“All of a person’s world is comprised of the same thousand people. You simply find them again and again, everywhere you go.” – Old Sean
Julian New Year
Since visiting Wuhan, I’ve returned to my life in Beijing. Here, I’ve been teaching classes and filing reports based on franchise assessments. My time back in Beijing has mostly involved catching up on a lot of work. But I’ve found time for a few nights out and some nice dinners.
My favorite night in recent memory was during the Julian Calendar New Year. On December 31st, I gathered my roommates Kat and Cyril to enjoy a nice evening out. We enjoyed a comically large bottle of champagne, drank mulled wine and enjoyed ourselves with some local Chinese folks. One addition was a loud, young Chinese man who had a special fondness for calling everyone nearby “BROTHER!” in half-shouted joy.
Elsewhere in Beijing
Shortly after New Year, I got to visit a strange Alice-in-Wonderland desert shop which served decorative pastries in a rabbit-hole room. The food is placed upon wire trees and suspended plates, making it a very interesting midday snack. My favorite aspect was the cloud-coffee, which has a stick of pink cotton candy hovering over a cup of steaming coffee. The steam from the coffee melts the cotton candy, causing it to drip down, sweetening the brew.
On another occasion, I joined my roommates at a speakeasy which doubled as a jazz club. None of the musicians showed up (apparently they all got sick with food poisoning), so we just ended up listening to Mile Davis on the host’s phone.
A Beijing Home
Back in my cozy apartment, we had a tile fall from the ceiling, which our landlord quickly replaced. Our restful evenings were spent lounging near our living room coffee table, ordering spicy skewers from the shops downstairs. Otherwise, my roommates and I would visit the large nearby mall and endlessly window shop, unwilling to brave crowded subways on weekends.
During short work days, I’ve gone on quiet hikes to Chinese suburbs, climbing strangely desolate mountains where old neighborhoods have been torn down. A man stood outside a closed motorcycle repair shop, using a blowtorch to clean the flesh off a goat skull. The weather here is wintery and slightly polluted. There’s no snow on the ground, but the sky is forever grey above.
My life in Beijing is peaceful. And I’ve not had a peaceful life in some time.
But soon, I’m heading out again. An old friend of mine from Chongqing named Ray has invited me to Guangzhou. It’s one of the four locations my company is considering franchising at, so the invitation seems fortuitous.
A Guangzhou Intro
Guangzhou is one of the world’s upper-echelon tier-one supercities. That’s not an opinion: Guangzhou actually has an Alpha status, like Stockholm or San Francisco. That implies the city is a highly competitive and influential leading financial center with notable regional (and global) influence.
The city itself is one of the most densely-populated areas in the world. The infrastructure blends in with neighboring Shenzhen, Foshan, Hong Kong and Macau. Due to the shape of the shoreline and the immense river delta in the area, visiting Guangzhou is initially a bit tricky. Additionally, the city is outright enormous. I was told Guangzhou has a Large-Port Megacity classification and once served as the maritime endpoint for the Silk Road.
Despite all the city’s bustle, the weather is typically quite tropical and the river scenery and skylines are beautiful.
Arrival
I landed in Guangzhou after clumsily booking a ticket through the WeChat app. Eventually, using a network of metros and buses, I worked my way over to where Ray lived.
And Ray, bless him, knows how to introduce a guy to a city properly.
Ray is an ex-military man turned ESL manager in Guangzhou, currently engaged to a lovely Chinese girl. The pair of them brought me around the city, making sure I ate a truly daunting amount of food.
We started our late lunch meal on a set of peaceful docks overlooking the Pearl River (Zhujiang) while munching on skewers and dumplings. We eventually moved the party slightly inland to drink at a rooftop bar called The Clock. While walking, we had an indirect view of the amazing Canton Tower. Canton Tower, the symbol of Guangzhou, is a network of wavy beams stretching into the sky. It glows the full spectrum of the rainbow each night.
A Flood of Food
The following day, we continued to plow through every type of fine cuisine imaginable. Dim Sum, green-tea ice cream, blow-torched sushi plates, Teepee-shaped meat platters, wooden-barrel beers, soy-stuffed chicken, spicy rice soup and a torrent of coffee-beer floats.
The majority of our meals were spent rotating around the Party Pier, but we did some walking to discover secret food spots.
Once me stomach was appropriately convex, we visited another part of the Zhujiang River, stopping to see the famed European District Shamian Island. Guangzhou has a long history as a Chinese cultural powerhouse, but it was also a brutal trading port for the British during the Opium Wars. Their influence, along with other Western architecture, is most apparent in this area.
We rounded off our evenings by riding the river trams past the skyline and settling in for some video games each evening.
The Astronomical Tower
On my last day in Guangzhou with Ray and his girlfriend Kris, we climbed the Canton Tower.
The Canton Tower is a colorful experience for a lot of reasons. The area around the base is active and filled with street performers, snacks and tourist shops. But the top of the spire is interesting as well. The oddest part is the rail which encircles the tower like a halo. Visitors can hop into bubbles which rotate around the tower like the world’s slowest, most precipitous roller coaster. The bubbles are clear and tend to bend light oddly, making the world seem wavy and unstable. Other parts of the Canton Tower have glass floors, which really makes me think the architect hated people who had acrophobia.
When we finally exited the tower, I spent some time looking at a random wax statue of Mr. Bean. For some reason, he was placed near the exit.
Sadly, that was all the time Ray and Kris had for me. I had one last day before I had to fly back to Beijing, so I made a point of exploring on my own.
Legend of the Goats
The first place I wander off to was Yuexiu Gardens, a quiet little park area. However, the real reason I wanted to visit was for the odd Statue of the Five Goats.
Guangzhou is home to a story known as The Legend of the Five Goats. The legend says that a powerful drought razed Guangzhou in an ancient era, hammering down for year after year. Food grew scarce and people began to starve.
One day, a divine song rang through the air and five clouds (or a five-colored cloud) drifted off the sea. From the cloud, five gods emerged. Each wore a different color and rode atop a different colored goat.
In their hands, they gripped a sheaf of wheat, which they gifted to the citizens of Guangzhou, along with the goats. Then, the gods departed on the same clouds.
When the people planted the wheat, rains fell and food grew plentiful. The goats stayed to watch over the city, eventually morphing into a stone monument atop a hill.
I enjoyed hearing about the story in one of my English translation lessons with my students back in Guangzhou. So I made sure to visit The Statue of Five Goats in Yuexiu Garden.
Solo Guangzhou
Afterwards, I wandered through various street, eventually pausing for a break in the quaint People’s Park area. When I caught by breath, I also visited the Sacred Heart Cathedral located near the river.
I haven’t seen a full-fledged cathedral in Asia yet: They’re not too common in this part of the world. But this building, often called “Stone House” by the locals was astonishing. It’s impressively large, very ornate, hosts two powerful spires and the entire thing is comprised of granite.
I spent a lot of time around the Cathedral, checking out the various nearby plazas. The Cathedral is in the Old Town of Guangzhou, so it’s an endlessly interesting place to be. Within walking distance, there’s Haizhu Square, a nice Riverwalk area and the Guangzhou Central Park.
Sadly, that was all the time I had in Guangzhou. It’s a lovely (if obscenely enormous) city and I enjoyed my time there greatly.
I’m currently at the airport after saying my goodbyes to Ray and Kris. Soon, I’ll be on a flight back to Beijing. My roommate Kat and I are considering another trip soon to Harbin for the famed Ice and Snow Festival.
So until then,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written January 15th 2018
Visitng the Guangzhou supercity and all of it’s glory? Read advice for visiting at Leftfade Trails destination recommendations.
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