Guangzhou Shamian Island

The heart of Guangzhou’s former European concession—France and England both set up shop on this sandy river island in 1859 toward the end of the Opium Wars—Shamian Island is home to a number of colonial-era buildings, including a restored French Catholic church, Our Lady of Lourdes; its British Protestant complement, the Christ Church Shamian; and many former hotels, embassies, trading houses and residences.