Shamian Island

Here is a jam-packed itinerary suggestion for one amazing day in Guangzhou. With this, you can touch ancient history, culture, modern history, and the modern urban front of Guangzhou with shopping opportunities along the way. All the attractions are accessible by metro.

Shamian Island

Metro Line 1 Huangsha Station or Culture Park Station. In the morning, take a stroll to Shamian Island, which is the most European style in Guangzhou. This was once a concession for England and France. You can enjoy the picturesque buildings like the Bund in Shanghai, and Shamian is also a hot spot for photography.

Time: 1-2 hours recommended
Opening hours: open all day

Chen Clan Academy

Take the metro line 1 from Huangsha Station to Chen Clan Academy Station. Chen Clan Academy is not only a famous Qing dynasty building, one can admire the beautifully decorated and magnificent Lingnan architecture; a museum of folk arts and crafts in Lingnan. There are exhibitions all year round, and there are old folk artists and artists who have special skills.

Time: 1 hour recommended
Opening hours: 8:30 am – 5:30 pm
Ticket Price: 20 RMB

Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King

Take the metro line 1 from Chen Clan Academy Station to Yuexiu Park Station on line 2. The Nanyue King Tomb Museum is located on the west side of Yuexiu Park. It is the tomb of the second generation of Wang Zhaoxi in the South Vietnamese country during the Western Han Dynasty. It is the largest Han Dynasty painted stone chamber tomb found. The treasures in the collection are the earliest silk and jade clothes in China.

Time: 1-2 hours recommended
Opening hours: 9:00 am – 5.30 pm
Ticket Price: 12 RMB

Beijing Road Pedestrian Street

Take the metro from Yuexiu Park Station to Gongyuanqian Station and a short walk along Zhongshan 5th Road. Beijing Road Pedestrian Street is one of the most prosperous commercial centers in Guangzhou. Apart from shopping, dining, and historical sites such as glass covered reveal of the ancient road that lies beneath today’s commercial road. Beijing Road has become a landmark attraction for Guangzhou tourism. There is also a Buddhist Temple off Xihu Road.

Time: 2 hours recommended
Opening hours: all day – Shops from 10:00 am – 10:00 pm

Tianhe Road Commercial Area

Take the metro from Gongyuanqian Station to Tiyu West Road Station. Go shopping at Tianhe City Square shopping and foraging. The restaurants of the Tianhe shopping district mainly revolve around the large shopping malls of Tee Mall, Parc Central, and Grandview Mall. Here, there are restaurants of different tastes. There are Cantonese restaurants, as well as Western-style, Japanese-style, and other high-end restaurants.

Opening hours: open all day – shops open from 10 am to 10 pm.

Huacheng Square (Flower City Square)

Walk to Tianhe South Station (APM Line) and Huangpu Avenue Station. Huacheng Square is one of the most romantic places in Guangzhou with beautiful sunset vistas, colorful lights at night, views amongst the towering skyscrapers, and views of the Canton Tower. Locals flock here at night to socialize and relax. There are plenty of places for shopping and eating.

Time: 1 hour recommended
Opening hours: open all day – shops from 10 am to 10 pm

Canton Tower

Take the APM line to Canton Tower Station. At the last stop, visit Guangzhou’s landmark building, the Canton Tower, and take in spectacular night views of the city. It also boasts the world’s highest horizontal Ferris wheel (aka Bubble Tram), the 100ft Sky Drop, Engineering Marvel Hall Tour (inside the tech that makes the tower work), Star Observation Deck & Cloud Observation Deck, Spider Walk (glass spiral staircase), 4D and 3D cinema, and Outdoor Plaza with cafes and restaurants with amazing views.

Time: 2 hours recommended
Opening hours: 9:30 am – 10:30 pm

Notes: this is a fairly tight schedule and does involve quite a bit of walking. You could drop Beijing Road as a time and energy saver. Also, be mindful of the peak hour traffic times around 4.30 pm to 7.00 pm.

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Jessica In China

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Shamian Island, previous known as Zhongliusha or Shicuizhou, is an elliptic sandbar in the Liwan District of Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. The island's name literally means "sandy surface" in Chinese. Surrounded by water, it is just like a giant ship mooring alongside the wharf. Get further and one will find that Shamian Island is carefully planned. Three east-west avenues, Shamian Avenue, Shamian North Avenue and the South Avenue, and five north-south streets, Shamian Street 1 to the Street 5 divide the whole area into 12 parts, with various buildings, namely White Swan Hotel, Shamian Hotel, and Poland Consulate in Guangzhou, scattered around.

Visiting Historical BuildingsShamian Island has great historic significance.

