Guangzhou Past and Present Tour | Guangzhou + Yuexiu Park + Beijing Road + Zhujiang New Town + Chen Clan Ancestral Hall + Lizhiwan + Yongqingfang Classic 3-Day Tour

Welcome to Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province. Our driver will meet you at the exit of the airport/train station and escort you to the hotel for check-in and rest. You can arrange the remaining time freely. If you are tired, you can rest at the hotel to relieve travel fatigue. If it is still early, you can also stroll around the area, or consult the guide for travel suggestions according to your time and interests. Suggested ways to arrive: 1. By plane: Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) is Guangzhou's main airport, with many direct domestic routes such as Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Kunming, and Hong Kong, as well as direct international routes such as Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Dubai, and Los Angeles. Transportation is very convenient. 2. By train: Guangzhou South Railway Station and Guangzhou Railway Station are high-speed rail hubs connecting Guangzhou with other major Chinese cities. You can take high-speed rail to Guangzhou from Hong Kong (about 1 hour), Shenzhen (about 0.5~1.5 hours), Guilin (2.5~3.5 hours), Guiyang (about 4~6.5 hours), Beijing (8~10 hours), Shanghai (7~8.5 hours), Chengdu (9~10 hours), Xi'an (8~9 hours), Hangzhou (6~7.5 hours), and other cities.

Guangzhou is a hub city of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and a famous trade and cultural center in South China. With a history of over 2,200 years, it has leveraged its port city advantages to blend local and foreign cultures, forming a unique urban character. As the birthplace of Lingnan culture, Guangzhou has nurtured rich cultural symbols such as Cantonese language, Cantonese cuisine, and Cantonese opera, demonstrating profound cultural heritage. In addition, Guangzhou's central axis, alongside Beijing's central axis, is a model of continuity in ancient Chinese urban axes, rare in world urban history. Strolling along this ancient central axis, you can take in the time-space compression from the Nanyue King's Palace ruins to the modern CBD, and touch the millennium pulse of Lingnan civilization. Today's itinerary begins at Yuexiu Park. Yuexiu Park is the largest comprehensive park in downtown Guangzhou and one of the city's landmarks, hailed as one of the "Eight Sights of Yangcheng." It preserves a large number of historical and cultural relics: the "Chaohan Terrace" site of Zhao Tuo, King of Nanyue; the wooden sluice gate ruins of the Nanyue King's Palace; the longest and most complete surviving Ming Dynasty city wall in Guangzhou; Zhenhai Tower (first built in 1380); the Five Immortals Temple, Lingnan's first tower; the monument to Sun Yat-sen's reading and administrative office; and the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Monument (498 granite steps). Moreover, Yuexiu Park is lush with trees and has very beautiful scenery. You can enter from the west gate of Yuexiu Park. The 11-meter-high granite group sculpture—the Five Rams Statue—is well worth seeing. It is Guangzhou's most iconic urban sculpture and a symbol of the city, carrying Guangzhou's millennium-old legend and urban spirit. It is said that during a famine in Guangzhou, five immortals rode rams and gifted rice ears; the main ram holding rice ears in its mouth reenacts the legend of "Five Immortals Bestowing Grain," which is why Guangzhou is called "Yangcheng" (Ram City) and "Suicheng" (Rice Ear City). Near the Five Rams Statue, you can see the only remaining section of Guangzhou's Ming Dynasty city wall, first built in the 13th year of the Hongwu reign (1380), with a history of over 600 years. You can also climb to the top of the hill to visit Zhenhai Tower (destroyed and rebuilt five times; admission at your own expense: 10 yuan per person), now the main building of the Guangzhou Museum. This is a landmark ancient building and historical cultural landmark of Guangzhou, where you can take in the essence of Guangzhou's 2,200-year