The People's Republic of China is a kaleidoscope of emotions and discoveries, a piece of Earth where the past and the present are united and where every tourist will find something interesting and memorable for himself. The richest history, exotic cuisine, profitable shopping, modern buildings - this and much more awaits travelers in China. The territory of the PRC includes several provincial-level units: provinces, autonomous regions, cities of special subordination, and special administrative regions. Any corner of China is unique in its own way: with wonderful nature, man-made monuments and, of course, people who keep centuries-old traditions and culture of the country. Today we will get acquainted with the province of Guangdong (China), which is called a place of contrasts, ancient and progressive at the same time.
Geographic location
Guangdong Province (China) is located on the coast of the South China Sea and is the gateway to the special administrative regions of China - Hong Kong and Macau. Herthe area is 178 thousand square meters. km.
The climate of Guangdong is subtropical, monsoonal. The average temperature in January does not fall below +8 °C, and the average temperature in July does not exceed 28 °C. The province is the warmest region of the Middle Kingdom and has beautiful nature: full-flowing rivers, evergreen forests, a chain of relatively high mountain ranges in the north, west and east, and in the south and in the center there are plateaus, hills and plains. The distribution of precipitation varies from north to south upwards and ranges from 1300 to 2500 mm per year. The province includes approximately 750 islands.
Historical background
The first tribes that lived in the province were the Yue, who later became the basis of Chinese society - the Han people. Yue is an abbreviation for Baiyue (one hundred Yue), the collective name for the peoples who lived in the province. The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, in 226 BC. e. conquered the territory of the province, and the hieroglyph "guan", which denoted the district, meant "space" or "huge". During the conquest of the Chinese states by the Mongols, the province was subject to the conquerors. Starting from the 16th century, European peoples settled in the territories of China, which also influenced the position of the province. Only from the middle of the 20th century, Guangdong completely came under the control of the PRC and remained a territory with a low standard of living until the end of the 70s. The new political and economic course radically changed the situation: the coastal province, which in the past served as the main trade route, andalso emigration and revolutionary springboards, has become a focus for export-oriented enterprises.
The current state of Guangdong
Currently, Guangdong in China is one of the most economically developed provinces, the locomotive of the Chinese economy. The main areas of activity are industry, agriculture, the extraction of certain minerals and the service sector. The province is divided into 19 urban districts and 2 sub-provincial cities - Guangzhou and Shenzhen. More than 50 nationalities live in Guangdong, the bulk of which are Han. Residents of the central regions of the province speak Cantonese, which differs from Putonghua - the main dialect of China - in lexical, phonetic and partially grammatical terms. Moreover, this dialect is unofficial in Hong Kong and Macau. It is used even by politicians and popularized through modern songs and cinema. The religions practiced in Chinese Guangdong are Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. The main cultural sites of the province are located in cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Foshan.
Guangzhou (Guangdong, China)
Guangzhou City is the capital of China's Guangdong. It is the fourth largest city in China after Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. Guangzhou is the center of China's southern culture, the largest commercial and industrial city. It was founded in the 3rd century BC and because of its location attracted foreigners from the very beginning. The famous Silk Road also passed through this city. Guangzhouattractive with its skyscrapers, beautiful nature, developed infrastructure, Cantonese cuisine and spectacular illumination at night. The city has many parks and places for shopping, as well as buildings that take you back to the distant past.
Canton Tower
The second tallest TV tower in the world (610 m) was built for the 2010 Asian Games. The tower has a non-standard design: the interweaving of steel pipes forms a mesh shell, topped with an elegant spire. The TV tower resembles a sophisticated female figure, for which it is unofficially called a "supermodel". The entrance to the TV tower is paid and depends on the level to which you plan to climb (there are 5 in total: from A to E). Each level has its own attractions: attractions, restaurants, 4D theater and other options for a memorable trip through the tower. At the top (the last level) there is an observation platform from which a beautiful panorama of the city opens. At night, the TV tower is illuminated with all the colors of the rainbow and looks very impressive.
Huacheng Square
In the city center on the banks of the Pearl River, one of the most beautiful places in Guangzhou is located - HuaCheng Square, surrounded by dozens of skyscrapers and green alleys and squares. This is an ideal place for walking, shopping and photography, the focus of the city's most modern architecture. At night, the "Flower City", as the square is also called, fascinates with billions of lights and leaves no one indifferent.
Guangzhou Twin Towers
Skyscrapers Guangzhou International Finance Center (IFC) and CTF Finance Center (CTF) are among the tallest buildings in the city.
Their heights are 439 m and 530 m. These are beautiful and functional buildings: elegant design, glass panels and lighting equipment create an external attraction for the twin towers, and inside there are a large number of shops, restaurants, food courts, and most importantly, there is an observation deck an alternative site to Guangzhou TV Tower.
Original Buildings
The architectural ensemble of the city center is made up not only of skyscrapers looking up at the sky, but also buildings with an unusual interesting design. This is what the 9-story Guangzhou Library looks like, one of the largest city libraries in the world.
The futuristic building of the Guangzhou Opera House, reminiscent of a spaceship, looks no less impressive. Designed by the world famous designer Zaha Hadid, the theater is one of the largest in the country. Of particular interest is the interior of the theatre, which is valued by many even higher than its external appearance. Excellent visibility from any place and high-quality acoustics provide a complete immersion in the performance, so all lovers of beauty should definitely visit Guangzhou Opera House.
Another original building is the Guangdong Provincial Museum. This is a modern exhibition complex, offering visitors to plunge into the history and culture of Guangdong province for free. A huge building with an area of more than 40 thousand square meters. m resembles a traditional Chinese box, inside which are real jewels - a unique collection of artifacts that reflect the life of this region of the country.
