GUANGZHOU Offers a variety of choices

GUANGZHOU, more popularly known in the Philippines as Canton (its old name), is the provincial capital of Guangdong Province. One of the fastest developing cities in China, Guangzhou is largely a business destination rather than a tourist haven and as such is polluted and crowded. The city, known for its Cantonese cuisine, including Filipino all-time favorite "pansit canton" lacks the historic international attractions one would experience in Beijing (formely Peking) or Shanghai.

Tunnels and overpasses dominate this city. Like Metro Manila, Guangzhou is expected to become a city of pedestrian overpasses and underground tunnels in coming years. News reports have it that in addition to 48 overpasses and tunnels that are currently under construction, the southern metropolis will build another 46 new overpasses and 15 tunnels in the next five years.

By the end of last year, the city put a total of 164 overpasses and tunnels, including 11 overpasses and 15 underground tunnels, which service the city’s downtown area.

The infrastructure has played an important role in easing the city’s heavy traffic.

The Pearl River cruise is a must-see when on a trip to Guangzhou and the best time to take it is at night when the skyscrapers on both sides of the river are brightly lit. But there are also numerous restaurants along the avenue that runs parallel to the wide and beautiful river.

"Eating in Guangzhou" has become a popular saying both at home and abroad. Guangzhou ranks first in the number of restaurants and tea-houses in the country. Cantonese cuisine is good in color, fragrance, taste and presentation. In addition, the delicate Cantonese pastry is also well-known for its wide range of varieties, delicious flavor and beautiful color. Cantonese cuisine is among the famous four in the country.

The Guangdong Folk Arts and Crafts Museum, the 100-year-old ancestral temple of the Chen family is one of the best preserved examples of local architecture.

Guangzhou, located at the north of the Pearl River delta, is an important trading center as well as a busy port. The city has an area of over 16,000 sq. km and a population of 6.7 million. But the whole Guandong is as large as the Philippines with the same population of 80 million plus.

There are a lot of interesting legends concerning its past. One of the beautiful stories which gives the city its name Goat Town says that five gods riding on five goats brought the first grain to the city. So, it is also known as the City of Five Goats.

Guangzhou is a beautiful city with an ever-green scenery and flowers blooming all year-round. The city boasts many tourist attractions, among which highlights are White Cloud Hill Scenic Spot, Yuexiu Park, Guangzhou Zoo, Six Banyan Temple and Flowery Pagoda, Dr. Sun Yatsen Memorial Hall, etc. In the suburbs, there are such scenic spots on Conghua Hot Springs, Xiqiao Hill Scenic spot, Seven Star Crags, and Foshan City. Lots of tourists to Guangzhou like to cover one or two of them for out-of-city pleasure.

Guangzhou is a shoppers’ paradise. It offers a wide range of shopping experiences, from department stores, fashion and street markets to traditional medicines and exotic foods.

The five-floor Friendship store, one of the city’s more modern and upscale retail outlets is located in the east of the city, on Taojin Lu.

Famous markets in Guangzhou are Changzhou Road which is street for jade, Beijing Lu and Shangxia Lu pedestrian areas where American brand fastfood and convenience stores are found everywhere: McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Starbuck’s and 711. Ordinary and fashion clothes, factory seconds and plenty of shoes and handbags and everything you have ever wanted to buy is here and reasonably priced.

Unlike the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart, centuries-old Buddhist temples in the city are more frequented by foreign tourists than the Buddhist inhabitants of Guangzhou. We found this out when we visited these temples and heard Mass at a chapel located beside the Sacred Heart Church now being repaired and improved. Father Joseph one of the seven youthful p riests in the parish who could speak English said they hold daily at least three Masses in the morning and three Masses in the afternoon. The church is always packed during Masses. Nine young nuns help run the affairs of the church with 10,000 adherents, mostly young people and other members of the foreign communities including Filipinos.