history and culture. After reaching the top, you can enjoy panoramic views of the Pearl River and Baiyun Mountain. In addition, if interested, you can visit the Sun Yat-sen Memorial architectural complex to gain a deeper understanding of Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary spirit, Republican-era architectural art, and modern Guangzhou history. After visiting Yuexiu Park, proceed to the Mausoleum Exhibition Area of the Nanyue King Museum, hailed as the "Light of Lingnan Culture." The overall building was constructed on the tomb site excavated in 1983. Here, you can visit the original site of the Tomb of the Nanyue King Wen, the highest-ranking, largest, and best-preserved Han Dynasty painted stone chamber tomb in Lingnan, and learn about ancient Chinese royal tomb culture. More than 1,000 precious artifacts have been unearthed here, among which China's earliest complete "jade suit sewn with silk threads" and the "Emperor Wen's Seal" gold seal symbolizing royal power are well worth seeing. In addition, if interested, you can visit the Palace Exhibition Area to see the Nanyue Kingdom Palace Office ruins, known as "the essence of Guangzhou's historical and cultural city." After visiting the Tomb of the Nanyue King Wen, proceed to Beijing Road, hailed as "Lingnan's First Street" and "Millennium Commercial Avenue." This is Guangzhou's oldest urban central axis (unchanged for 2,200 years since the Qin Dynasty) and one of Guangzhou's most popular commercial pedestrian streets. Strolling along, you can browse quaint and exquisite local time-honored shops and international brand stores, taste authentic Cantonese snacks, and see long-standing historical and cultural relics: the Song Dynasty Gongbei Tower foundation, the Southern Han brick-paved road surface, the Nanyue Kingdom wooden sluice gate (the world's earliest and most complete wooden gate), the Nanyue King's Palace Office (the highest-ranking palace complex in Lingnan during the Qin and Han dynasties), the Dafo Temple (a Lingnan-style Buddhist temple), and the City God Temple (Ming Dynasty, Lingnan's largest City God Temple). Afterward, follow Guangzhou's ancient central axis and stroll to Guangzhou's new central axis, taking you through time and space from the arcade streets of the millennium-old commercial capital to modern skyscraping landmarks, enjoying the stunning scene of Guangzhou's 2,200 years of time-space compression. First, begin exploring Zhujiang New Town, hailed as "Guangzhou's Manhattan." This is Guangzhou's largest CBD and one of the areas with the highest concentration of supertall buildings over 300 meters in the world, gathering numerous skyscrapers: Guangzhou International Finance Center (IFC, about 440 meters), Chow Tai Fook Finance Centre (about 530 meters, Guangzhou's second-tallest building), and the distant Canton Tower (about 600 meters tall, Guangzhou's landmark building and China's tallest tower). Then, continue to Huacheng Square, the core landmark of Guangzhou's new central axis. It gathers 39 landmark buildings, including the Guangzhou Library, Guangzhou Opera House, and Guangdong Museum, and is known as the "city's living room." In particular, the splendid light show at night is a highlight of Huacheng Square and not to be missed. It is worth mentioning that the Guangzhou International Light Festival held annually at Huacheng Square is well worth seeing; it is one of the world's three major light festivals. Finally, you can stroll along the Pearl River, especially at night: the night view of Canton Tower, the light and shadow of bridges, and the lights on both banks reflected on the Pearl River surface paint a colorful Lingnan poetic painting. Optional evening activity: From 7 PM to 10 PM, you can take a Pearl River night cruise (about 60 minutes), immerse yourself in Guangzhou's charming night, and capture the most beautiful night views. Along the way, you can not only enjoy Guangzhou's magnificent city skyline but also admire iconic buildings such as Canton Tower, Liede Bridge (LED light show), and Haixin Bridge (the world's largest-span pedestrian bridge).

