Guangzhou
The Guangdong customs building (c 1916) is one of the most impressive concession-era structures remaining along the waterfront. Designed by a British architect in neoclassical style, it is crowned with a bell tower that chimes at 8am and 8pm.
The interiors are well preserved, and open to the public every Wednesday. Passport required.
0.37 MILES
Don't depart Guangzhou without an amble through the concession-era gem that is Shamian Island. The central east–west drag is a time-warp boulevard of…
1.33 MILES
An all-in-one ancestral shrine, Confucian school and ‘chamber of commerce’ for the Chen clan, this compound was built in 1894 by the residents of 72…
10.34 MILES
The 11th-century Zumiao temple is believed to be the site where Cantonese opera flourished. The art is still performed today during festivals to entertain…
Qingping Chinese Medicine Market
0.61 MILES
Just north of the channel that divides Shamian Island from the city, this tumbledown market is a sensory delight, with open-fronted vendors arranged…
4.56 MILES
Designed by Zaha Hadid, southern China's premier performance venue has transformed the area with its typically commanding, otherworldly aspect. Futuristic…
Nanfeng Ancient Kiln Artists' Village
13.14 MILES
This lovely ceramics town of stone-paved paths in Shiwan (石湾, Shíwān) is worth snooping around for its artisans' ceramics workshops and the two ancient …
10.83 MILES
One of Guangdong's four famous classical gardens, this graceful property on the outskirts of the city was built in 1871 by an official of the Qing court…
2.2 MILES
You'll feel like Indiana Jones/Lara Croft (select as preferred) as you descend the two-millennia-old steps into an actual Han dynasty tomb. This was the…
0.15 MILES
The ‘Red Mansion’ (c 1907), once Shamian’s grandest abode, fuses features of British colonial architecture such as colonnades and louvre windows with the…
2. Church of Our Lady of Lourdes
0.21 MILES
Dating from 1890, this Roman Catholic church marks the edge of the French concession (everything due west of here on Shamian Island was administered by…
0.37 MILES
Don't depart Guangzhou without an amble through the concession-era gem that is Shamian Island. The central east–west drag is a time-warp boulevard of…
4. Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street
0.53 MILES
Crowds march up and down this kilometre-long shopping thoroughfare that begins towards the eastern end of Dishifu Lu. The early-20th-century buildings…
5. Qingping Chinese Medicine Market
0.61 MILES
Just north of the channel that divides Shamian Island from the city, this tumbledown market is a sensory delight, with open-fronted vendors arranged…
6. Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
0.76 MILES
The French were granted permission to build this Roman Catholic cathedral after the second Opium War, between 1863 and 1888. Constructed entirely of…
0.91 MILES
Formerly a guild hall for Cantonese opera practitioners, Bahe Academy opened in 1889 to provide lodging and other services to opera troupes. It now serves…
1.06 MILES
Luányú Táng is a 200-year-old union for actors playing martial-arts and acrobatic roles in Cantonese opera. The union still gives theatrical martial-arts…