Guangzhou, Shenzhen, China

Guangzhou, Shenzhen, China
A Travel Journal by K.A. Lim


Air Asia Flight Itinerary
Booking Date: January 2008
Flight + Hotel Package: 4 Days/3 nights with Guangzhou Fullboard Lifestyle tour
Flight No.: AK42
Depart: KLIA - LCC Terminal, KL 5:45 am 7 April 08 Monday
Arrive: Baiyun International Airport 9:45 am

Return AK43
Depart: Baiyun International Airport 10:20 am 10 April 08 Thursday
Arrive: KLIA – LCC Terminal, KL 2:20 pm

Air Asia Flight: RM399.96
Airport tax, Insurance & Admin Fee: RM602.00
Accommodation & Guided Tour RM828.00
(3 nights Lido Hotel, Beijing Road + Fullboard Lifestyle City Tour Package)FARE TOTAL for two adult: RM1,829.96
Currency conversion: ¥100 = RM46.60

1st day - 7 April 08 Monday
Our flight on Air Asia AK42 A320 Airbus arrived at the new Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport 广州白云国际机场, Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) at 10 am. After collecting our luggage and clearing immigration checks, waiting at the airport exit was our personal tour guide. He whisked us away to an airport express bus heading for the city. At the city center, we alighted and stopped a taxi to our pre-booked Lido Hotel 丽都酒店, located at 182 Beijing Road It had the benefit of a good location, close to shopping and sightseeing areas. After checking-in and a quick change of clothes, we went for lunch. We then proceeded to our first destination, Qingping Market 清平市场 Qingping Lu 清平路 located North from Shamian Island. There were many shops and stalls selling Chinese medical herbs of a wide variety. Further along the streets, aquarium and pets shops were seen. On the roadside, vendors were selling tiger claws, bear paws, buffalo horns and many exotic wild animals trade. There are shops selling turtles kept in plastic containers as well.
Next, we went to Liwan 荔湾 Mansion, a former Hong Kong Bank manager’s house. It was a huge garden with fishes in pond and a green landscape. In the centre was a large rock collection (it is typical to have a collection of large lava rocks displayed in the courtyard of a rich man’s mansion; the bigger the pieces, the more riches it denotes). The mansion was constructed in a combined Chinese and Western tradition. The in-house guide briefed us on the history of the lifestyle and living habits of the rich as we were taken through several sections of the building, such as the living hall, second hall, bedroom chambers, kitchen and a well in the backyard. The upper floors housed a museum collection of Chinese jade carvings and embroidery, arts and crafts carvings as well as vases for sale.

We took a taxi to the Guangzhou Zoological Garden & Aquarium which was the next attraction. Animals such as monkey, bears, tigers and elephant were seen in enclosures. We saw only one Panda, not being active but was, in fact, sleeping in the cage. We next went in to see aquariums that contained fishes, stingrays, turtles and sharks. As the next performance show was about to start, we sat at the gallery of Ocean Theatre to watch a performance featuring seals and dolphins. We went back to the hotel by taxi at 5 pm and after a shower, we went for a simple claypot rice dinner before heading to the riverside to board the Pearl River night cruise 珠江夜游 at Tianzi Pier 天字码头. The fare was CNY120 per person. The two hour evening cruise is a great way to see the Guangzhou skyline along the Pearl River 珠江. A host of decorative lights were displayed along the river bank, buildings, bridges and colourfully decorated cruise boats plying the river. We sat and relaxed on the upper deck while having ice-cream, peanuts and Chinese tea, enjoying the beautiful coloured lights and laser lights display. Back on the pier at 8:45 pm, our guide who was waiting for us took us back to Lido hotel in a taxi and bid goodnight and parted with us. Still feeling energetic, we walked the Beijing Lu Pedestrian Street 北京路步行街. The entire road is outlined with many retail outlets and departmental stores selling mostly clothing. We found many locals wandering the streets and vendors were busily going about their business. Beijing Road also provides some historical significance. At both ends of this famous road and in the center of the pedestrian walkway, the municipal authorities encased in glass an excavation site of an ancient Chinese road. We peered down the hole and were able to distinguish the cobblestones far below. A plaque nearby provides all the details. At 10 pm, we walked back to the hotel.

2nd day - 8 April 08 Tuesday
We woke up at 7 am and had a free breakfast at the 30th floor of the hotel. At 9 am, we met with our tour guide at the lobby. He took us by taxi to tour Yuexiu Park 越秀公园. At the park, we saw the famous Five Rams Stone Sculpture 五羊石像, the city emblem of Guangzhou. Legend tells of five celestial beings riding into the area that is now Guangzhou on five rams and carrying sheaves of rice. The celestials bestowed blessings on the land and offered the sheaves to the people of the city as a symbol of prosperity and abundance. After the celestials left, the rams turned into stone, and Guangzhou quickly developed into an affluent and influential city. Due to this legend, Guangzhou has gained several popular nicknames: Yangcheng (City of Rams) or Wuyangcheng (City of Five Rams At the park, many elderly people were seen exercising in a game of badminton, ballroom dancing, line dancing, swords display and so on. Further in the park, on top of Yuexiu Hill, the commonly known Five-Story Tower, the Zhenhai Tower 镇海楼 is located. Built in 13th year of the Ming Emperor Hongwu’s reign, its roof and eaves are covered with glazed tiles while its two-story boundary wall on the bottom is made of red bricks. It now houses the Guangzhou City Museum.

