>> What to see

Guangdong Provincial Museum
Guangdong Priovincial Museum consists of two separate buildings; the first one is the old building of the University of Zhingshan, which is now the Memorial Hall Lu Xun and the second one, which is newer, was originally built between 1957 and 1959, and then changed and enlarged in 1992.
The first building houses an exhibition of artifacts regarding Lu Xun and other Chinese intellectuals who influenced the development of the country and helped to introduce the Communist revolution. The second building houses a number of different exhibitions including one on Chinese wooden intaglios, another one on baked clay figures in the Shiwan style and a third one is on artifacts regarding the history of the town, from its prehistory to modern times.

Guangdong Marionnette Art Centre
The old and traditional Chinese art of Marionnettes is still alive in the Art Centre of Marionnettes in Guangdong which exhibits pieces of this old art and twice a day offers shows of it. The narrated part can be understood only to those speaking Chinese, but the shows can be appreciated for their aesthetic quality.

Huaisheng Mosque
Known as the Lighthouse Mosque, Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou is 1300 years old and is one of the oldest mosques in the country. The name of the mosque is a homage to the Prophet of Islam, Maometto.

Huangpu Military Academy
Huangpu Military Academy was declared protected monument by the State in 1988 for its history and tradition which owes a lot to the respected Sun Yat-sen. There a dozen areas and constructions in this structure which are open to the public, among them visitors will find the Monument of the First Sun and the Monumental Room, the cemetery of the Martys of the Eastern expeditions, the Monument to the Expeditions of the North, the Jishen Park and the Jiaosi Pavilion.

The Panyu Chime-Long Night Zoo
The Panyu Chime-Long Night Zoo is nothing but a quite famous circus, which proudly defines itself as the largest circus of the kind in the world. Provided with 1000 seats, it offers regular shows of traditional theatrical acrobatics, magic, shows with animals, music and dance.

The Cathedral of the Holy Heart
The Cathedral of the Holy Heart distinguishes itself in Guangzhou because it is one of the few Christian buildings which help embellishing the landscape of the town. Built between 1863 and 1888 (during the Qing dynasty), the cathedral covers a total area of 2,700 square metres and is the largest Gothic building in the country. Mainly built with granite blocks, this cathedral is commonly called ‘Shishi’ (in Mandarin) which means “Stone House”.

Shamian
Shamian is a tiny island situated on the northern shore of the Swimming Pool of the White Duck on the Pearl River. This island has been declared protected area and is known as the “the ninth Wonder of Guangzhou”. Visitors will find here a natural environment and a variety of Western style classical buildings.

Sun Yatsen Memorial Monument
The famous Chinese architect Lu Yanzhi was the designer of the Memorial Monument to Sun Yatsen, a magnificent building erected during the Chinese Revolution as a memorial to the Father of China, Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Visitors can admire the magnificent architecture of the building and its very beautiful internal decorations. This monument is open to tourists, but now its main function is that of housing meetings, concerts and other events, since it is provided with a space with 4,700 seats.

Yuexiu Park
Yuexiu Park houses the famous scupltures of the Five Arieses which are considered the symbol of the town. These sculptures were erected in 1959 and are based on an old legend telling about five celecstial creatures wearing different coloured cowls who rode five arieses in the town. In this park there is also the Zenhai Tower, built in the Ming period, a classical structure which now houses an interesting museum.

Visit the Show of the Space Flight of Guangzhou (SFS)
It is the biggest structure of this kind in China and offers a number of sections devoted to different aspects of space flight and other interesting subjects. Among the sections to be mentioned there are the square of the Rocket Launch, the Constellation Square, the Field of Brotherhood and the Water World. It is situated in Dongpu Town, outside Guangzhou, in the district of Tianhe.

An evening at the Chinese theatre
The Nrotherhood Theatre in Guangzhou is the ideal place to spend a cultural entertainment evening with the Cantonese opera theatre, which is perhaps the most charming and culturally richest show to watch. There are regular ballet shows, traditional songs and dance. As an alternative the Guang Ming Theatre is another place where you can attend the Cantonese opera.

To go on a tour around Guangzhou
Local agencies offer daily tours of the town which allow visitors to visit all the attractions of the city without any problems of finding a guide. A typical itinerary is the visit to the Statue of the Five Arieses of Guangzhou, the Rei Wei Temple with its 900 years of history, the millenary temple of the Six Banians, the Chinese Fine Arts and Handicraft Museum, the Temple Chen Clan and the exhibition centre of China. The lunch includes a selection of the typical dim sum which is included in the price.

Taste the local cuisine
Gunagzhou has greatly influenced the cuisine style which we know as Cantonese cuisine. Therefore we cannot visit this city without tasting its wonderful variety of foods. Typical dishes are the Char siu pork, the dry meat with ho fan, stewed fish bowels, soja sauce duck and braised dry sea ears. A variety of Dim sum tastes are not to be missed, as well as their many different fillings.