Pearl River Cruise

I hope this will not turn out to be cliche as my previous travelogue on Paris ends with the Seine River cruise. This  travelogue on Guangzhou happens to also end with the a river cruise, well Pearl River in this case.

Pearl River is like one of the longest river in China and definitely largest in Guangzhou. Of course as in Paris, or Bangkok, or any other city, a visit to the city will not be complete without a cruise by the river that runs in the city. I took the Pearl River cruise on the last night before I left Guangzhou and as cliche as it sounds it is a good finale to the trip. It provides a different perspective of the city, a picturesque of modern and developing city that is ready to take on the world.

The Canton Tower

Location : Guangzhou, China
Date of travel : May 2012

Shamian Island

If you are tired of the endless not-so-polite Chinese pushing you around from every direction or the just simply too many people, too many traffic, too much noise, too much everything in Guangzhou, a runaway place is available.

Just a short cab ride from Beijing Road, there's a little island called Shamian Island that will make you say, really? I'm in China? Don't believe? Look at some of the sights here.

Lady of Lourdes Chapel

Believe me now right? So this small little island is only about 0.3km square but is full of history background. This is the place that bear the mark of European presence in China. Back in the 18th and 19th century, when the Europeans came to China for trade, they lived and do business here. Then when they began their colonisation, this island proof to be a good and strategic place to protect themselves. There are many history and stories behind this island like Opium War etc but I'm just too lazy to read about it. I just wanna enjoy this slice of European feel in the middle of China.

This statues best explains East meet West

Swan Hotel, the First 5-star hotel in China

A street that has turn into souvenirs place

Actually today, we still see a lot of foreigners congregating in this island. They are mainly Americans staying here for weeks. They are here to adopt the Chinese baby girls that are unwanted due to the one-child-policy in China. The Chinese is the most superstitious and heartless people, abandoning their baby daughters so that they have another chance to bore a son to carry their family name. Sad but in Shamian Island, I see hope for these babies. I see couples carrying their newly adopted babies like the most precious thing they have ever have. And I can't help but finally smile, smile a happy smile for the babies and for the idea of 'there's always hope'.

A western facade embracing oriental beings within
Reminds me of those western couples carrying and caring the Chinese babies in their arms

Location : Guangzhou, China
Next, Pearl River Cruise

Shop yourself crazy in Guangzhou

In the midst of talking so much about the touristic spots, I almost forgot to rave about the shopping opportunities you should not missed in Guangzhou. The fact is Beijing might have the highest number of foreign visitors as tourist but no other city in China can beat Guangzhou for the number of foreign visitors coming in as buyers. Guangzhou is regarded as the trading centre for overseas buyers. Whatever you wanna buy, you can find a wholesale market for it and the price is shockingly unbelievable.

I did not plan this trip as a shopping trip like I did on all my Bangkok trips but I still steal 2-3 hours a day to explore this side of Guangzhou. Do you know close to 90% of the toys in the world are manufactured in China? Being in the heart of the procurement centre, I wouldn't pass that chance to grab some right?

And grab some we did. This bag of toys cost us USD50!

These Dragon Ball Z Kai figurines cost at least USD10 each in KL but I only paid USD1.60!

This I-phone cover with Swarovski crystal cost USD50 retail in  KL but I only paid  USD7!

OK, I think you get the idea. So if you are not keen on learning about the Guangzhou tombs or ancestral home or seeing Panda, go shop yourself crazy!

Ah, one more place that I think you should go to not so much for crazy shopping but just to get the retail shopping atmosphere is Beijing Lu. You will find the well known Asian brands like G2000, Bossini, Giordano or Uniqlo congregating here. It is a street mall just like Queens Street Mall in Melbourne or Hay Street Mall in Perth. It might not be as cheap compared to the wholesale market since these are mostly branded stuff but I bought a cheongsam for only USD7.50 at shop On Sale!

Beijing Lu

Yishion is a famous local brand

In case you're wondering what is this ...

As they were digging the road for expansion, they found remnants of a street from the  Ming Dynasty.
This is like a new commercial centre on top of the ancient commercial centre!

A lottery gaming stand in the middle of the street mall. Chinese are just gamblers lot.

In the West you have McDonald's, in China you have Kungfu!

I went to Guangzhou and bought something from Giordana Guangzhou.

Location : Guangzhou, China
Next, Shamian Island

Chimelong International Circus

Now, now, now, at last something in Guangzhou that managed to impressed me a bit. It is none other than the circus show. Actually I attended the circus fully expecting to watch the Chinese-nearly-humanly-impossible-acrobatic stunts; you know, where they turn their seem-like-boneless-bodies 90 degrees in every or any angle they like. Turns out this is an International Circus. Meaning, there is only a small fraction of Chinese actually performing.

You see, Changlong / Chimelong is like a resort town. You can stay at the Chimelong Hotel and explore all the parks in this area including Chimelong Paradise (which is a theme park with rides), Safari Park (the one I blog about last week), Water Park, Crocodile Park and finally this International Circus. The thing is, this resort town is trying to attract local Chinese visitors and not foreign visitors like us. So, that explains why the circus are perform by foreigners because the Chinese are not interested to watch their own comrades performing or rather they've seen enough.

The performers are mostly foreigners

Perfomance starts at 7.30pm

The circus starts at 7.30pm and ends at about 9pm. However the door to the circus park opens at 6pm. So for us who went to the Safari Park that closes at 5pm or so, it just fits nicely into our schedule.

This is the circus performance arena

Large screen at the back that helps to do the interactive opening act

Some pretty blondes doing stunts on running horse

Artistic performance

Perfect jump and catch

Beautiful poise

Motorcyclists daredevil

Best show of the night
Watch video below for clearer idea

Since I managed to take short clips of the circus show, I have edit and compiled it into a short preview or rather highlights of the show I managed to catch there. I would say it is a very impressive show.

Chimelong International Circus Highlights

Location : Guangzhou, China
Next, Shop yourself crazy in Guangzhou