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In November 2020, colleagues went to Guangzhou to attend the annual meeting of tourism journals. After the meeting, they visited Canton Tower, Pearl River, Shamian and other places. Looking at the photos now, I have some thoughts and wrote an article to commemorate them.
Guangzhou Tower
After settling in at the hotel and having a hearty meal of Cantonese food, we went to Canton Tower. Canton Tower is the tallest tower in the country, also known as the "little waist", and is a standard building in Guangzhou. But it seems that's all. The tall tower sometimes flashes red light, sometimes flashes blue light, and sometimes is colorful. It's not too interesting. However, the people under the tower are very interesting. They call friends, pose, find angles, find positions, clear away people in the way, and are busy doing one thing - taking pictures. I really dislike this kind of behavior. When I arrive at a scenic spot, I am busy taking pictures and checking in to send to my friends. I think it is too vulgar. At this time, I will hide in a far away place, for fear that the roaring crowd will disturb my enjoyment. When you are young, it is good to choose an angle and take a satisfactory photo. After all, my classmates had something in common, so I was watching quietly from the side. At this time, I received a WeChat message from my "old lady", the instructor, asking if we were having fun. How was your meal? Let's take a group photo and so on. So we walked into the crowd, posed, and the photos came out, smiling happily.
Viewing the moon and admiring flowers is about elegance, but human nature is vulgar, and what they like most is lively scenes and atmospheres.
Night cruise on the Pearl River
Near the Canton Tower, tickets for a night cruise on the Pearl River are sold, which are quite expensive. We decided to walk. As a true northerner, I have never seen Jiang in my life. Although I have been in Hangzhou for three or four months, I have yet to appreciate the beauty of Qiantang River. After staying in Qingdao for four years, I am used to seeing the sea. The sea is often very similar and becomes monotonous after seeing it for a long time. There are many expectations for the Pearl River. After walking for a short time, we arrived at the riverside, and the scenery in front of us was a bit disappointing. There is a faint fishy smell in the air, and you can hear the sound of the river water lapping against the wall. There is a ferry floating on the river. It is too quiet. It seems that there are not too many people traveling at night tonight. Looking up, the high-rise buildings on the other side are hidden in the colorful neon lights. Coupled with the fog on the river, it is not very clear. We continued walking along the river bank. Vendors were hawking. A few children walked along the bank. They came to us and shouted something with a smile, and then walked forward leisurely. Under the big banyan tree, there were a few old men playing chess with red necks. Yes, we walked slowly with the wind blowing, chatting about our hometown, interesting things, and plans for the future. It felt like the quiet time had passed.
Isn't that enough? Well, that's enough.
walk around
After a meeting one day, we decided to go to the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, but unfortunately, we lost our way while walking. Anyway, we decided to walk around. Guangzhou is indeed a paradise for women, full of shops and shopping malls. Mr. Zhou Guoping wrote very vividly about women shopping. He said that women shopping in stores are like Eve entering the Garden of Eden. Their eyes are bright, their breathing is smooth, their gait is light, and they never seem to feel tired. Indeed, senior sister and I are fine, but senior brother is suffering. After all, I still wanted to go to the cathedral, so I redirected my navigation and arrived at a residential area. There were stalls selling fresh meat, vegetables and fruits everywhere along the way. The residents were carrying full net bags, bustling around, and the life was very lively. . Some tropical fruits here are very cheap. Six large mangoes cost only ten yuan, and you don’t even need to put them on the scale.
Finally we arrived at the cathedral, it was closed, and we headed back home. Walking around, Guangzhou is lovely.
sand noodles
On the last day in Guangzhou, before the annual meeting was over, we sneaked out and went to Shamian. Although the scenery I have seen so far in Guangzhou has its own characteristics, it did not touch my heart until I came to Shamian. Walking on the streets of Shamian and looking at the European-style buildings, you feel that nearly a hundred years of Chinese history are slowly passing by before your eyes. Forget it, the past is the past. Today, in Shamian, you can see leisurely adults and aunties, tourists drinking coffee on the street, couples taking wedding photos, and children laughing and joking. After all, it is no longer the British and French concession where "Chinese people and dogs are not allowed to enter."
After leaving Shamian, I wanted to go to Chimelong Paradise, Baiyun Mountain and other places, but I ran out of time, so I took a taxi and went straight to the airport. I was still in a happy mood.
Guangzhou Food
When we came to Guangzhou, a senior doctor who had studied in Guangzhou repeatedly told us, "You must go to Wulin God of Cooking to eat." When we got there, it was really good. We tasted Cantonese tea for the first time. The dishes are generally on the sweet side and are very delicately prepared. We also ordered a pot of tea and got three bags of Tieguanyin, Pu'er and Xiaoqinggan tea. It was my first time to make tea, and I didn’t know how to use the tea set, so I had to peek at the table next door and brew a pot of small green mandarin oranges. I thought it was sour and sweet, but it was actually bitter as hell. I stopped drinking after one sip. The key is I forgot to take away the two bags of Tieguanyin and Pu'er when I checked out, so I lost money. After that, we had Guangzhou morning tea, radish and beef offal, barbecued pork, etc., and really experienced the Lingnan culture. However, we were completely fed up with the food. The dishes were all too sweet, so we made an appointment to eat the authentic Chaoshan beef hotpot together, but there were too many people, so we went to Xiaolongkan instead. After eating hot pot with a senior sister from Chongqing, I realized how deep my "misunderstanding" was about eating spicy food.
Before I left, I went to Taotaoju to buy some specialties. Chicken pancakes were recommended on the Internet. I can vouch for them. They are really not delicious.