We stayed in a 4-room apartment in Guangzhou because we were there during the 117th Canton Fair and we were unable to get any reasonable price hotel rooms.
The apartment is located quite far from the city centre at the other quite side of the famous Pearl River. We rented a minibus with a driver to bring us around for our 1-day trip in Guangzhou.
After resting for a few hours in the night, the driver picked us up at 09:00 am. We asked him to bring us for good breakfast and he really brought us to a very good breakfast.
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| Taaa daaa |
This shop is located nearby Liurong Shi or The Temple of Six Banyan Trees. It is specialised in traditional breakfast items of Southern Chine, namely zhu chang fen or rice rolls. It also serves porridge, noodle, tang yuan, black sesame paste, etc etc.
Until today, I can still imagine the taste of the chang fen. I am not a chang fen person but this one melted my heart. The best I have ever eaten so far.
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| The speciality beef chang fen |
We then continued the drive to Liurong Shi or the Temple of Six Banyan Trees. This temple was built during the Liang Dynasty. It was named after the six banyan trees that were viewed there by a famous philosopher named Su Shi. The pagoda inside the compound has been rebuilt and renovated a few times.
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| The 9-storey pagoda is the main architectural attraction of this temple |
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| Inside the compound |
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| We purchased flowers for the Goddess of Mercy |
After praying and enjoying the atmosphere for a while, we decided to move on because we wanted to purchase the train tickets to Hong Kong for the next day. We went to Guilin North Railway Station but the morning tickets were all sold out. The available tickets would be for 02:00 pm instead. We decided to change the plan to bus instead. We bought the ticket at the bus station by the side of Marriot Hotel.
We then asked the driver to drop us at the most famous pedestrian shopping street in Guangzhou: Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street. This shopping street stretches from Shangjiu Lu and Xiajiu Lu in the east to Dishifu Lu in the west. There are more than 300 shops at this 1200m long shopping street.
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| The prominent square at the centre of the shopping street |
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| READY |
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| You can go to the right, to the left, to anywhere and you'll find shops all over the places |
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| The shops |
You can find almost everything here, from branded goods to cheap wholesale stuffs. There are street foods and restaurants too!
We spent about 4 hours here before the driver picked us again at the same spot where he dropped us. He then brought us for our early dinner.
At Hongxing Yidu Restaurant.
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| This is a restaurant where you choose your seafood from the tanks |
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| Happy dinner! Happy tummy! |
This restaurant specialises in Alaskan crab but it cost really a huge fortune! In the end, we did not want to waste that kind of crazy money and just chose normal menus. Even though what we ordered were categorised under 'normal', all tasted so nice and we were satisfied.
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| How crowded this place was! |
Our last itinerary in Guangzhou is to pay a visit to its famous Pearl River or Zhujiang. Pearl River is the third longest river in China after Yangtze River and Yellow River. In terms of volume, Pearl River is the second biggest after Yangtze River.
Pearl River flow through the city of Guangzhou before discharging into South China Sea. It got its name from the stones at the bottom of the river that resemble huge pearls.
The driver helped us to purchase the ticket and it cost RMB 87 (~SGD 19) per pax for 70 minutes cruise. The driver dropped us at the pier and we waited for our cruise to dock.
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| While waiting |
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| The view at the pier |
We booked 8:00 pm cruise and the cruise was so punctual. We got level-3 tickets with seat numbers to ensure we were not pushed away by other people while enjoying the view. The tickets also came with complimentary tea and fruit platter.
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| Settling down at the top of the cruise |
We kept taking photos throughout the journey because the scenery was so picturesque. The bridges that we passed by, the lighted buildings and skyscrappers, and of course, the famous Canton Tower.
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| The Black Pearl |
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| Our eyes were pampered with the view |
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| Stadium? |
And the star of the night was the Canton Tower. The cruise passed in front of the tower and rounded it so all of us had so many chances to snap some pictures with this beautiful lady.
Why I say a lady? Because, unlike many other towers, Canton Tower bears the characteristics of a female: complex, curvy, and gracious. Canton Tower was designed and constructed for Sea Games that was hosted by Guangzhou in 2010. This tower is the second tallest in the world and the tallest in China itself.
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| The female shape of Canton Tower |
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| How all people try to freeze the beautiful lady in their own cameras |
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| I love it |
Without our realisation, 70 minutes passed in some heart beats. We were required to alight from the cruise and get back to our minibus. The driver drove us back to the apartment where we spent our last sleep in Guangzhou.
Love is in the air,
Little Feet
Next Post - Crossing Borders to Hong Kong
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