Showing 1-18 of 18 results
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Cathedral Of The Sacred Heart
The impressive twin-spired Roman Catholic Cathedral Of The Sacred Heart , built between 1863 and 1888, was designed by a French architect in the neo-Gothic style and built entirely of granite. The massive towers reach an impressive height of 48m. The four bronze bells were made in France, as was the original stained glass, most of which has now disappeared. Take bus 8, 82 or 86.
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Chen Clan Ancestral Hall
The enormous complex of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, part of the Guangdong Museum of Folk Art (Guǎngdōng Mínjiān Gōngyì Bówùguǎn), is both ancestral shrine and Confucian school. It was built in 1894 by the residents of 72 villages in Guǎngdōng, where the Chen lineage is the predominant family. The complex encompasses 19 buildings of the traditional Lingnan style (combining traditional Chinese, Japanese and Western traditions).
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Church of Our Lady of Lourdes
Shamian Dajie, the main boulevard of Shamian Island, is a gentle stretch of gardens, trees, and old men playing Chinese checkers. The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, built by the French in 1892, is on the eastern end of the thoroughfare. Take metro line 1, Huángshā station.
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Guangdong Museum of Art
Guangdong Museum of Art is located at the eastern end of Ersha Island (Èrshā Dǎo). Founded in 1997, the museum frequently shows exhibits of contemporary Chinese artists and has been the site of the Guangzhou Triennale, first held in 2003. Take bus 12, 18 or 89.
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Guangxiao Temple
The Guangxiao Temple, or 'Bright Filial Piety Temple', about 400m west of the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, is the oldest temple in Guǎngzhōu and dates back to the 4th century. By the Tang dynasty, it was well established as a centre of Buddhist learning in southern China. Many prominent monks came to teach here, including Bodhidarma, the founder of Chan (Zen) Buddhism.
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Guangzhou Art Gallery
On the east side of Zhenhai Tower is the Guangzhou Art Gallery , under renovation at the time of research.
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Guangzhou City Museum
In 1928 the the five-story Zhenhai Tower was rebuilt to house the Guangzhou City Museum, which has an excellent collection of exhibits that trace the history of Guǎngzhōu all the way back to the Neolithic period. There are also displays that outline Guǎngzhōu's trading history with the West, including an exhibit devoted to foreign repression.
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Guǎngzhōu Museum of Art
The Guǎngzhōu Museum of Art , which opened in 2000, has an extensive collection of works, ranging from ancient to contemporary Chinese art and sculpture, including artists such as Guan Shanyue, Li Xiongcai and Lai Shaoqi. Other interesting exhibits include a fantastic room on the top floor with displays of rare Tibetan tapestries. Another highlight is the room devoted to Liao Bingxiong, a political cartoonist of the 20th century. Take bus 10 or 63.
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Mausoleum Of The Nanyue King
Just opposite the main entrance to Yuexiu Park, the superb Mausoleum Of The Nanyue King sits on the site of the 2000 year-old Nanyue Kingdom, discovered in 1983 when surprised workers discovered an ancient royal tomb in the course of excavation work for a shopping plaza. The tomb has been turned into one of China's best museums, making it a must on any itinerary.
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Memorial Garden to the Martyrs
South of the Institute on Zhongshan Sanlu is the Memorial Garden to the Martyrs, dedicated to those killed on 13 December, 1927 under the orders of Chiang Kaishek. The massacre occurred when a small group of workers, led by the Communist Party, were gunned down by Kuomintang forces. In total, over 5,000 lives were lost.
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Mosque Dedicated To The Prophet
The original building on the site of the Mosque Dedicated To The Prophet is believed to have been established in AD 627 by Abu Waqas, one of the Prophet Mohammed's uncles, making it the first of its kind in China. The present mosque dates from the Qing dynasty. The minaret on the mosque is called 'Smooth Minaret' (Guāng Tǎ) because of its smooth, unadorned appearance. The mosque is closed to non-Muslims and surrounded by heavy security. Take metro line 1, Xīmén Kǒu station, or bus 5.
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Orchid Garden
Across from Yuexiu Park on Jiefang Beilu is the charming Orchid Garden famous for its blossoming orchids. With its winding paths, arched stone bridges and willow-fringed ponds, you may forget you're even in Guǎngzhōu. Each admission ticket includes a pot of tea at one of the many teahouses, and if you pay Y20, you can see a traditional tea ceremony.
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Peasant Movement Institute
The Peasant Movement Institute was established in 1924 by the Communist Party at the site of a former Confucian temple. Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai both taught here, before the school closed in 1926. The Institute is subdivided into various departments, such as the main lecture hall, students' dormitories, cafeteria building and leadership quarters. You can see Mao Zedong's re-created personal quarters and even his bed. Take metro line 1, Nóngjiǎng Suǒ station.
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Qingping Market
Just north of Shamian Island, what is bizarrely translated as 'Peaceful Market' has vast displays of medicinal herbs, dried mushrooms and other plants, live birds, and tubs of squirming turtles, fish and frogs. Much harder to stomach, though, are its cages of live animals, including kittens and puppies, and more exotic creatures such as bats, owls and monkeys - all put out for human consumption, and some in the most pitiful distress. It is one of the most notorious markets in China, and though it has cleaned up its act in the past several years it remains a disturbing place and is not recommended.
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Shamian Island
For an instant immersion into Guǎngzhōu's colonial history, head for the leafy oasis of Shamian Island, which was acquired as a foreign concession in 1859 after the two Opium Wars. Shamian ('Sand Surface Island') was little more than a sandbank when early foreign inhabitants - mainly British and French - were granted permission to set up their warehouses here.
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Temple Of The Five Immortals
Not far from the mosque is the Taoist Temple Of The Five Immortals . It dates back to 1377 and is named after the mythical founders of Guǎngzhōu. A statue of the immortal five depicts three men and two women riding their legendary rams through the clouds. The temple includes a main hall, built in typical Ming fashion. To the east of the hall is a small pond with a foot-shaped depression, said to be the footprint of one of the immortals.
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Temple Of The Six Banyan Trees
The Buddhist Temple Of The Six Banyan Trees was built in AD 537 to enshrine Buddhist relics brought over from India. The relics were placed in the octagonal Decorated Pagoda (Huā Tǎ), a 57m pagoda which appears from the outside to contain only nine storeys but actually contains 17. The temple was given its current name by the exiled poet Su Dongpo in 1099, who commemorated the banyan trees in the courtyard with a poem.
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Yuexiu Park
A bright swathe of green plunked down in the middle of Guǎngzhōu, the vast urban Yuexiu Park encompasses over 93 hectares of gardens, shaded wood paths, historical monuments and museums. Within it, you'll find Guǎngzhōu's Five Rams Statue (Wǔyáng Shíxìang), a statue of the five immortals attributed to Guǎngzhōu's founding.
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Showing 1-18 of 18 results