Today, you will follow in the footsteps of "old Cantonese" and explore in depth Guangzhou's traditional old urban area—Xiguan. This is the most typical representative neighborhood of old Guangzhou's cultural character, having nurtured Lingnan cultural symbols such as Xiguan mansions, arcade streets, Cantonese opera, Cantonese music, and Guangdong music. It is often said, "To experience Lingnan culture in Guangzhou, if you haven't been to Xiguan, you haven't really been to Guangzhou." In addition, Xiguan is also a representative of Guangzhou's food culture, with the saying "Food is in Guangzhou, flavor is in Xiguan." First, begin your visit at [Chen Clan Ancestral Hall], praised as "the Crown of Baiyue Ancestral Halls." It is the pinnacle of traditional Lingnan architecture and one of the largest, best-preserved, and most exquisitely decorated ancestral hall-style buildings in China, known as the "Pearl of Lingnan Architectural Art." It was jointly built by the Chen clans of 72 counties in Guangdong and completed in 1893. Its layout consists of three axes, three courtyards, nine halls, and six courtyards, symmetrical along the central axis, with exquisite decoration. It integrates the essence of Lingnan's "three carvings, two sculptures, one casting, and one painting" crafts and is known as a "resplendent palace of folk decorative art," making it a great place to appreciate Chinese Lingnan architecture and ancestral hall culture. In addition, the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall also houses the Guangdong Folk Craft Museum, where you can admire traditional Guangdong craft masterpieces such as ivory carving, jade carving, wood carving, Cantonese embroidery, and Guangzhou painted porcelain. Then, drive to [Lizhi Bay], famous for "a bay of green stream water, red lychees on both banks." The scenery here is beautiful. While strolling through it, ancient banyan trees hang their aerial roots along both banks of the river, very picturesque, complementing the ancient buildings with gray bricks and black tiles. You can also view the landmark skyline formed by the Wen Tower (a Ming Dynasty hexagonal ancient tower), Longjin Bridge (a three-arch stone bridge), and the Xiguan mansions with wok-ear gable walls, fully enjoying the unique Lingnan water town charm. If interested, you can also visit the Lizhi Bay Grand Stage (the most representative Cantonese opera cultural landmark in Liwan District, Guangzhou, where you may see live performances if timing is right) and the Liwan Museum (Guangdong's first district-level museum, centered on collecting and researching Liwan's history, culture, and folk customs, with the Xiguan Folk Museum as a highlight). Afterward, head to [Yongqing Fang], praised as "Guangzhou's most beautiful old street." It preserves Guangzhou's longest and most complete arcade building complex, blending Chinese and Western elements such as gray brick walls, Roman columns, and Manchurian windows, and also adds modern cultural creativity. While strolling through it, you can admire arcades, Xiguan mansions, the Moon Bridge, intangible cultural heritage craft workshops, art galleries, and other exquisite buildings, fully enjoying the Cantonese charm of ancient elegance and new splendor. Finally, head to [Shamian Island], praised as "Guangzhou's little Europe." It is a living historical fossil where Lingnan culture and European continental style intertwine. It once housed consular institutions from more than 10 countries including Britain, France, and the United States. The buildings here gather styles such as Neo-Baroque, Gothic Revival, and veranda style, with some buildings incorporating Lingnan elements. While strolling through it, you can visit the former sites of the British, French, and American consulates, HSBC, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Shamian Christ Church, Shamian Post Office, the British Snow Factory, and the Soviet Consulate Staff Apartments, gaining a glimpse of Guangzhou's century-long history. In addition, remember to taste the Cantonese food along the way in Xiguan. You can find a traditional teahouse, order a cup of freshly brewed local tea, and a portion of traditional Cantonese dim sum, or find a traditional restaurant and taste exquisite and rich Cantonese flavors. After the tour, this wonderful and unforgettable 3-day Guangzhou trip will come to an end. Our driver will take you to the airport/train station. If you want to extend this trip and explore more destinations in China, such as Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Huangshan, Harbin, Yunnan, Xi'an, Zhangjiajie, Tibet, Guilin, Xinjiang, etc., you can also contact our customer service to arrange it for you.