Revisiting the Homeland (Part 1): Guangzhou's Old and New Icons

Prologue:

- After 5 years of stepping in China's soil (click here to see my last trip to China,) I finally had another opportunity to go back to my ancestors' land. This time, I got to visit two of the most visited places in China - Guangzhou in the south, and Beijing in the north. This trip was sponsored by the Ateneo de Manila University and the Hanban - Confucius Institute Headquarters. This school-related trip was a delegation of Ateneo's School of Social Sciences to China, with one representative chosen per department (fortunately, I got chosen by my department chair.) Our academic field trip was a "tours and talks" kind of thing; we were there not only to visit some of Guangzhou and Beijing's tourist spots, but we also had to visit universities and the Philippine Embassy in China to talk about China's "Belt and Road" (aka "One Belt, One Road") initiative.

The trip:

- May 28-29, 2017, Sunday-Monday.

- I got to the airport with cold sweat palms despite my excitement. I thought to myself that I could finally reconnect with my Chinese homeland, even though my ancestors came from a different Chinese province from the ones we'd be visiting. I had a some idea of what to expect, since I regularly encounter people from the mainland, but had a concoction of emotions while thinking about what I'd experience in China. I was mostly concerned with my visit to the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, and wished that those places won't fail my expectations of them, like the fist time I saw the Taj Mahal in India (click here to see.) 

Saw this in the airplane magazine. Didn't get to read the article because I chose to sleep instead. Haha. 

- It didn't take long for my colleagues and I to reach Guangzhou via China Southern Airlines. Since Guangzhou is in the far south of China, it only takes a good 2 to 2.5 hours to reach Guangzhou from Manila. Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong, and the birthplace of everything Cantonese (after all, Guangdong, more particularly Guangzhou, was known as "Canton" by the Europeans traders.) Although Mandarin is the standard language, and is the preferred language especially in the downtown (where there may be people from other parts of China,) knowing some Cantonese will help too. For those used to the Hong Kong variant of Cantonese like me, it is more or less similar to the Cantonese used in Guangzhou, with some minor differences.

- After arriving at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, we were driven to Sun Yat Sen Kaifeng Hotel, where we stayed for 4 nights. This (really fancy!!) hotel is located inside the Sun Yat Sen University campus, and it located close to the northern gate of the university (the nearest subway, however, is located near the southern gate.)  

And I have the room all to myselffffffff!!

The Canton Tower seen from the bus.

The Canton Tower, well-lit, in the early evening.

- Since we arrived in the afternoon and had an early dinner, we had some time to see Guangzhou at night. What better way to do that than to enjoy a cruise along the Pearl River? There are several docks along the Pearl River, around two to three of them near the university, but we were driven to the main dock so we can hop on the bigger boat.

- The Pearl River, or Zhujiang, is one of the main rivers supplying water to Southern China. Today, some iconic bridges like the Liede Bridge connect the opposite banks of the river. The bridges and many buildings surrounding the bridges are also well-lit (sometimes too much color for one to handle,) making an evening cruise a perfect activity after dusk. If you ask me, it was also the perfect opening activity to our adventures in Guangzhou.

We rode on a boat like this one.

The Guangzhou International Finance Center (IFC) to the left, and the Canton Tower to the right.

Had to find my spot. There were simple too many people on board!!!!

Colorsss.

Liede Bridge.

An iconic shot - the Liede Bridge with the Canton Tower behind.

Angle.

It is rare for me to play around with my camera like this. Yes, this is still the Canton Tower.

The colorful Xinghai Concert Hall.

The big dock.

- The following day was supposed to be an opening ceremony inside the university, but because the government announced just a few days prior that the 29th and 30th are holidays to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, all our official visits to the universities were pushed back. Instead, out first three days were pure tours of Guangzhou.

- Our first stop for the day was Yuexiu Park. It is the largest park in downtown Guangzhou where people can also see remnants of Ming and Qing Dynasty structures. It is convenient located near the Yuexiu Park metro station.

- Being a huge park of more than 9 million square feet (~more than 800,000 sq.m.,) needless to say we weren't able to visit all the must-sees in the park, like the Zhenhai Tower which houses the Guangzhou Museum. The park isn't flat too, which means it has uphill and downhill paths and attractions, making it a bit difficult (or tiring) for some people especially during rainy days. At the very least, we did not miss the park's main go-to: the 5 Rams Sculpture. This statue, though only built not long ago in the 1960s, is the main emblem of Guangzhou. Legend says that thousands of years ago, Guangzhou suffered from famine and the 5 Immortals came to Earth and gave rice to the people of Guangzhou. The 5 rams/immortals turned to stone afterwards, and Guangzhou became a city of abundance.

5 Rams.

Cotton thingy. There were cotton-like plants (or maybe they were really cotton plants?) around the park.

"5 Rams Statue."

- Right across and a few steps right from the entrance of Yuexiu Park is the Museum of the Western Han Dynasty Mausoleum of the Nanyue King. It can also be reached through the Yuexiu Park metro station. "Nanyue" means greater southern frontier, and comprises parts of today's Southern China and Vietnam. It is not a coincidence that "Vietnam" was derived from "Nanyue," or "Nam Viet" in Vietnamese. This museum houses relics, including the jade burial suit of King Zhao Mo, from 2nd century BC. What really frustrated me most during my visit to this museum was that I wasn't able to see the main highlight of the museum - the jade suit. I looked everywhere in the museum, but I couldn't find it. I asked my guide and she just said that it wasn't available. There was one gallery being renovated, and I am not sure if that is where the jade suit was supposed to be. (Well, at least this gives me more reason to go back to Guangzhou.)

