grand 19th century structures, but I didnt make it there. Another thing I didnt see was a seventh century mosque, an example of Guangzhou’s importance as an ancient port. What I did see what the fascinating relics discovered during the excavation of the tomb of a preunification Southern kingdom king. This was supposedly one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 1980s if you believe the museums breathless commentary. Much of the first half of the museum was nothing special, but the actual objects from the tomb were quite cool. There were some awesome pieces wraught in gold, particularly a huge screen. There were also a bunch of human sacrifice remains, which was nifty.
Another highlight was yuexiu park, a hugh swath of green running through central Guangzhou. The park includes a few museums, ancient monuments (such as the grandiose statue of four goats), and also happened to be the site of some of the best stretching exercises I’ve seen so far in china. Ill update with video soon.
As anyone farmiliar with Chinese cousine knows, Cantonese food is famous for its dim sum. Being in Canton itself, I sought out the best dim sum restaurant I could find. I was treated to a truly strange meal. This wasnt your typical dumplings, springrolls, or even chicken claws (a popular snack), but rather ‘desecrated fish’ and ‘eggplant in rebellion.’ It certainly wasnt what I expected, but thats part of the point in China.
The one thing that actually shocked me was how few locals spoke English in Guangzhou, perhaps even less than Beijing. Given the city’s level of economic development and strong ties to overseas Chinese (many of whom are Cantonese) I would have thought English would be more prevalent.
While Guangzhou was great fun, after a day of soaking up the scene it was time to gear up for the more adventurous phase of my trip – Hakka country and the Tulou Roundhouse!
papa gonadius maximus!! i might have to visit you sometime my friend… it seems like you’re leading an enticingly exciting life.
Bobo! My couch is always warm and eagerly awaits hosting your scrawny form.