- China Trip Planner
Guangzhou
- Why is Guangzhou also known as the "city of goats" and the "city of stalks of rice?"
- Please give us a brief introduction to Guangzhou.
- Why is the red-kapok flower Guangzhou's city flower?
- Why is Guangzhou also known as the "city of flowers?"
- What does the city emblem of Guangzhou signify?
- What cities has Guangzhou entered into sister-city relations with?
- What is the tallest building in Guangzhou?
- Was Guangzhou once a capital?
- What dialect do people speak in Guangzhou?
- What trees grow in Guangzhou?
- How many parks are there in Guangzhou?
- What are the Eight Ancient Sites and Eight Modern Historical Sites of Guangzhou?
- Why do many Chinese make fun of Guangzhou residents' eating habits?
- What is special about Cantonese food?
- What's special about Guangzhou's desserts and refreshments?
- What about the tea houses and restaurants in Guangzhou?
- What's special about Cantonese moon cakes?
- How would you rate Guangzhou's hotels in China?
- Could you talk more about the Qingping Open Market?
- What's special about Guangzhou's tea houses?
- What do the Cantonese eat for snacks at night?
- When is the Flower Fair held?
- Please tell us something about Guangzhou's Dragon Boat Race.
- What's special about Guangzhou's chrysanthemum show?
- How many hutong are there in Beijing?
Why is Guangzhou also known as the "city of goats" and the "city of stalks of rice?"
The story goes that long ago, there was a place called Chuting in the South China Sea. One year a great drought struck, and the people prayed for protection. Five celestial divinities were moved and each of them came clown on a heavenly goat, each holding a stalk of rice in their hand. After leaving the five stalks of rice and the five goats, they rode away on clouds. The five goats turned to stone and remained on earth forever. People sowed the grain from the five stalks of rice and reaped bumper harvests ever since. Hence the name.
Please give us a brief introduction to Guangzhou.
Guangzhou covers a total area of 7,435 square km, with an urban area of 1,444 square km. Administratively, it consists of eight districts, three counties, and one municipality. The population is 8 million, of which 4 million live in the urban areas and 2 million are seasonal laborers.
In climate, the city is blessed with warm winters, yet not too hot during the summer. The year-round temperature averages 21.7 degrees Centigrade and the annual rainfall 1,983 mm.
Why is the red-kapok flower Guangzhou's city flower?
Because these flowers herald the arrival of spring. Kapok is the tallest arbor tree, known as "hero tree" in China. It blooms in early spring before sprouting its leaves. Furthermore, its flowers are exceptionally brilliant.
Why is Guangzhou also known as the "city of flowers?"
Guangzhou is famous for being a city with flowers all year round, even in the cold winters when northern China is frozen in snow and ice. This gives rise to the practice of planting, buying, and admiring flowers among city dwellers. Hence the name.
What does the city emblem of Guangzhou signify?
At the center of the emblem is a Chinese character of "goat," a golden key formed with stalks of rice, with the top part being mechanical gears and the lower red-kapok flowers. These patterns signify that the people of Guangzhou have opened the door of friend-ship with the golden key to the outside world. The green back-ground symbolizes vigor, the gears stand for modern industry, and the red-kapok flowers represent prosperity.
What cities has Guangzhou entered into sister-city relations with?
Guangzhou has established sister-city relations with nine foreign cities- Fukuoka of Japan, Los Angeles of the United States, Manila of the Philippines; Vancouver, Canada; Sidney, Australia; Bari, Italy; Lyons, France; Frankfurt, Germany; and Auckland, New Zealand.
What is the tallest building in Guangzhou?
The Guangzhou GITIC Plaza is the tallest building in Guangzhou. Standing 391 meters, the complex houses the offices of various financial and trade institutions, in addition to many international companies.
Was Guangzhou once a capital?
Historically, Guangzhou served as capital for three dynasties and 10 emperors. At the end of the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC), a man named Zhao Tuo established a Southern Yue Kingdom here. Following the reign of the Five Dynasties, it was destroyed by Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-23 AD). In 917, Liu Yan declared himself emperor of the Great Yue State in Guangzhou. The next year he changed the name of his regime to Han, historically known as Southern Han. After the reign of four emperors lasting 55 years, it was annexed in 971 by the Northern Song Dynasty. In November 1646, Zhu Yu'e, a member of the Ming imperial family, fled to Guangzhou in the face of attacks of the Manchus and declared himself emperor. He was captured by the Manchus 40 days later and committed suicide.
What dialect do people speak in Guangzhou?
People in Guangzhou speak Cantonese, a spoken language quite different from Mandarin. Sometimes people are confused, as the written language is the same, but the spoken languages are totally different. Cantonese is almost impossible for Mandarin-speakers to understand, and often hard for them to learn, as its pronunciation and lexicon are different. In addition, other dialects such as Kejia, Shantou and Siyi are also spoken, but Mandarin is the lingua franca, as it is throughout China.
What trees grow in Guangzhou?
Unlike other Chinese cities, Guangzhou, an evergreen city, is home to many arboret and shrub trees, such as kapok, banyan, Chinese redbud, and oleander. Flowers include chrysanthemums, orchids, osmanthus, jasmine, cherry and Chinese flowering apple trees.
How many parks are there in Guangzhou?