Such majesty.

The museum facade. I like the red bricks.

An ancient pillow. I am really glad I am living in a time when pillow are soft.

I will also make a face like this if  I'm made to rest on really hard pillow like this one.

On the way to the tomb.

It was difficult to take pictures inside the tomb, so I just took a photo from above.

Emblem of the Nanyue Kingdom.

Yes, that's my hand.

How things have looked like before.

Lacquer room divider.

Former armor.

- Before lunch, we had a stop at the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, also known as the Guangdong Folk Arts Museum. It is reachable by riding the metro to the Chen Clan Academy metro station. This ancestral hall/museum/academy was not only the residence of people from the Chen clan, but also functioned as a school for the young people of the Chen Clan to prepare for the imperial civil service examinations during the late Qing Dynasty. Apart from the well-preserved structure itself, one can find carvings, pottery, and sculptures inside the halls.

The ancestral hall.

Roofs with guardians.

Intricate wood carving.

More detailed roofs.

A happy little lion and a happy little piglet.

The most adorable elephant I've seen.

In front of one of the giant doors.

Details on one of the ancestors' altars.

BLEUUUUGHHH.

It would be nice to have a house like this.

Momma lion in front of the main entrance.

- Quite near the Chen Clan Hall is the Liwan Lake Park. It is accessible through the Zhongshan Ba metro station, or the Changshou Road metro station. Although is a smaller park compared to Yuexiu Park, I personally enjoyed this multi-lake park more since it had a homier feel, as it seemed to have brought me back in time. I also chanced upon a traditional Cantonese operatic singing performance at the park square, which added to the traditional feel of the park. The history of Liwan, or Lychee Bay, goes back thousands of years, preceding Yuexiu Park, which explains why I liked this park more.

The biggest lantern I've seen.

Creeks here and there.

One of the lakes in the park.

Cantonese opera singing.

I love scenes like this one.

Thank you for cleaning the lakes.

Bridge and lotuses.

Old buildings.

Would have gone into the water if only I could afford to have time to dry myself afterwards.

Traditional boats.

Purple lotuses.

In one of the cultural halls 

There were fan painters inside.

How does my crown look?

For some reason, there was a Thai Erawan shrine in the park. It is similar to the Erawan shrine in the middle of Bangkok (click here.)

- After strolling through the park, it was time for one of my favorite touristy activities - shopping!! One of the best places to shop in the heart of Guangzhou is Shangxiajiu Street. It is accessible through the Changshou Road metro station as well, with a few minutes walk afterwards. Shangxiajiu Street, opened in 1995, is a combination of two streets: Shangjiu Street and Xiajiu Street. The whole stretch is mostly a pedestrian street for shopping. However, there are only one or two shops selling souvenir-type things, as most stores sell regular things like clothes, shoes, toys, accessories, or food. Haggling is not usually done in these stores since these stores are not bargain stores.

Hearts happy, wallets empty.

The main square.

It's hard to get lost: it's just one very long street that goes on both sides of the square.

Chinese ladies.

Shangxiajiu Street at night.

- Just when I thought my day was done, three of my former exchange students in the university visited me in the hotel. They took my history class here in the Philippines, but they are actually students of Sun Yat Sen University. Since my hotel was inside the school, it was convenient and easy for them to find my hotel. Despite that, I was still very thankful since they really made time for me, and they were determined to meet me during my short stay in Guangzhou.

- My students took me for a stroll along the Pearl River, and I saw that even at night, the banks of the river were full of life - children playing, oldies singing or doing taichi, lovers kissing, and friends laughing. My students and I caught up during that long walk, not noticing that we had reached the Canton Tower. The Canton Tower is a TV tower opened in 2010 that also acts as an observatory/sightseeing tower, like many tall towers across the world like Korea's N Seoul Tower or Japan's Tokyo Tower. One can reach the tower through the Canton Tower metro station. (As can be noticed by now, the metro stations are not only conveniently named, but also strategically placed.)

Thank you Miley, Elena, and Dido (now known as Danika)!!

The Canton Tower.

- My students and I did not go up the tower anymore, and decided to find a place to eat so we can have a more comfortable venue to talk more. We rode the metro back to the university, and found a small restaurant inside the campus that served grilled food. On top of that, my students also gave me a zongzi, also known as "sticky-rice dumplings" since it was going to be the Dragon Boat Festival the day after. These dumplings are filled with meat, nuts, sometimes with egg too. (I ate the zongzi the next morning since I was too full from my second dinner that night; the zongzi was slightly different from the ones we have here in the Philippines.)

These are just the first two plates of grilled food.

My zongzi.

- Guangzhou impressed me during my first two days in the city. I know there are more things to explore in the city, and I really do hope to go back to Guangzhou in the future, but I was also excited to find out about the treasures of Guangzhou beyond the downtown areas. Next stop: the outskirts of Guangzhou!! (Don't forget to read Part 2 here, Part 3 here, and Part 4 here!!)