Guangzhou Getaway Day 1

 I had wanted to save that day of leave for the end of the year and go for one long trip all at once, but NS regulations mandated that my public holiday off-in-lieu had an expiry date - annoying, no doubt. But it did mean that I could plan a short trip to China with my parents. I picked Guangzhou and Shenzhen for the proximity, flight timings, flight price, and I also wanted to be with my mother who is Cantonese as she explored the city.

I had been here once before in March when I stopped by Guangzhou and Shenzhen for a day each before going on to meet a friend in Hong Kong. This time I was determined to finish what I had started. I saved a whole bunch of places on Google maps / Amaps from the Michelin guide, general readings on the city, a very outdated NYT article on traveling Guangzhou, and a couple spots recommended by Xiaohongshu / Douyin.

Our flight was from 0355-0800 on China Southern. The plane arrived late but we rushed on board and reached Guangzhou Baiyun airport only ten minutes behind schedule. We booked a Didi to (Tang Ren Xuan) for approx. CNY175 for a more comfortable class of car. I had read about Tang Ren Xuan (here) and wanted to check it out as a supposedly local place.

It was located on the fourth floor of a mall. The lift lobby smelt like old piss. The lift door opened right into the restaurant, which was MUCH larger than I had expected and bustling with a huge number of people ordering, eating, talking, etc. Many of them were elderly.

We ordered a variety of dim sum, of which I liked the egg tarts most. We ended up spending around CNY210 for the three of us, which I find very reasonable considering the amount we ate. The low price is due to the fact that we paid before 11am though, whereupon the restaurant gives you a 40% off-peak discount. Frankly the food was not amazing and I've had better Dim Sum in Singapore but I'm still glad I experienced it.




After that, we checked into Fu Ho Hotel on Cangbianlu. We then headed to Chen Clan's ancestral hall. I'm constantly wowed by both the grandeur of old architecture like this - I can barely imagine how many craftspeople in the past and how many years it would have taken to build structures like this - much less the incredible amassing of wealth by one individual or family to commission a building this grand with all its treasures.

Nan Xin jiangzhuangnai shuangpinai  

We then headed to Wenjiyixin, a Michelin Bib Gourmand place for white-chopped-chicken. We arrived just before closing time and it was good. The toilet was upstairs and when going there I came across all the staff taking naps on the chair.

Beijing Road seems to be the main walking street in Guangzhou (Do not waste your time going to Shangxiajiu. There was genuinely nothing and nobody there both times I went.) We enjoyed the festive atmosphere and got a variety of street food from the stalls lining the road: surprisingly (1) there were no mobile street stalls, only permanent shophouse-style shops and (2) the food was very good for a major tourist area. We had changfen (15RMB), shrimp balls (25RMB), and a shaken lemon tea (somewhere between 15-20RMB). The food was definitely more expensive than other areas but not prohibitively so. In a shop selling nougat I heard this song playing which has instantly jumped into my top songs of all time playlist. I find it so catchy and quite well produced for a DJban Chinese pop song. https://open.spotify.com/track/6aGRfOmgL0hwlrTpTtrPWk?si=37b353f838074220

Another interesting sight we saw was this woman along Beijing road dancing risquely in front of an experienced-looking videographer. I suppose the Chinese market is sufficiently big and so much money can be made through livestreaming that it's a viable and even attractive income source for young women like these. Still, it's sad that she's being reduced to essentially creating soft porn for millions of nameless viewers across China. I wondered which province she was from, how much she made, how much the other people involved in the business made, and whether she felt it was worth it. I suppose this is one scenario where it really is better not to be famous.

My favourite spot along Beijing Road was the DaFoGuShi. （Google Maps） I have a very soft spot for religious buildings of all kinds and this was no exception. The walkway to the temple was tucked in a back alley and lined with (poplar?) trees. The temple itself was massive, with overlapping tiers of wooden beams and curved roofs receding outwards and upwards from a large central square. In one chamber, Buddhists dressed alternately in robes or just regular clothing were walking in a long snaking loop, stepping in time with the lead monk's chanting. In another corner there was a stall distributing free 解忧茶. I took a cup and drank. I found the whole experience to be immensely calming.

I don't have a picture of the inside of the temple, only the main gate - but trust me when I say that it was beautiful。

After the temple it was time to go to another area of Guangzhou called Tianhe. I understand it to be the central CBD of sorts as opposed to Yuexiu where our hotel was, which was more of an old town / historical area. We had dinner at Song, a 1-Michelin starred Sichuan place I had found in the Guide. Because we were in China we had the rare opportunity to have a Michelin starred meal for just around SGD$25 each, and I was going to make full use of it.
Here are the dishes we ordered. I found the food to be generally very good and befitting of the star.

东坡肉

While we were in Tianhe district we also visited a Xiaomi store. I tried some of their products including some Xiaomi earphones and was very impressed by their quality especially given their price (the model I tried was under 200RMB). My family and I tried a few other products and ended up walking away with quite a few electronic gadgets that I think will be quite useful in the coming months.

Electronic skipping rope simulator. We didn't get this but it was pretty funny

The last thing we did in Tianhe before heading back to Yuexiu was to go for a walk around the central square of the city. Surrounding the square was a tarmac footpath and it was very well lit. As we walked we were surrounded by skyscrapers in practically every direction. Walking among them amongst the locals who, again, many of whom were elderly folk milling about swinging their arms for some evening exercise was a very pleasant experience, especially as it hit the hour and one of the buildings lit up in an ILOVEGZ light show.

After that we took another Didi the ~6km back to Yuexiu to spend the night.