CHN: Guangzhou Downtown

Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

We've come to the last post to cap the major throwback to my virgin trip to China back in 2012. Also known as Canton, Guangzhou is the capital city of the province of Guangdong in southern China. With more than 2,000 years of history, it was a major terminus of the maritime Silk Road. Today, it continues to play a pivotal role as a major port and transportation hub.

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CHN: Mellow Orange Hotel

CHN: Portofino

CHN: Window of the World

CHN: Splendid China (Part 1)

CHN: Splendid China (Part 2)

CHN: Shenzhen Downtown

CHN: Pearl River Night Cruise

CHN: Guangzhou Downtown <YOU ARE HERE!>

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My BFF and I took a China Railway High-Speed (CRH) train from Shenzhen railway station to Guangzhou East railway station.

A one-way second-class seat used to cost CNY 80.00 (~S$16.65).

Guangzhou-Shenzhen railway is 147 km in length.

Though the train can hit a speed of 220 km per hour, it's restricted to 180 km per hour during commercial operation.

I've certainly missed such a train ride. When will be the next time, I wonder?

The journey took less than an hour and a half.

We then took an underground train, alighting at Haizhu Square metro station.

At the point of writing, Guangzhou Metro is comprised of 14 lines.

We need this pasted inside Singapore's MRT trains too.

Below are some photos taken along the way to Bailing Hotel.

Completed in 1933, Haizhu Bridge was the first bridge to be built across Pearl River in Guangzhou.

A chess-inspired facade?

From the disappointing hotel, we were headed to Liwan Lake Park.

Is that an apartment?

After dinner, we checked out Beijing Lu, a happening pedestrian street.

Apparently one flag isn't enough~

Most stores there are open from 9.00am to 10.00pm.

Are you a fan of Coca-Cola?

Giordano is my go-to place for cargo shorts.

Take a look at the preserved roads from the past.

They are mostly from Song and Yuan dynasties.

Do you getting distracted by the reflection of the light-decorated trees?

Once we were done exploring, we walked back to Bailing Hotel and had a good rest.

I'm not too sure what building is that, but it looks pretty nice, doesn't it?

The next morning, we walked to Shamian Island after breakfast.

How much money does one need to own such a ship?

I think that's a figure of a star at the top of the building.

Afterwards, as we made our way back to the hotel to check out, we saw some insects and seahorses being dried.

Dried seahorses are thought to be a cure for asthma, skin infections and male sexual dysfunction.

I can't remember exactly where were we going after making a move from Bailing Hotel to J Hotel, but we ended up in a rather cool place somewhere in the district of Tianhe.

What's the first word that you spotted?

Looks so futuristic, eh?

Our feet brought us to Grandview Mall for lunch.

Founded in 1996, New China Insurance is a life insurance company headquartered in Beijing.

It's said that there are a few upscale Chinese restaurants there, but we went for pizza that day.

We dropped by Yuexiu Park, which is a well-known tourist attraction due to not only the beautiful natural surroundings, but also the numerous ancient sites. We didn't get the chance to explore most of it though. Our main goal was to make it to the top of the hill before sunset.

The park once formed the northern end of the old walled city, but most of the walls have been dismantled and the city has expanded far beyond it.

There are quite a few stone carvings in the park that covers an area of 86 hectares.

Sitting atop Yuexiu Hill is Five Rams Sculpture, one of the city's emblems that was built in 1960 using more than 130 pieces of granite. It represents the five rams ridden by five immortals who came to the city soon after its founding to teach rice farming skills to the residents.

I have no recollection where we went after that, but I do remember we had all sorts of snacks for dinner as the place has got quite a number of food stalls.