Shamian Scenic Spot

Located on the north bank of the Pearl River's White Goose Pool, Shamian is an oval islet, covering a tiny area of 0.3 square meters. Thanks to the many buildings of Western classicism on the island, it has recently been designated as a key protected relic of the state, and is called the 'Ninth Sight of Guangzhou'. Shamian used to be an alluvion made by the Pearl River, called Zhongliusha and Shicuizhou in the early stage.

It had been a tourist attraction as well as an important port for Guangzhou's foreign trade from Song Dynasty (960–1279) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It became a strategic point for city defense during the opium war period, after which the Qing Administration was forced to agree to 'lease' Shamian to the British and French imperialist powers, thus Shamian was reduced to the British and French concessions and changed to the present name. When digging the waterway during 1859 to 1862, Shamian was separated from the north bank of the Pearl River and a stone bridge was built only in the east to connect the north bank. Now Shamian embraces eight major roads and streets, of which three are from east to west: Shamian North Street, Shamian Street and Shamian South Street, and five from south to north: Shamian No. 1 to 5 Streets. And in the east, north and west there are respectively East Bridge, West Bridge and New West Bridge to connect Liuersan Road.

The island boasts many trees and pleasant environment, together with such buildings, organizations, sports and entertainment facilities as the Victory Hotel, Shamian Hotel, White Swan Hotel, Guangzhou International Seamen's Club, the Polish Consulate-General in Guangzhou, the Representation of the Export and Import Corporations of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Guangzhou Office of China-Poland Shipping Ltd., Shamian Tennis Court, Shamian Swimming Pool and so on.

What is worth mentioning on Shamian is its restricted planning area, namely the area protected by the state as key historical relics, including the architectural complex built during the concession period in Shamian's modern times. The area became concession in 1859, and afterwards the British, French, American, German, Japanese, Italian, Netherlands and Portuguese set up consulates, banks and trade offices, one after another. The Kuomintang government took over Shamian after winning the Anti-Japanese War in 1945. Quite a few of the old buildings are of Western classic layout.

Bus: 1, 5, 9, 25, 57, 64A, 69, 75, 81, 181, 206, 208, 222, 227, 233, 236, 250

Liurong Temple (Six Banyan Tree Temple) 

Located on Liurong Road, Liurong Temple enjoys a long history and a widespread fame both at home and abroad.

The temple was originally built in 537 and was rebuilt in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279). The pagoda in it is quite colorful and houses some thousand Buddha statues, thus it has got another name "Thousand-Buddha Pagoda". Some well-known ancient poets such as Wang Bo and Su Dongpo visited this temple and wrote down either poetic phrases or articles acclaiming this temple.

The ancient temple features a towering colorful pagoda, luxuriant trees and historic and cultural relics. Because of the splendid pagoda, this temple was selected as one of the top ten scenic spots in Guangzhou.

Huaisheng Mosque 

Located on Guangta Lu, Huaisheng Mosque was the first mosque to be built in China. It currently boasts over 40 prayer mats in Chinese and Arabic dating from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to the fall of the feudal empires. Many Muslims believe a temple was first constructed here in the 7th Century. The Mosque is held in high regard by Muslims today. The Mosque is not usually opened to non-Muslims but the building's impressive symmetrical architecture is worth admiring from outside.

How to get there: Take bus No.31 from the Railway Station to Ximenkou or the metro to the same stop.

The Museum of King's Tomb of Southern Yue in Western Han Dynasty 

Located at Jiefang Beilu, the King’s Tomb of Southern Yue is a large stone tomb with frescoes in early Western Han Dynasty (206BC–25AD). It has a history of more than 2,200 years and is the largest Han tomb with richest burial articles. The host of the tomb was Zhao Mei who was the second king of the Southern Yue. Now it has been built into a museum which is the first ancient tomb museum in South China.

Nanhai God Temple

Nanhai God Temple, located at Miaotou Village in the Huangpu district of Guangzhou, is the only temple of the four ancient Sea God Temples of China. It is of important value in the study of foreign trade in the ancient China as Guangzhou is known as the starting point of the ancient maritime Silk Road.

With a history of 1,400 years, the temple was the place where the ancient people gave offerings to the Sea God. This famous God Temple covers an area of over 30,000 square meters. Many precious stone tablets in the Sui Dynasty (581–618) were found in the temple. Other relics in the temple include a bronze drum, the jade seal of the Nanhai God and an iron bell. Old trees of rare species like kapok also make the temple more attractive.

The Sunbathing Pavilion, which was one of the Eight Views in the Song Dynasty (960–1279), is the ideal place to watch the sunrise. With the coastline receding to the south, the place where the pavilion stands has become a piece of beach. The present octagon-shaped pavilion was rebuilt in 1953, with stone inscriptions of Su Shi, a famous poet of the Song Dynasty and Chen Baisha, a Cantonese scholar of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) inside.

Bus route: buses No. 210 and 227.

Guangxiao Temple

Built at early Western Han Dynasty (206BC–25AD), Guangxiao Temple is the biggest and oldest Buddhist temple in Guangzhou. Hui Neng, the sixth Zen Patriarch, had his hair cut here and became the founder of the Southern School of Chinese Buddhism. The east and west iron towers in the temple are the biggest ones existing in China.

Opening hours: 6:00 am — 5:00 pm
Transportation
Bus: No. 4、31、36, 102
Admission fee: 4 yuan

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