Guangzhou

Summer 2012 began in Guangzhou for us after a flight down from Nanjing. We knew very little about the place except that it had a colonial past and was previously known as Canton. Guangzhou is also next door to Hong Kong where meet up with the rest of the family for a month's holiday which saw us back in China at Guilin. (Guilin will be the subject of my last blog for Summer 2012, the other parts have already been uploaded.)

 


Back street near the hotel we stayed at.




Plant market

One of the main attractions to visit in Guangzhou is the Lotus Pagoda. This was a little difficult to find but helpful locals were able to point us the right direction after we showed them photos in the DK guide.



Lotus Pagoda



At the Lotus Pagoda




Colourful characters

Lotus Pagoda temples



Budda inside the temple



Incense burner

The temple of Chen Jia Ci is easily reached by metro at the station with the same name as the temple.

Chen Jia Ci





Details of the roof features at Chen Jia Ci





Statues inside the temple grounds

We were to find a number of bronze statues around Guangzhou. Similar types of bronze works can often be found in different parts of China too. They provide popular places for photos; patience is needed to get these people-free.





Banana vendors





Life like characters

The buildings inside Chen Jia Ci contained a number of rooms that were used to display different Chinese arts and crafts like calligraphy and paper cutting. The above room was set out to show what a room in a typical domestic house from the 19th Century would have looked like.

Relief of a traditional opera on the facade of Chen Jia Ci

Not far from our hotel was Shamian Island. This was the colonial quarter going back to the 19th Centrury and played an important role as a safe haven during the Opium wars.





Many of the original French style biuldings still remain
on Shamian island along Shamian Da Jie





The violinist





The Pearl River

Macau lies on one side of the Pearl River delta and  Hong Kong the other.





19th century guns leased to the French and British
after the Second Opium war (1856-60)

From Gaungzhou it was a short non-stop train ride to Kowloon. Border facilities at Guangzhou East station and Kowloon station made for an easy crossing avoiding airports and all the assocated security nowadays.

Our adventures in Hong Kong were posted earlier.