There are 34 parks in Guangzhou. They are either general-purpose, special-interest or regional, but without exception, they are all decorated with the traditional Chinese pavilions, corridors with eaves, and screens in perfect harmony with the natural surroundings.
What are the Eight Ancient Sites and Eight Modern Historical Sites of Guangzhou?
The Eight Ancient Sites are the Zhenhai Tower, the Five-lmmortal Taoist Temple, Tomb of the King of the Southern Yue, the Chen Clan Temple, the Six-Banyan Temple, the Temple of Honor and Filial Piety, and the Stone Chamber. The Eight Modern Historical Sites are the Mausoleum of the 72 Martyrs at Huanghuagang, Memorial Park to the Martyrs of the Guangzhou Uprising, the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Lu Xun Memorial Hall (site of the First National Congress of the Nationalist Party), the National Institute of the Peasant Movement, Memorial Hall to the Guangzhou Uprising, the Ancient Temple at Sanyuan and the Huangpu Military Academy.
Why do many Chinese make fun of Guangzhou residents' eating habits?
Guangzhou, on the one hand, is well-known for its delicious food, but, on the other, it is notorious for eating everything: snakes, mice, cats, sparrows you name it. Hence the banter: The Cantonese will eat anything that flies save planes and anything with legs save chairs.
What is special about Cantonese food?
Cantonese cuisine is noted for its freshness, tenderness, smoothness and crispiness. There are 36 exquisite cooking techniques involving steaming, deep-frying, soaking, immersing, stir-frying and stewing. Coloring and firing are two key elements. The style also caters to seasonal changes, with light tastes for summer and autumn and heavier tastes for winter and spring.
What's special about Guangzhou's desserts and refreshments?
Guangzhou's desserts and refreshments are reputed for their fine workmanship, myriad varieties and fresh taste. Among the more typical are shrimp dumplings, steamed shaomai, hoof-shaped cakes, taro cakes with honey, grilled buns with stuffed meat, and chicken with glutinous rice.
What about the tea houses and restaurants in Guangzhou?
Guangzhou prides itself on its garden-like tea houses and restaurants, with pavilions, terraces, flora, rookeries, little bridges over creeks, painted beams and sculpted walls. Among the most famous are Beiyuan, Panxi and Nanyuan restaurants.
What's special about Cantonese moon cakes?
Cantonese moon cakes are noted for their exquisite ingredients. The stuffing for the Lotus Cake, for example, uses only the best Hunan lotus seeds of the year. Another famous one, the Phoenix Shredded Chicken Cake, uses only freshly brown-braised chicken' and the thin wrappings are made with fine flour. Accommodation.
How would you rate Guangzhou's hotels in China?
Another asset that Guangzhou prides itself on is its hotels, which, according to many foreign tourists, are the best in China both in terms of facilities and quality of service. But hotel during the Canton Fair period is strictly limited as the demand for accommodation is extremely high, the hotel rate will also go up by 3 to 4 times during the Canton Fair period.
Could you talk more about the Qingping Open Market?
The market, located at No. 623 Road, Liwan District, was opened in 1979. Covering an area of 6,000 square meters, it consists of 1,800-2,000 booths, the largest market for farm products in Guangzhou and one of the major trading centers for traditional Chinese herbal medicines.
In recent years, the market has attracted government officials, researchers, journalists and tourists from 40 countries, including Britain, France, German, Japan, Russia and the United States. Visitors without exception are impressed by the vast varieties of goods on sale.
What's special about Guangzhou's tea houses?
Guangzhou's tea houses offer both tea and desserts. Local residents go to tea houses in the morning for breakfast, which consists of tea and snacks. They believe drinking tea in the morning is good for the health.
What do the Cantonese eat for snacks at night?
Like elsewhere, Cantonese like to go out after nine o'clock at night for snacks. The most popular snacks are porridges cooked with beef, fish and other meat, dim sims.
When is the Flower Fair held?
The annual Flower Fair lasts for three or four days, between year's end and the morning of the Spring Festival (in late January or early February) according to the lunar calendar. During the festival, all the streets of the city arc lit up and the pavement is decorated with trellises of flowers and bonsai contributed by farmers in the suburbs or neighboring areas. The whole city becomes a sea of flowers.
Please tell us something about Guangzhou's Dragon Boat Race.
Every year on the Dragon Boat Festival day (the fifth day of the fifth lunar month), nearly 100 boating teams from suburban areas meet for a gala event -- the Dragon Boat Race. The dragon- shaped boats, usually 30-50 meters long, can carry 40-80 people. During the festival, all boats will be decorated with colorful flags and umbrellas and cheering crowds resort to gongs and drums. It is really a big event for the locals.
What's special about Guangzhou's chrysanthemum show?
Guangzhou's chrysanthemum show features dahlias in various colors, such as yellow, white and purple. Sometimes one dahlia plant can produce more than 3,800 buds.
Why do Guangzhou residents like to drink cold tea?
A subtropical city, Guangzhou is hot in summer time. People boil certain plants that they believe can dispel inner heat and drink the broth. The most famous cold tea is thc Wang Lao Ji brand, which was founded by a man named Ah Ji in 1828.
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Besides issuing invitation letter to visitors, China Guide also helps reserve hotel rooms for all guests. Since there is a strong demand for accommodation during the fair, the local hotels often risk an incredible high room rate despite government pricing regulations. Don¡¯t get ripped off by the inflated hotel rate, consult with us now for the proper hotel rate.
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