Guangzhou Yuan (Eng. Guangzhou Circle)
Located next to the Pearl River, the round building literally translates as "the ring of Guangzhou" and in shape corresponds to the Eastern worldview, which is characterized by completeness, isolation. Numerology was also involved: Italian designer Joseph di Pasquale, when creating the project for the building, determined that, together with the reflection in the Pearl River, the building would form the lucky number 8 for the Chinese.
Temples of Guangzhou
All lovers of antiquity should definitely pay attention to the temples of Guangzhou. Hualin Temple, founded in the 6th century, was built to spread Buddhism in China. The temple houses images of 500 arhats, who are considered Buddha's disciples who have achieved enlightenment. Those who practice Buddhism consider them holy, which is why Hualin is also called the temple of five hundred gods. The symbol of Guangzhou can be seen in the Temple of the Five Immortals, located in the largest parkthe city of Yuexiu (Eng. Yuexiu Park). According to legend, five saints descended on five goats and each brought a sprout of rice to Guangzhou, people began to cultivate this crop, and the city forgot about hunger forever. Grateful residents erected a temple, and five goats turned into a stone statue, which is today the hallmark of the city. The tallest pagoda in Guangzhou can be seen at the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees.
Wishing to feel the spirit of the philosophy of Taoism should visit one of the oldest Taoist temples Sanyuan (Eng. Sanyuan Palace), the culture of traditional Chinese Buddhism can be felt in the Guangxiao Temple, and Dafo Temple (Eng. Dafo Temple) is especially interesting to watch at night.
Also located in Guangzhou is the world's oldest mosque Huaisheng Mosque, made in Chinese style. The largest Christian temple in China is the Catholic Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (eng. Sacred Heart Cathedral), made entirely of granite in the neo-Gothic style. There are many parks in Guangzhou, including entertainment, museums and shopping centers, so no one will be bored in this city. Moreover, you can plan trips to neighboring cities of the province, which also have their own unique flavor.
City of parks and skyscrapers
Shenzhen (Guangdong Province, China) is a dynamically developing city in the southern province, which for a smalla period of time from an ordinary fishing village turned into a major industrial and financial center of the south of the Celestial Empire. The city is surrounded by skyscrapers, and the infrastructure is well developed.
All conditions for comfortable living, entertainment and shopping have been created for travelers. Of particular interest are the many theme parks in Shenzhen. You can visit different parts of the world in the Window of the World park, where small copies of famous world architectural structures are presented, and in the Splendid China Folk Village park collected Chinese sights, as well as reproduced the life and cultural traditions of the peoples of China. The Happy Valley amusement park is perfect for a family vacation, the amazing underwater world can be observed in the Xiaomeisha Sea World Park (Shenzhen Xiaomeisha Sea World), and in the Safari Park (Shenzhen Safari Park) drive through the Valley of Predatory Beasts. The city has a lot of green areas. Shenzhen Xianhu Botanical Garden impresses with its scale and variety of unique plants, Lianhuashan Park is the hallmark of the city, a place of rest from the bustle of the city, and you can enjoy the freshness of the sea and at the same time admire the view of Hong Kong in coastal Mangrove Ecopark (eng. Shenzhen Mangrove Nature Reserve).
Chinese Montmartre
Dafen Village in Shenzhen(Guangdong, China) is known not only in China, but throughout the world. Once upon a time, artists from all over China began to flock here and engage in reproductions of famous paintings. Today, in addition to copies in the village, you can buy author's works of any genre, including traditional Chinese ink drawings. The streets of Dafen are full of paintings and resemble an open-air gallery. You can even watch the masters at work creating in real time.
City in the Pearl River Delta
Dongguan (Guangdong, China) is one of the oldest cities in the southern province. This is a progressive industrial center that combines modern architecture and medieval buildings.
An open-air museum immersing in the history of ancient China is the village of Nanshe, on the territory of which there are ancient buildings of the Qing and Ming era, Buddhist temples and numerous sculptures. Also in the city you can see a part of the ancient defensive fortress known as the "Gate of Fortune", learn the details of the opium wars in the Museum of the Opium War, look at the city from a height of 30 m from the Jinao Tower, take a walk through the real Keyan imperial garden. The infrastructure of Dongguan is well developed: transport links, hotels, supermarkets, shopping centers, restaurants, cafes - all this is in the city.
Birthplace of teacher Bruce Lee
In the center of the southern province is the ancient Chinese trading city of Foshan (Guangdong, China), which is appreciated by tourists for its picturesque nature, parks, villageporcelain, a pottery workshop, one of the most ancient Taoist temples, Zumiao, which has two halls dedicated to Foshan-born kung fu masters Huang Feihong and Yip Man. The latter is known as the teacher of the legendary Bruce Lee. Foshan is also considered a city of furniture: the world's largest furniture wholesale market is located here, and furniture tours to Foshan are becoming more and more popular.
Afterword
Tourists who visited the south of China, for the most part, bring positive impressions. Local flavor, picturesque landscapes, ultra-modern buildings, ancient monuments of architecture - this and much more can boast of Guangdong in China. A few tips from travelers:
- Guangdong is very hot in summer and early September and typhoons often occur.
- The most favorable time for a trip is October-December, because during this period the province is warm, dry and sunny.
- Various international events are held in the cities of Guangdong. Especially large ones can be accompanied by a large influx of guests, so if you do not want to get into the peak, it would be best to find out in advance about the planned events in the province.
- Thanks to a well-developed transport network, you can go beyond visiting one city of Guangdong, and plan a trip to several cities in the province to fully experience all the advantages of the south of China.
