Guangzhou in a day!

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Guangzhou in a day!

After spending 10 days in Hong Kong for the Chinese new year my first taste of China was Guangzhou, and what a shock to the system it was. I arrived by train slightly late as i had missed my first train, after i passed through customs and into Guangzhou station your greeted by what is a heaving mass of people. no one there spoke English, most the signage was in Chinese and nobody seemed very helpful, luckily i had been planning my trip for over 2 years and knew which subway line i needed and what stop to get off, the ticket machines have an English option but with everyone pushing and shoving it took longer then i wanted. I left the station by the correct exit into a slightly shady neighborhood but thanks to the miracle that is GPS i manged to direct myself to my hostel without any problems, maybe i arrived out of season but the local area was fairly quiet, my hostel was positioned on the water front but all the buildings next door were closed or abandoned. my hostel was clean and tidy but very dated, looks like it was built in 60s or 70s and not much had changed.



My first and only day in Guangzhou i got up early and set off for Shamian Island, the pearl river passes through the center of Guangzhou and 100 or so years ago this is where the different countries who traded with China set up their Embassies. Beautiful place and such a vast difference from the area i was staying in, very colonial in its buildings, pretty flower beds everywhere and lots of weird bronze statues! Very close to Shamian island is Qing Ping medicine market, i heard a lot about this place with lots of strange things on sale, various dry and fresh ingredients, animals kept in small cages, snakes being skinned alive and their blood used to make herbal remedies. But to be honest i was disappointed, not sure if i was there on a off day or what but i didn't see any animals and all the other food was pretty standard stuff like you would find in most local markets.

Temple of the 6 Banyan Trees!

The walk from the subway station to the temple was impeded by people on the street selling everything from shoes to phones, every inch of pavement space was taken up with sheets laid on the floor with stuff for sale. In any other country the police would move the people on, but here it seems OK, I even saw a police man buying a new I-phone! For a country that has blocked most media websites including Facebook, Hotmail and twitter everyone here has a smart phone, on the subway everybody is txting, gaming and surfing whatever has not been censored on the net. As you get closer to the temple the shops change and stop selling normal items in favor of Buddhist statues, burnable offerings and incense, the temple was walled in and for the small price of 5yuan you are allowed to pass through the gates into what is simply a calm oasis among a very busy, big industrial city. The contrast between the temple and what was out side is amazing, the air was thick with incense and people preying, Chinese lanterns and decorations for the New Year were everywhere. I sat down on a wall for a few minutes to absorb the peace and quiet until some of the Chinese people decided they wanted a photo with me, considering how close Guangzhou is to HK they really don't see a lot of westerners, at least i did not see any except at my hostel.



The only reason i stayed in Guangzhou is because if i had got the train HK to Shanghai direct i would have to pay HK prices, but by changing in Guangzhou i saved money. in future i think ill skip it and go straight to my next city, definitely not a good start to my trip but China can only get better!

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Photos

Shamian Island
Colonial buildings