Guangzhou Culture & Local Lifestyle

Top Attractions in Cantonese Life

1. Drinking Morning Tea to Start a New Day

"Yum Cha", literally "drinking tea", is ancient tradition in Guangzhou. As a very typical customs of Cantonese, drinking morning tea equals breakfast. But it is far from the bread and milk as you do at other cities in China. The tea drinking can be traced back a hundred years to the Qing Dynasty. In those days, the Cantonese used to go to a nearby teahouse, where they needed to pay only two cents for a pot of tea and some simple snacks.

At present, morning tea provides Guangdong's diverse population, rich and poor, young and old, and men and women with a common cultural identity. Tea houses mostly hide in high buildings, where are always noisy with voices and steam rises. On the tea table is usually a cup of Pu'er Tea, snacks, spare-ribs, chicken feet and shrimp dumplings.

We recommend the best tea house: Guangzhou Restaurant, Banxi Restaurant and Lianxiang Building which are all time-honored Brands.

2. Watching Cantonese Opera While Drinking Tea

It is said that Watching Cantonese opera while drinking tea is one of the most popular entertainment in the past in Guangzhou. With passage of time, there is few teahouse equipped with platforms for opera performance nowadays. However, you can also enjoy the Cantonese opera in the famous restaurant, such as Datong Restaurant on Yanjiang District and Aiqun Building. Usually, operas are performed during the afternoon tea and audience is mostly senior Cantonese.

3. Pearl River Night Cruise

The Pearl River, also named Zhujiang, is the third largest river in China after the Yangtze River and Yellow River. It gets the name from the fact that the thousand-meter long Pearl River went through Guangzhou city, a huge rock island in the centre of the river was scoured again and again and became smooth and bright like a pearl.

Touring Pearl River on ferryboat at night is more attractive than daytime cruise on the river. It not also attract many visitors coming to Guangzhou, but is the famous things to do among Cantonese. The scene beside the Pearl River is enchanting and historical interests, scenic sites and characteristic structures. The magnificent night views attract visitors and take them to a magical world.

The famous night cruise route is starting from the White Goose Pool and ends at the Guangzhou Bridge in the east and Baihedong in the south. After debarking, having a cup of tea of coffee in the Euro-style Bar Street is also fascinating. Night cruise is most worthwhile in your tour in Guangzhou.

4. Traveling the Old Xiguan on Foot

Old Xiguan is the place that has recorded Guangzhou's history and culture, and Cantonese past lifestyle. When you go through the downtown and walk on the stone path full of old-style building and stores, you seem to enter into a different world. Guangzhou's past comes into your sights. Meanwhile, it is also worthwhile visiting Baohua Road, Fengyuan Road, Duobao Road, Wenchang Road and Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street.

5. Eating Street-side Food at Night

In Guangzhou, most of the restaurants provide 24-hour service besides the street side stalls. But night snack usually begins at 9 pm and till to 3 or 4 o'clock. It is operated by the Cantonese locals. The night food stalls is full of eaters with all sorts of foods such as porridge, barbecue, seafood, stir-fried dishes, noodles, desserts as well as drinks like beer, beverage or wine. Eating the street-side food is safe and you can really spend less money to taste the Cantonese cuisine.

6. Touring Shamian Island at Night

Shamian Island literally means "sandy surface", but is surrounded by water. In the past, it was one of the earliest Concessions in China, where nearly 20 foreign countries have ever established their consulates. It played a significant role in Guangzhou's foreign trade. There are many churches and Euro-style architectures there. What attracts visitors most is the carriage bar set up in an old railway head of Germany. It is a real railway station in it with trains, wheels, signal lamps and other elements relevant to a train. Eating in a carriage is just like you were on a train trip.