Guangdong

Guangzhou

Guangzhou is China’s third largest city, with a population of just over 12 million people. Formerly Canton, Guangzhou was founded in 214BC and has long been one of China’s most important trading hubs, thanks to its location at the top of the Pearl River Delta. Along with trade came plenty of money and outside ideas, marking Guangzhou out as a liberal and wealthy city, which eventually led to it being the cradle of many reformist and revolutionary ideas, including the Chinese Revolution of 1911-1912.
An ancient city, Guangzhou has much to explore. The Mausoleum of the Nanyue King is a must see, the remnants of a 2,000 year old kingdom now a brilliant museum. There are also some of China’s oldest temples here, including the 4th-century Bright Filial Piety Temple and the 6th-century Liurong Temple, as well as what was China’s tallest building, the Canton Tower at 600 metres. A British East India Company trading post in the 18th century, there are also some beautiful colonial villas here as well as the Shamian Island concession, a particularly picturesque are of colonial grandeur. Gunagzhou is also a fantastic place to go shopping, with plenty of huge markets to browse through for pretty much anything.