Holiday in Guangzhou (Canton)

About Guangzhou (Canton)

Guangzhou — better known in the West by its old name Canton — is the city from which Cantonese cuisine originates, and that alone makes it a pilgrimage city for every gourmet. But China's third-largest metropolis with 16 million inhabitants at the Pearl River Delta is much more than a culinary destination: It is one of the oldest trading cities in the world, a hub of the Silk Road, and a city that blends tradition and hyper-modernity as seamlessly as no other in China. The riverside promenade along the Pearl River is Guangzhou's calling card: The Canton Tower, at 604 meters high, is one of the most distinctive buildings in Asia, twisting like a twisted hourglass into the sky and illuminating at night in changing colors. From the observation deck or the glass skywalk, the view extends over the entire skyline of Zhujiang New Town, the new financial center, which gathers architectural world-class structures like the Guangzhou Opera House by Zaha Hadid and the Guangdong Museum. However, authentic Guangzhou can be found in the old neighborhoods: The Qilou arcade houses on Beijing Road and Shangxiajiu pedestrian street date back to the colonial era and house tea houses that open at 5 a.m. for Yum Cha, the ritual morning tea with Dim Sum. Shamian Island, once a British-French concession, is an oasis of colonial architecture with banyan trees, coffee houses, and a tranquility that feels miraculous in this bustling city. And Yüxiu Park houses the Five Rams Statue, the city's landmark, and the Zhenhai Tower Museum with 2,000 years of city history. What truly makes Guangzhou unique is its food culture: Nowhere else in the world is Cantonese food served more authentically and diversely. From the Dim Sum palaces, where carts with steaming bamboo baskets are pushed through the rows, to the night markets on Enning Road, where congee with century eggs and offal soups are served — Guangzhou is a place where eating is not just nourishment but a philosophy of life.