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Located in the center of the Pearl River Delta, Guangzhou has a long history of serving as a starting point for the old silk road, a trading route that connected the East and the West. It is now one of China's most important transportation and trade hubs, as well as the heartland of the country's industrial and manufacturing activities. Although the city is famous for its skyscraper buildings, such as the Canton Tower, it also has many interesting historic relic sites that are waiting to be discovered. Guangzhou is also an ideal tourist destination because it has pleasant weather all year, offers a scenic view at night, is blessed with flowers all year, has numerous shopping destinations, and is ideal for culinary! There are even more to discover in Guangzhou, see Must Visit Places in Guangzhou.

Must Visit Places in Guangzhou

1.Canton Tower
Located between the Guangzhou New City Central Axis and Pearl River, Canton Tower offers an observation deck with breathtaking scenery of Guangzhou city which is more stunning at night. Besides serving as a landmark, this iconic tower in fact has three Guinness World Records holders for the Highest Post Office in a building, Highest Revolving Restaurant in a building, and Highest Thrill Ride. This allowed visitors to explore the restaurants and entertainment facilities such as its Ferris wheel ride at the top of the building.

2.The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall
With a history of a hundred years, The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall not only served as an academic temple but also a magnificent work of craftsmanship. It was made of a symmetric pattern of 19 buildings with 9 halls and 6 courtyards that connected the whole buildings and filled with strong cultural and artistic features and values. This hall presents an incredible artwork of four major themes, which are “Qilin and Pheonix”, “Dragon and Orbs”, “The Three Goats”, and ‘Goldfish in a Pond” and praised as ‘Seven Classic Decoration of Lingnan’ as the whole buildings are decorated with wood, stone, and brick carving; pottery; stucco relief; iron and copper casting; as well as colored drawing.

3.Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street
Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street is a famous old street in the old town of Xiguan, with many small stores, shops, cafes, and eateries along the road. This 800 meters road is mostly decorated with Lingnan-style balcony buildings.

4.Shamian Island
Shamian Island was once one of the most important ports for Guangzhou’s foreign trade during the Song and Qing dynasties. This small island now is a favorite tourist spot as the city can be strolled within a day by foot, only 900m from east to west and 300m from south to north. The island is filled with unique, exotic, Gothic, Baroque, and Neoclassical buildings that are actually bars, cafes, and hotels. This small city preserves the important culture and architectural heritage of the European colonial era in China.

5.Baiyun / White Cloud mountain
Another famous destination not far from Guangzhou is Baiyun Mountain, located only 17km from the city. Along with the fresh and clean air at the mountain, visitors could enjoy the panoramic view of Guangzhou city and river Zhujiang once reach the top of the mountain, which is approximately 382m in height. Besides that, the place also consists of other attractions such as Yuntai Garden and Glass Bridge.

Back in 1979, Shenzhen was just a small border city with 30 thousand inhabitants but in the 1980s, the city experienced tremendous changes, with a rapid growth that make it known as ‘Shenzhen speed’. Now the region has more than 10 million inhabitants and is one of the richest cities in China. Although the city turned into a special economic zone with numerous high-tech companies, there are still lots of interesting places and fun things to do for tourists. For 5 top tourist attractions in Shenzhen, see Must Visit Places in Shenzhen!

Must Visit Places in Shenzhen

1.Modern architecture
Without a doubt, Shenzhen is crowned as one of the cities with the most modern and aesthetic buildings and architecture. The city earned the status of UNESCO City of Design, from its sleek skyscrapers stretching to the sky, bold museums, and a monumental library and exhibition center, the city is a space for visionaries to experiment. For more classical buildings designs, you can visit the famous Oct Harbour and Shenzhen Library.

2.Nature View
Although the heartland of Shenzhen city was full of skyscrapers, the city is actually surrounded by amazing nature such as Nanshan Mountain, Dameisha, and Xiaomeisha Beaches. Nanshan Mountain itself is located on Nantou Peninsula with 336 meters high and if you reached the top, the entire Shenzhen Bay would be your view. Besides mountains, Shenzhen also has beaches as a travel destination. Dameisha and Xiaomeisha beaches are located on the northern shore of Mirs Bay along the Yantian District coastline, while Xiaomeisha is on the coastline of Dapenng Bay in the east of Shenzhen.

3.Shenzhen museum
Despite the fact that Shenzhen is a modern city, it also has a cultural site that needs to be visited. In fact, the city has numerous cultural museums that preserve the history and originality of the country. Shenzhen Museum, for instance, displays the history of human activities and marine development in China for more than 6000 years ago. It also became the landmark of the city. For other interesting historical museums, you can visit the Dapeng Geological Park Museum, Dapeng Ancient Town Museum, International Leisure Culture Museum of XDS, Century Amber Museum, and many more. Besides that, Shenzhen also has a museum for ancient collections such as contemporary paintings, chinaware, bronzeware, ancient sculpture, and furniture. This kind of viewing can be done at Zhizheng Art Museum, Xibaolou Celadon Ware Museum, Zhenxiqi Museum, and so on.

4.Culinary
Shenzhen is also known best for its cuisine, especially street food. To explore the authentic local taste and traditional dishes, major street food spots are Dongmen Street Food Market, Baishizhou, as well as Shiuwei. Food to recommend is Shajin Oysters, Seafood Hot Pot, Cantonese Congee and Dimsum, Barbequed Seafood, Coconut Chicken, and may more to explore.

5.Futian Central Business District
Another place that must be visited for sure is the famous Futian Central Business District. This is the shopping center space which is surrounded by many shopping malls such as Coco Park, Excellence INTOWN, and Wongtee Plaza; commercial centers such as PingAn International Finance Center and One Avenue; exhibition centers like The teamLab art Collective. Although it’s well known as the shopping district, Futian CBD also provides lots of fun activities besides shopping for its visitors, like the exhibition center and cultural events where people can enjoy various arts displayed and have a taste of an artistic experience within the shopping malls, park to be strolled around, unique architectural buildings as iconic photo spots, as well as sightseeing platform from the 116th floor of PingAn International Finance Center skyscraper.