Guangzhou: A culinary capital
where East meets West
Guangzhou is famous for its morning tea culture in China. Cantonese people enjoy not only tea, but also the various kinds of morning snacks that go along with it, ranging from Chinese steamed buns, such as barbecued pork buns and shrimp dumplings, to Western-style localised baked snacks, such as durian puff pastry.
Among the chain brands of Guangzhou morning tea, two are very famous, namely Tao Tao Ju and Dot Du De, which also have branches in other cities. If you want to have morning tea and don’t have a favourite shop nearby, you may want to try them. These two have consistent quality and you can’t go wrong.
1. The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall
The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, also known as ‘Chen’s Academy’ is located on Zhongshan 7th Road in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. Chen Clan Ancestral Hall was built in 1888 and completed in 1893, covering an area of 15,000 square metres, with a floor area of 8,000 square metres. It is one of the largest surviving traditional buildings in Guangfu, and also one of the largest, best-preserved and most exquisitely decorated ancestral halls in China, and has been hailed as the ‘Pearl of Lingnan Architecture and Art’ . It is also one of the largest and most beautifully preserved ancestral halls in China, and is known as the ‘Pearl of Lingnan Architecture’.
The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall is a cultural tourist attraction in Guangzhou and the seat of the Guangdong Folk Crafts Museum.
The architectural structure of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall can be divided into three axes and three entries, with nine halls and six courtyards.
The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall is a collection of Lingnan architectural crafts and decorations, and almost all of the halls, courtyards, corridors, halls, doors, windows, railings, walls, roof ridges and beams display the Lingnan architectural ‘three carvings, two sculptures, one casting and one painting’, i.e. the wood carving, brick carving, stone carving, ceramic sculpture, grey sculpture, bronze and iron casting and colourful mural paintings and other architectural decorations of the superb technology.
🎫How to but tickets:
WeChat search for Chen Clan Ancestral Hall to enter the app to buy tickets, or scan the official WeChat QR code on site at the entrance to buy tickets
The recommended restaurant：Liangwei Baozai Rice
Guangdong is famous for its Baozai rice, and I love the sweet soy sauce with rice，especially the rice which is toasted a bit at the bottom of the pot.
There’s a great Baozai rice near Chan Clan Ancestral Hall, where you can choose how well the rice is charred at the bottom of the pan and how well cooked the eggs are.
⏰Opening hours：11：00-14:00 17:30-20:00
Featured Dish：
(1) Sibao Baozai Rice
Containing spare ribs, chicken wings, preserved sausage and chicken.You will like it, especially those who like chicken wings should not be missed, the chicken wings are charred but not mushy, and the rice is grainy, dry and delicious.
(2) Beef with preserved sausage
Cantonese style preserved sausage is sweet, I like it very much, in my eyes Cantonese style preserved sausage with rice is the most representative of Baozai Rice.
2. Shamian Island
After 1859, there were consulates and banks of Britain, France, the United States, Germany, Japan, Italy, Holland, Portugal and other countries, so the architectural style is quite Western. In addition, There are many beautiful plants on Shamian Island, so it’s great for a photo tour on a sunny day.
🚇Location：Line 1 Huangsha Station Exit E
Nearby Restaurant：
Captain Here
It’s located along the river, and it’s really chic.
Besides coffee, it also has some exquisite light meals.
Featured Dish：
（1）Apple Banana Pie
Crispy and crumbly, the bananas have a stronger cinnamon flavour than the apples, so dip them in vanilla ice-cream and eat the whole thing.
（2）Air-dried ham and fig pizza
The combination of ham and figs is unbeatable. The bottom of the pizza was not very crispy, but more chewy.
Nearby Restaurant：Wu Choi Kee
Address：No.20 Hualongli, Datong Road, Liwan District
A microcosm of old Guangzhou, located in a small alleyway, with a long queue, you need to wait for a table.
Featured Dish：
(1) Deep Fried Wonton
Crispy skin, not oily at all, good dipping sauce.
(2) Pork Knuckle Noodles
The pig’s trotters are very tasty.
(3) Fried Noodles with Sauce
The sauce is hot and sour, the meat is half fat and half lean, and each bowl of noodles comes with a bowl of soup.
3. Sacred Heart Cathedral
The church is one of the cathedrals of the Catholic Archdiocese of Guangzhou. The church was built in 1863 and completed in 1888, which took 25 years. Since all the walls and columns of the church are made of granite stone, it is also called the Stone Room or Stone Room Sacred Heart of Jesus Church and Stone Room Catholic Church.
The façade of the cathedral was modelled on the Basilica of St. Clotilde in Paris and its nave and apse were inspired by the Toul Cathedral. The cathedral features a nave of 28.2 metres high, flanked by two lower aisles and 14 small side-chapels. With a floor area of 2,924 square metres, it is the largest Roman Catholic church in the Guangzhou archdiocese and the largest cathedral in the Gothic style in China and Southeast Asia. The cathedral is 32.85 metres wide, 77.17 metres long, and the twin towers rise 52.76 metres high. The west tower is a clock tower while the east tower serves as a bell tower, inside which there used to be five large bells shipped in from France in the 19th century, although nowadays only four remain as one was given to a local church in Guangxi province in the early 1980s.
Food Street：Yide(Tat Tak) Road
After visiting the church, if you wanna find some delicacies, then go foraging for food on the nearby Yide Road. There are many delicious little shops on Yide Road with barbecued pork, egg tarts and sugar water. Some of the most recommended ones are Gui Hua Dessert, Haixianjie Caiguan and Jiuyeji.
Da Fo Si
Located on Beijing Road in Guangzhou City, Da Fo Si (Big Buddha Temple) is a Buddhist temple that is spectacularly lit up at night. In addition, Beijing Road, where it is located, is also a very worthwhile shopping street in Guangzhou. Travellers can not only shop here, but also view the old architectures.
