2019-06-08 Guangzhou

I have an one day trip to Guangzhou during Duanwu holidays. This is my first time in Guangzhou. There is only half an hour train ride between Shenzhen and Guangzhou, yet the difference between two cities is obvious. Only in Guangzhou I can see two elder people pushing wheel chairs sitted by two more elder people, old buildings that used to be the signatures of the city, and the locals enjoying their lives not bordered by the crowd of tourists.

Sacred Heart Cathedral

I get off at Haizhu Square, and I can feel a different vibe than Shenzhen immediately. My first destination is the “Stone House”. It reminds me of the Xiaonan Church of Shenyang. It is still early in the day so there is few tourists.

The following is quoted from wikipedia

The Sacred Heart Cathedral, properly the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and also known as the Stone House by locals, is a Gothic Revival Roman Catholic cathedral in Guangzhou, China. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Guangzhou. It is one of the few cathedrals in the world to be entirely built of granite. Construction of the foundation began on June 28, 1861, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, and concluded in 1863. The cathedral was finished in 1888 after 25 years of construction. The cathedral was mostly funded by Napoleon III.

Normally tourists don’t circle to the back of the church. Plants grow out of heads of the gargoyles, which looks like hairs.

Shamian

Leaving the Stone House, my second destination is Shamian island. Although my friend in Guangzhou told me not to go to Shangxiajiu, it is right on the side of my way, so I go to check it out. Actually if she has not mentioned it, I didn’t know the place at all. She is right, there is nothing to see here. It is the kind of commericial pedestrian street that exists in all cities.

There are many old residence buildings in the neighborhood along the way. All the alleys here, even the ones too narrow to allow two people passing, have Paifangs on both ends. They have a brief introduction of their history, a few of which mention what Mr. Sun Yat-sen used to do here.

Shamian is a manmade sandbank island. It was the concessions given to France and the UK during the opium wars. The well preserved western buildings are used as resturants, clubs, or shops. Only a couple churches and the Consulate of Poland still operate on the original sites. From wikipedia:

Shamian Island was an important port for Guangzhou’s foreign trade from the Song to the Qing Dynasty. From the 18th to the mid 19th century, the foreigners lived and did business in a row of houses known as the Thirteen Factories, on the banks of the Pearl River to the east the present Shamian, which was then an anchorage for thousands of boat people. In 1859, Great Britain and France dug an artificial river (now called Shajichong) to the north, making it an island. Since then, Shamian became a strategic point for city defense during the First and Second Opium Wars. The British captured the Shamian Fort in the Canton River operations in March 1841 during the First Opium War. In the 1847 expedition to Canton, they seized the Shamian batteries along with the rest of the forts guarding the city. In the first armed conflict of the Second Opium War, the British recaptured the forts in 1856.

I just enter the island and see a giant butterfly resting on the wall. It suddenly flies away as I’m taking photos, leaving the reflections of curious passengers.

These western buildings not only remind us of the colonial history, but also serve as an ideal background of wedding photos.

Shamian is a small island, with only three streets. It is quiet near the edge area of the island, while the central area is crowded, especially around churches. I like the interesting sculptures spreaded around the island.

Different from the Bund of Shanghai, the concessions of Guangzhou doesn’t become the signature of the modernization of the city, but a recreational park of common citizens. The local residents seem not bothered by the crowd of tourists at all. There are normal residence buildings and even two schools on the island. Near the waterfront there are people singing, dancing and practicing Wushu. In the island runners are doing laps around the lawns. Two are playing badminton while tourists walking around.

Xiguan

Next destination is Xiguan. By “Dawu (Big House)”, I thought it was a single big mansion, but it actually means some style of houses and the area where they locate.

I happen to catch a show at the Lychee Bay Theater, an outdoor stage. Cantonese is hard enough for me to understand, and the classical opera in Cantonese is just meaningless songs for me. But there are quite a few people come to watch, who arrive early and wait in front of the stage. As the show begins, some elders will come to the stage and put some money inside a box. I learn a word which I feel vividly describes those locals, “Gu Han Lao Guang” (Old people of Guangzhou who is alone and cold).

In old Guangzhou, the area “Dongshan” is for powerful families; the area “Xiguan” is for rich merchant families. And there is an old saying “Mister Dongshan, Miss Xiguan”.

A heavy rain suddenly falls. A cat jumps onto the wall and find a large leave to hide from the rain. And just as the way it started, the rain suddenly stops. It takes less than half an hour to complete the circle from heavy rain back to blazing sun. The cat seems forget where it was going to, so it just takes a nap here anyway.

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

I have completed my planned destinations for the day, but it’s still early for the train. My friend in Guangzhou recommends Chen Clan Ancestral Hall to me. I suspect there is a different motivation when they build a family ancestral hall than other temples of religions, the roof statues, the carved wooden screen, and other decorations are showing off some crazy virtuosity. The details of the artcrafts are really astonishing.

Huaisheng Mosque

I still have some time after visiting Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, so I search on the map for any place nearby to visit. I find the Huaisheng_Mosque There is no tourists inside except two women from the Middle East and me. This is the first time I meet Cantonese speaking muslims. But thinking about it, Guangzhou should be the first city in China that had Islam influence.

From wikipedia:

The Huaisheng Mosque, also known as the Lighthouse Mosque and the Great Mosque of Canton, is the main mosque of Guangzhou. Rebuilt many times over its history, it is traditionally thought to have been originally built over 1,300 years ago, which would make it one of the oldest mosques in the world.

In China, the most unusual feature of the mosque is its pointed 36-meter (118 ft) minaret, the Guangta or Kwangtah. Although this meant the “Plain Pagoda” in reference to its unadorned surface, it is also sometimes taken to mean “lighthouse” and gave the mosque its alternate name.

Old Chinese Muslim manuscripts say the mosque was built in AD 627 by Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas who supposedly came on his first Muslim mission to China in the 620s. Although modern secular scholars do not find any historical evidence that Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas actually visited China It is very likely that the mosque existed during the early years of the Song Dynasty. The mosque was rebuilt in 1350 then again in 1695 after being destroyed in a fire. The Huaisheng Light Tower or minaret was built at an earlier period. As late as the 19th century, the minaret tower was one of the major landmarks of Guangzhou.

The Journey

Starting from Haizhu Square and returning to Haizhu Square, the recorded walking route is 23 km. Besides the points of interest above, the view along the journey is also worth mentioning.

Buildings

Old houses are common in Guangzhou, most of which still have residents living inside. The Guangzhou Juvenile Library, especially its windows, reminds me of the buildings of schools and governments in the 90s. The residences in alleys have various architectural styles, I wonder which part is original and which part is western influence.

Plants

Walking around the city, it is easy to make the claim that Guangzhou people love plants. Their front gates or balconies are decorated by various plants, even though some houses look really old and worn. Some plants grow crazy by themselves without any attendance.

People

Guangzhou locals live a leisurely lifestyle, and they seems not bothered by the tourists coming and going. The working people also have a comfortable tempo, unlike those in Shenzhen who seems to either chase something or be chased by something.