From the Song (960 - 1279) and the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), it served as an important port for Guangzhou's foreign trade. Then, it became a strategic point for city defense during the second Opium Wars (1856-1860). In 1859, the territory was divided into two concessions, given to France and United Kingdom (of which 4/5 went to the British and 1/5 to the French). It was then embanked and provided with streets, drainage, and imposing buildings and became home to a prosperous foreign enclave. From the late 1800s to the early 1900s, most of the public facilities were finished, including political buildings like consulates, cultural buildings like churches and schools, as well as commercial buildings like banks and firms. After 1949, the mansions there became government offices or apartment houses and the churches were turned into factories. But later they were restored, in many cases to their former splendor. Each building has a label telling its former purpose. One may start to imagine what stories these building held while viewing the plaque writing about its previous function. One example is "No.7 North Shamian Avenue" which was built during the Republican period and was formerly the Administration Bureau of Broadcasting of the Nationalist Government. The mansions there form the best preserved Western Europe style building complex in China. Forty-two out of 150 buildings are counted as the most exotic ones, Gothic, Baroque, and Neoclassical, in Guangzhou.

Visiting the Place for Adoption

Since the early 2000s, the Shamian Island has become well known for many Western couples who reside there, seeking to adopt Chinese babies and young children, most of whom are orphaned and female. In particular, the White Swan Hotel, adjacent to the Consulate of United States in Guangzhou and convenient to file paperwork and handle bureaucratic matters, has become a hotel of choice.

Strolling on Walking Streets

Shamian Island is a good place for a stroll. As it is just 900m (980 yards) long from east to west and 300m (330 yards) from south to north, one will not feel tired even after walking around the island twice. Due to traffic control on the Shamian Island, it showcases a different atmosphere and pace of living. Problems such as traffic jams and exhaust gas pollution don't exist here. Now partly reserved for pedestrians, its broad boulevards are like long gardens topiaries. A line of bars and cafes on the southwest side with views over the Pearl River serves modern expats.

Baiyun Mountain(by Round-Trip Cable Car) - Flower City Square - Litchi Bay - Shamian Island -Beijing Road

At 9 A.M. the guide will pick you up from the hotel and start off the day drip. Around 9:30 A.M. the cable car would take you up the greenery-covered Baiyun Mountain, letting the fresh morning breeze slide past your temples! You must like such a beginning, but you’ll like the next more. It’s a magical salad from which your taste bud would alter between fashion and tradition, Oriental and Western, tranquility and prosperity.

Standing on Flower City Square, you’ll be encircled by the newest city landmarks such as Guangzhou Opera House, Guangdong Museum, Guangzhou library, West Tower and Haixinsha Asian Games Park. Guangzhou has been totally renovated even beyond your imagination, which you’ll sense stronger in the following destination Litchi Bay. Lighting up your eyes are the green river, the exquisitely decorative boats, the riverside Xiguan-style Arcade Houses, the above-the river theater, decorative lighting themed on old Cantonese daily life.

1 hour later let’s taste a European taste on.Shamian Island! The over 150 varied Western-fashion buildings show a rich range of European style, say, New Baroque, Gothic, voucher gallery, Neo-classical. Only in culture-generous Guangzhou can you find such a coexistence of sharply different looks within such a short distance. Spend 1 hour or so on Shamian and leave for the last stop Beijing Road Pedestrian Street. The shopping paradise has already been ablaze with festive red lanterns. Just enjoy it! BTW: don’t forget the Relic of Millennium-old Pavements at the entrance of the time-honored street!

Give Guangzhou a whole day and it’ll show you its past glory along with the present gloss. The 5 essential spots arranged considerately will unveil the less-known historic and cultural flanks of the city before you.
1. Have fun riding up Baiyun Mountain by cable car for fresh air
2. Explore Litchi Bay for traditional Cantonese lifestyle and building
3. Visit ever-bustling Beijing Road Pedestrian Street for cute articles

Guangzhou city,as one of the four biggest city in China.It has very good advantage for its culture,location and history.

It is very good place to visit no matter if you are coming for business or travelling as tourist!

As a professional interpreter,I had helped many business people do sucessful business in China with my knowadage assistance for guangzhou markets and factories

Meantime,I also worked as guangzhou private tour guide in order to help overseas people know more about Guangzhou culture  and history as I love Guangzhou and I assume they will fall in love with Guangzhou in the end of trip.

Normally I will guide to these places because they are the symbol of its history such as  Baiyun Mountain,Yuexiu Park,Shamian Island,Chen Clan Academy,Zhongshan Memorial Hall.

There are more interesting places to visit such as Six Banyan Temple etc but it depends on your schedule,I could guide you to more places and tailor-made your trip!

If any needs please contact me!