Across the street from Yuexiu Park entrance, situated on Xianggang Hill west of Yuexiu Park, is the last resting place of the second king of Southern Yue, which was an early kingdom of the Western Han Dynasty and had its capital on the site of present day Guangzhou. We explored the Nanyue Royal Tomb Museum 南越王墓. The king, Zhao Mei who ruled Nanyue State (203 BC – 111 BC) was buried in the tomb along with other people and animals, sacrificed to attend to the king in the afterlife. Four of them were his concubines. The king’s burial suit containing thousands of jade pieces as well as jade and gold jewelry belonging to the concubines was enthralling The weapons, musical instruments, drinking vessels, ivory, tools and implements that were stored in the tomb gave us an accurate glimpse into life in 111BC. More than 1,000 burial relics were excavated from it, most of which were made of bronze except the unique first golden seal of the Han Dynasty. After completing the tour, we went back to hotel. At the 6th floor of the hotel, we had dim sum and noodles for lunch. We then walked the streets and bought a China Mobile phone card ¥78 to SMS and call back home.

At 6:30 pm, after a good nap in the hotel, we walked towards the riverside. Along the riverside, there was this extremely large HongXing Seafood Restaurant 鸿星 with many patron savouring the seafood and exotic Cantonese cuisine. After being allotted a table, we went to the several tanks that kept a large variety of fresh lobsters, prawns, clams, crabs, eels and fishes, to pick our choice of food to be cooked on the spot by the restaurant chef. There were also several varieties of herbal soup, sharks fins, abalone and snakes soaked in medicinal herbs in glass containers. There was even a live crocodile for sale! The meal was delicious and the price was reasonable. We walked back and again went to the Beijing Road for a stroll.


3rd day – 9 April 08 Wednesday
We woke up early and after breakfast at the hotel, we went to the hotel lobby to buy an express bus ticket CNY70 per person for a trip to Shenzhen 深圳. The bus arrived at the hotel and picked us at 8:15 am. As the bus entered the outskirts of Guangzhou, we passed factories after factories manufacturing goods of the world. One noticeable feature is the air quality around this region; the air is polluted and the skies were overcast, without any hope of a glimpse of blue skies. The journey took about 2 hours before arriving at Huanggang check point/Bus Terminal, Shenzhen. We went across the road using the overhead bridge and boarded a local bus CNY5 for 2 persons to a bus stop at Window of the World (Shijiezhichuang世界之窗). It was a 30 minutes bus ride. We walked across the road using the underpass and surfaced on the other side with the pyramid structure We took pictures of the front entrance and purchased two entry tickets for CNY120 per person. Walking up the steps to the park entrance, we entered the park and walked in a clockwise direction, as we visited many replicas of world famous landmarks. We spend 2 ½ hours in the park walking and taking pictures. After exiting the park, we had a KFC 肯德基 meal, at a KFC outlet located on the right of the grand entrance. We walked below the pyramid structure into the Shenzhen Metro 深圳地铁 station and rode the MTR to Luohu station. There were 17 stops along the line 1 and the fare was CNY5 per person. The MTR reached the last station and we exited from the metro station and headed to the upper floor to purchase our train ticket at CNY75 per person from the Shenzhen Rail ticket counter. The ultra-modern, high-speed D840 train (200 km/hr) departed at 3:30 pm. The journey took 2 hours with 2 short stops along the way and we arrived at Guangzhou East Station 广州东火车站. We proceeded to the metro station located at the same rail station and rode the MTR for CNY4 per person to station 7 stops after. We exited the metro station Gongyuanqian 公园前 and walked back through the Beijing Road, back to Lido hotel.

We had dinner at Tiger Prawn Vietnamese Restaurant near the vicinity of Beijing Road. The meal was very delicious and appetizing, consisting of steamed fish in sweet & sour soup, clams fried in eggs and large stick of chicken satay with a lovely peanuts sauce. The bill came up to CNY95.

4th day – 10 April 08 Thursday
Our tour guide was waiting for us at 7:30 am at the hotel lobby. After checking out, we took a taxi to the airport express bus terminal and boarded a 45 minutes bus ride to Baiyun International Airport. We checked-in our luggage and the guide parted with us at the gate of the international departure hall. Our passports were inspected by the immigration officer and our hand luggage was X-ray scanned before we proceeded to the waiting lounge. Air Asia flight AK43 took off at 10:30 am. After about 4 hours of flight, we arrived at KLIA – LCC Terminal. That ends our wonderful holiday trip to Guangzhou, China with fond memories.