Guangzhou: Where the world comes to shop

GUANGZHOU—Flying into this city’s airport from Shanghai, we were amazed by the technological advancements: how finding your flight gate and boarding time is as easy as showing your face in front of a screen that will spell everything out for you. And this wasn’t even the newly opened Terminal 3, former Senator Nikki Coseteng reminded our group, on the last leg of “The 3rd China Experience,” her project made possible with the support of Ambassador Carlos Chan, Larry Villareal and the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. The $55 billion investment that has increased the airport’s capacity to 120 million passengers and 3.8 million tons of cargo has a smart virtual model running everything, predicting crowds and fixing problems before they happen—making it one the world’s leading aviation hubs and an integral part of the “Air Silk Road.”

This complements Guangzhou’s position as a major terminus of the Maritime Silk Road that runs through this city which has been a vital trading hub, facilitating the exchange of goods, ideas and culture for centuries. Known historically as Canton, it is also a major manufacturing center, hosting the biannual Canton Fair, one of the largest trade fairs where the world comes to order the latest products that consumers will be buying the following season. 

Naturally, the city is a shopping haven with malls and wholesale markets that kept our group busy looking for the most current fashion, cosmetics, digital gadgets, home décor and food products.

Guangzhou isn’t just glitzy malls and finance centers, however, having a history of over 2,200 years, with ancient relics of ceramics, bronzes, jade, calligraphy and paintings on view at the Guangzhou Museum; historic neighborhoods like the Yongqingfang district and Shamian Island, a former European Concession area with colonial architecture; a Cantonese Opera tradition at the Cantonese Opera Art Museum; and performing arts presented at the Guangzhou Opera House.

Iconic Buildings

The Canton Tower, with its unique design of a latticed slim waist, has become a symbol of Guangzhou’s modern development, rising to 600 meters as the tallest in China and the third tallest tower in the world, offering multiple observation levels and entertainment facilities. It’s an impressive silhouette which we viewed from the riverfront where you can also see the picturesque Haixin Bridge, the first pedestrian landscape bridge across the Pearl River in the central business district. An impressive silhouette against the sky during the day, it transforms into a spectacular light show at night with ever-changing patterns and colors.

Guangzhou Opera house with its organic lines by Zaha Hadid and the jade disc-inspired Guangzhou Circle by Joseph di Pasquale add a cosmopolitan vibe to the city.

Historic Yongqingfang & Bruce Lee

Our first stop in Yongqingfang, the historic district that was once a bustling commercial center during the Qing dynasty, was the ancestral home of Bruce Lee, the first global Chinese film star and cultural icon who broke racial barriers when he popularized martial arts in the West as an actor and filmmaker in the 1970s. Done in the three-bay, multi-courtyard Xiguan architectural style with grey brick facades, ornate wood carvings and stained glass windows, the house had exhibits that immersed us in his family history and career, as well as his martial arts techniques and teachings.

Walking towards Enning Road, we saw charming alleyways and canals with interesting craft shops that lead to the main avenue’s qilou arcaded buildings featuring more of the Xiguan style, preserved but repurposed for retail establishments and restaurants. Just as eye-catching as the walkways of columns, ornate facades, detailed carvings and colored windows were the merchandise from both traditional and modern shops.