中文 Chinese

羊城 GUANGZHOU

GUANGZHOU, China's largest metropolis in the south, also known as KWANGCHOW and by many other nicknames: YANGSING (Cantonese), YANGCHENG (Mandarin) meaning the City of Goats and SUICHENG meaning the City of Rice Ears. For the origins of such auspicious names one has to look back to ancient times when five celestials riding five goats, each holding a mouthful of rice ears descended on Guangzhou. They presented the rice ears to the people here and wished them freedom from famine. The celestials vanished leaving behind the goats, which turned into stone. The Five Goat Statue now stands on Yuexiu Hill as the city's symbol.  The modern Guangzhou has fully shown its feature as a metropolis in South China Import and Export Commodity Fair is held twice a year, and the city's tourism industry is flouring.It has become a center for tourism and trade.

Fact

Being a big city, Guangzhou totals 7475 square kilometers with a population of some 6.56 million. Under its administration are four county-level cities of Huadu, Conghua, Zengcheng and Panyu and eight districts: Yuexiu, Dongshan, Haizhu, Litchi, Tianhe, Baiyun, Fangcun and Whampu. Guangzhou is on the coast of the South China Sea and 182 kilometers away from Hong Kong, it is China's largest and most prosperous city in the south, an important seaport for foreign trade and a famous historical and cultural city over 2,000 years old. It hosts annual spring and autumn exports trade fairs. It has convenient land, water and air transport. International air routes link it to Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, Sidney and Melbourne. Daily flights, trains, ships and hovercraft go between the city and Hong Kong.

Culture and History

Guangzhou was known as Panyu in ancient times. Since the third century it had been one of the starting points of the Silk Road of the Sea. As a result of those flourishing days, this region has numerous valuable and historical relics and sites. Because of its favourable climate flowers bloom all year round. Flower shows are held in all four seasons especially on Chinese New Year's Eve. Hence the city's other name, Flower City.In 1911, Dr .Sun Yat-sen led the revolutionary;in 1927 it was the battlefield of the Guangzhou Uprising. Martyrs emerged in great numbers and many revolutionary sites have been left for people to visit and ponder on the past.

Attractions

Guangzhou is located within the Tropic of Cancer and has no real winter. It grows three crops of rice a year and plenty of fruits. Flowers are in blossom all the year round, so Guangzhou is called "the City of Flowers." Visitors enjoy the beautiful sub-tropical scenery. Its spots of interest include Yuexiu Park, Guangxiao Temple, the Octagonal Flower pagoda in the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, the Dagoba at Huaishen Temple, and the Mount BaiYun Scenic Area in the city, and Zhaoqing Seven-Star Rock, Foshan Ancestral Temple and Conghua Hot Spring outside the city.

Guagnxiao Temple   One of the four famous temples in Guangdong Province, it has a history of 1,500 years. The temple enjoys a very important position in the Buddhist history in China. Many famous monks from home and abroad have come to preach here since the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420). In the temple, there are the Mahavira Hall, Sleeping Buddha statue, bodhi trees and East and West Iron Pagodas.

The Temple of The Six Banyan Trees and Flower Pagoda Situated on the Liurong Road, it is a renowned Buddhist cultural site. Built in 537, the temple enshrines three large Buddhist statues, the biggest copper Buddhist statues existing in Guangdong Province. The Flower Pagoda has nine storeys viewing from the outside, 17 storeys viewing from inside. The thousand-Buddha copper pillar cast in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) is kept on the top storey of the pagoda.

Conghua Hot Springs Scenic Region   It was first built in Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is the famous Second Radou Spring of the world. The water, colorless and odorless, contains numerous elements good for health. The springs are surrounded by undulating mountains. It is full of idyllic flavor with the green mountains and blue water.