Overview
Guangzhou covers a total area of 7,435 square km, with an urban area of 1,444 square km. Administratively, it consists of 8 districts, 3 counties, and one municipality. The population is 6.3 million, of which 3.94 million live in the urban areas and 1 million are seasonal laborers. 
With a history of over 2800 years, Guangzhou has always been a port for foreign exchanges and trade, and is still one of the largest ports in China. Here the China Export Commodities Fair is held every spring and autumn, which attracts business people from the world over.

Known as 'City of Flowers', Guangzhou is famous for being a city with flowers all year round. The top four fruits of Guangzhou are lychees, bananas, pineapples and sweet oranges.

People in Guangzhou speak Cantonese, a spoken language quite different from Mandarin. The delicious Cantonese cuisine is noted for its freshness, tenderness, smoothness and crispiness. On the other hand, Cantonese people are notorious for eating everything: snakes, mice, cats, sparrows, and monkeys --- you name it. Hence the banter: 'the Cantonese will eat anything that flies save planes and anything with legs save tables.'

The points of historical interest include Zhen-hai Tower, the Guangxiao Temple, Liurong Temple, Huaisheng Mosque, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and so on.

Attractions

    Bright Filial Piety Temple (Guangxiao Si) located at Guangxiao Lu, is the oldest and largest Buddhist temple in the Lingnan Area. The Bright Filial Piety Temple plays an important role in Chinese Buddhism history because many famous Buddhist monks came here to preach religious doctrines, bringing glory to this temple.

Yuexiu Park, the largest park in Guangzhou, gets its name from Yuexiu Mountain, which is located in the park. Yuexiu Park is famous for its beautiful scenery and its large number of historical relics such as the Five-Ram Sculpture, Zhenhai Tower, the site of the Ming Dynasty City Wall, and the Square Cannon Site. 

  The Pearl River flows through Guangzhou City. At evening, taking a boat tour on the river to admire the breathtaking night view of the city is a great enjoyment.

 Dining
  Food in Guangzhou is famous the world over. Among four basic culinary styles, Cantonese cuisine is a dominant one, the rest are Chao-Shan cuisine and Dongjiang cuisine. With different ingredients, fine preparation, a light flavor and rich in variation, it owns superior color, scent and taste as well as sound nutrition. 
  The food industry in Guangzhou ranks among China's top. To date, there are over 10,000 restaurants in the city. Apart from seafood, animals, insects and worms, flowers and weeds are all made into dishes. The Cantonese also have a custom of drinking tea with snacks in their leisure time or at business meetings. The tea drinking tradition can be traced back a hundred years to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). There is a variety of Cantonese dim sum, sweet or salty. The delicious Cantonese-style dim sum served with tea offers a fresh flavor in leisure time. It is estimated that there are over 1000 ways of making desserts in Guangzhou. Most locals are gourmets and love varieties. Scattered all over the city there are over 5 000 restaurants, teahouses and snack eateries, offering service around the clock.

Shuang Pi Nai (Double-Skin Milk): Nanxin Shuang Pi Nai is the specialty of Nanxin Milk Store on the Xia Jiu Lu. Simmered milk has a frozen cover made of the mixture of egg white and milk, Hence the name Double-Skin Milk. When finished, this food appears to be pure white and semisolid. It tastes soft and sweet. And most importantly, it has much nutritional value, good for your health.

Jidi Zhou (Jidi Porridge): Jidi Zhou served in the Wuzhan Ji Restaurant is the most famous of all. It has been a noted snack bar since the early 1900s.

Yuntun Mian (Wonton Noodle):

 Go to Shangxia Jiu Lu, Xihua Lu and Renmin Lu. You will find many eateries that serve Wonton Noodles. Cantonese like to have the delicious Yuntun Miao for breakfast.

 Shopping

  Lying next to Hong Kong and Macau, Guangzhou is aware of its commercial development. The biannual Canton Fair adds to the commercial atmosphere. To tourists, Guangzhou is really a 'Shoppers' Paradise'.
  If a friend comes to Guangzhou from afar, Cantonese will take him/her to walk around the Shangxia Jiu Lu and Teem Plaza area. Just like the Wangfujing in Beijing, the Town God's Temple (Chenghuang Miao) in Shanghai and the Confucius Temple in Nanjing, Shangxia Jiu Lu is the most influential traditional commercial street in Guangzhou.
  Shangxia Jiu Lu Pedestrian Street is located in the Liwan District of Xiguan, a prosperous traditional commercial district. It is the first commercial pedestrian street in Guangzhou. Walking into this street, you will see the featured Qi Lou, an old building style that exists in Guangzhou and its neighboring areas, on both sides of the road. It reflects the strong Lingnan Culture. On this street lie more than 200 stores, especially those brand name restaurants and teahouses open here. From 13:00 to 21:00 on weekends and holidays and on every night, Shangxia Jiu Lu is restricted to pedestrians only.
  Be sure to go to Shangxia Jiu Lu. Even if you don't buy anything, just walking along this street you will feel the cultural atmosphere in the street with Qi Lou on both sides.
  Walking on the Beijing Lu, in the center of Guangzhou City, however, you will find a world far different from Shangxia Jiu Lu. It is simultaneously fashionable and traditional.
  If you are interested in Japanese and Korean fashion, go to Zhuangyuan Fang (Number One Scholar Lane) on Renmin Nan Lu. Although it is a small lane less than 200 meters (219 yards) long, the Zhuangyuan Fang attracts numerous visitors by its most fashionable clothes, ornaments, and small articles that are popular with young people.

  The most famous department stores are Teem Plaza, China Plaza (Zhonghua Guangchang). The Teem Plaza has become the new commercial center of Guangzhou. Here boutiques, shops selling fantastic goods and restaurants come together.
  Hualin Jadeware Street & Wende Calligraphy and Painting Street
Located on Xia Jiu Lu, Hualin Jadeware Street is a street mainly dealing with retail, wholesale and jade and jewelry processing. It is said the history of this street can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). From that time, Hualin Jadeware Street has already been the famed Jadeware Fair. At present, hundreds of jadeware stores are found here. Best-quality jades from Burma and Yunnan Province are made into jade bracelets, rings and other wares.
  Wende Calligraphy and Painting Street neighboring the Beijing Lu is known as 'Guangzhou Gallery'. Stores selling works of calligraphy and craftworks line both sides of the road.
  Yide Lu Seafood Market is the home of famous dried seafood. You will find a wide variety such as shark's fin, oysters, abalone and cuttlefish... Shan Hai Cheng and Hai Zhong Bao are the most reputed seafood markets here.
  The Clothes Wholesale Market: Gaodi Street from Beijing Nan Lu at the east to Qiyi Lu at the west and Hongmian Clothes Market at F1, 2 and 3, No.184, Huanshi Xi Lu, Guangzhou
  Highsun Electrical Appliance Market is the right place for those who want to buy electrical appliances.