Foreigner Guidance Of Guangzhou 1. About Guangzhou (From top: Tianhe CBD, Statue of Five Goats, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport ,Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, Canton Fair Pazhou Expo Complex , and Pearl River Bridge. ) Guangzhou, in English and other European languages also known as Canton (which was first romanized from the Cantonese pronunciation of Guangdong by the Portuguese) and also known as Kwangchow, is a sub-provincial city and the capital of Guangdong Province in the southern part of the People's Republic of China. It is a port on the Pearl River, navigable to the South China Sea, and is located about 120 km (75 miles) northwest of Hong Kong. As of the 2000 census, the city has a population of 6 million,[citation needed] and an urban area population of roughly 11.85 million, making it the most populous city in the province and the third most populous metropolitan area in China. The provincial government's official estimate of the metropolitan area's population at the end of 2006 was 9,754,600. Guangzhou's urban land area is the third largest in China, behind only Beijing and Shanghai. Guangzhou (Guangdong) City Information Major Economic Indicators (2007) Land Area 7,435 km2 Population 10.0 million GDP RMB 705.1 billion (US$93.7 billion) GDP Composition Primary Industry (Agriculture) 2.3% Secondary Industry 39.9% 1 (Industry & Construction) Tertiary Industry(Service) 57.8% GDP Per Capita RMB70,186 (US$9,331) Unemployment Rate 2.2% Fixed Asset Investment RMB 186.3 billion, 9.8% up Utilized FDI US$3.3 billion, 12.4% up Total Import & Export US$73.5 billion, 15.2% up Export US$37.9 billion, 17.0% up Import US$35.6 billion, 13.4% up Sales of Consumer Goods RMB 259.5 billion, 18.9% up Source: Guangzhou Economic and Social Development Report 2007 Honors National Hygienic City (2008) -Ministry of Health of P.R. China International Garden City (2001) -International Gardens Association Historic and Cultural City (1986) - State Council of China 2. Geography and climate Guangzhou is located at 112°57'E to 114°3'E and 22°26'N to 23°56'N. The city is part of the Pearl River Delta. Guangzhou has a humid subtropical climate influenced by the Asian monsoon. Summers are wet with high temperatures, high humidity and a high heat index. Winters are mild, dry and sunny. Weather data for Guangzhou Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Average high 18.3 18.5 21.6 25.7 29.3 31.5 32.8 32.7 31.5 28.8 24.5 20.6 26.3 °C (°F) (65) (65) (71) (78) (85) (89) (91) (91) (89) (84) (76) (69) (79) Average low 10.3 11.7 15.2 19.5 22.7 24.8 25.5 25.4 24.0 20.8 15.9 11.5 18.9 °C (°F) (51) (53) (59) (67) (73) (77) (78) (78) (75) (69) (61) (53) (66) Precipitation 40.9 69.4 84.7 201.2 283.7 276.2 232.5 227.0 166.2 87.3 35.4 31.6 1,736.1 mm (inches) (1.61) (2.73) (3.33) (7.92) (11.17) (10.87) (9.15) (8.94) (6.54) (3.44) (1.39) (1.24) (68.35) Sunshine 118.5 71.6 62.4 65.1 104.0 140.2 202.0 173.5 170.2 181.8 172.7 166.0 1,628.0 hours % Humidity 72 77 82 84 84 84 82 82 78 71 66 66 77 2 Avg. precipitation 8 11 15 16 18 19 16 16 13 7 6 5 150 days Source: 中国气象局 国家气象信息中心 March 2009 Source #2: World Meteorological Organisation (UN) January 2010 3. Transportation and infrastructure With the first line of Guangzhou Metro opened in 1997, Guangzhou is the fourth city in Mainland China to have an underground railway system, behind Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. Currently the underground network is made up of four lines, covering a total length of 116 km, while another four lines are under construction and due to be completed in 2010 before the Asian Games. A long term plan is to make the city's underground system expand over 500 km by 2020 with 15 lines in operation. The existing four lines of Guangzhou Metro network: Line 1 (Fangcun Line): From Guangzhou East Railway Station to Xilang Station Line 2 (Jiahe Line): From Sanyuanli Station to Wanshengwei Station Line 3 (Shiqiao Line): From Guangzhou East Railway Station and Tianhe Coach Terminal Station to Panyu Square Station Line 4 (Guangzhou University Town Line): From Wanshengwei Station to Jinzhou Station Line 5 (Huanshi Line):From Jiaokou Station to Wenchong Station Guangzhou's main airport is the Baiyun International Airport in Huadu District opened on August 5, 2004. It replaced the old Baiyun International Airport, which was very close to the city centre and failed to meet the fast-growing air traffic demand. Guangzhou is well connected to Hong Kong by train, coach and ferry. The Guangdong Through Train departs from the Guangzhou East railway station (pinyin: Guǎngzhōu Dōngzhàn) and arrive at the Hung Hom KCR station in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The route is approximately 182 km in length and the ride takes less than two hours. Frequent coach services are also provided with coaches departing every day from different locations (mostly major hotels) around the city. There are daily ferry services including an overnight ferry service, which takes eight hours, as well as high-speed catamaran service which takes three hours, to the China Ferry Terminal or Macau Ferry Pier in Hong Kong. The Nansha Pier, located in the distant Nansha District outside the city centre, is also operating six daily 75-minute catamaran services to Hong Kong. From January 1, 2007, the municipal government has banned motorcycles in the urban areas. Motorcycles found violating the ban will be confiscated.The Guangzhou traffic bureau claimed to have reported reduced traffic problems and accidents in the downtown area since the ban. According to a report on the China Daily of July 6, 2007, all buses and taxis in Guangzhou will be LPG-fueled by 2010 to promote clean energy for transportation and improve the environment. At present, Guangzhou is the city that uses the most LPG-fueled vehicles in the world. As of the end of 2006, 6,500 buses and 16,000 taxis were using LPG, taking up 85% of all buses and taxis. 3 One of the new buses Gongyuanqian Station of Guangzhou Metro Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Colonial buildings on Shamian Island Towers in Guangzhou's CBD (left-center) with 4 IFC/West Tower (right) and Guangzhou Opera House (front) under construction 4. Tourism LANDMARK · Guangxiao Temple 109 Guangxiao Lu (Metro 1 Xi Men Kou - Exit C) – As the sixth patriarch of Zen Buddhism, Hui Neng, trained at this temple in the 7th Century, it is a popular pilgrimage site for Zen Buddhists. The temple has been destroyed several times by fire, and the current buildings date only from the mid 19th century. Admission ¥4. Warning - there are beggars outside who will approach any tourist and whilst they will be grateful for whatever you give them it is the monks of which you need to be careful. The monks thrust small 'lucky' charms onto tourists before insisting on 'donations', and claiming that anything between 100 and 400 RMB is normal, which is crazy for a country with a typical weekly salary of around 600 RMB: avoid these orange clothed con artists. · Liurong Temple 87 Liurong Lu (Metro 1 Gong Yuan Qian - Exit I)– The Temple of Six Banyan Trees, which includes the 17 story, eight-sided Hua Ta, or Flowering Pagoda, is one of the most popular attractions in Guangzhou. The temple dates back to the 6th century, while the pagoda predates it by about 300 years. Admission ¥5, Flower Pagoda ¥10. · The buildings and streets of the former British and French concession on Shamian Island have been beautifully renovated, creating an oasis of tranquility in an otherwise bustling and hectic metropolis. One of the old structures is Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel, located at 14 Shamian Street. Attractions on the island are all free. As an island, Shamian is not particularly spectacular, but what makes it special that for several hundred years this tiny spit of land was the only place in all of China that Europeans could establish settlements. The architecture reflects that era, and it has a very unique atmosphere. (Metro 1 Huang Sha - Exit D) · Across the canal from Shamian is the Chinese Medicine Market. The modern front of the market has quite a few stalls selling dried herbs used in Chinese Medicine. The real charm here lies just behind the modern exterior. The modern exterior is built onto a series of old historical narrow alleyways with shops selling herbs. The Starbucks on Shamian provides a great respite from the hustle and bustle of Guangzhou · Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall,(Metro 2 Ji Nian Tang - Exit C) located on Dongfeng Zhong Lu, is dedicated to the founder of the Republic of China and local hero Dr. Sun Yat-Sen. It was constructed in 1931 and built on the original site of Sun Yat-sen's presidential office on Yuexiu Hill. Oopen 8AM-6PM. Admission is free for the park and ¥10 to go inside the hall. · Chen Clan Academy [10] Zhongshan 7 Lu (Metro 1 Chen Jia Ci - Exit D). This is very well preserved architecture from the 19th century.