The Memorial Hall for Sun Yat-sen in Guangzhou
(Women of China)Rich in blossoms, Guangzhou is
naturally referred to a City of Flowers. Although it is something everybody
knows, such a strong affection by Guangzhou people to flowers is still
surprising.
Each of the 10 districts in Guangzhou City has at least one flower market of considerable scale and it is always bustling.
The last Spring Festival was plagued with rain, yet huge crowds of people
still milled about at the annual flower display. On the eve of the lunar New
Year's Day, numerous families went to the flower market and bought large
bouquets of fresh flowers, feeling romantic despite the dampness.
Early each
day, by the vegetable markets, one can see many housewives, who can always
manage to free their hands to carry a bouquet of flowers no matter how heavy
their vegetable basket may be.
Most travel lovers do not like bustling cities...for them it seems that only going to Tibet is considered a real trip. What is in their mind is that there is no culture in cities, yet Guangzhou is different. In one word, Guangzhou is modern, traditional forever and Guangzhou people are open to visitors.
People who have been to Guangzhou usually go shopping at Beijing Road and Shangxiajiu since they are a paradise for shopping and entertainment and they are reflections of modern metropolitan Guangzhou.
To experience the old Guangzhou, it is suggested a visitor take a trip around Xiguan. Located in the old area, it is also bustling with prosperous stores and shops and a constant stream of cars and buses.
Despite the fact Sichuan cuisine is popular in most other places, Guangzhou people still eat porridge only for breakfast and midnight snack. Booths and stalls selling porridge and rice-flour noodles are everywhere in Guangzhou, but among them, the Wuzanji in Wenchang Lane and the Tingzaizou in Liwan Park are the two most famous.
While various Western restaurants have sprung up in many other places, what are most common in Guangzhou are teahouses.
In Guangzhou, stock markets are crowded and persons who buy and sell stocks are feverish. Meanwhile, there are a large number of Buddhist believers in Guangzhou and a visitor can see that if going to Guanxiao Temple, Dafo Temple and Liurong Temple. There will even become a sea of people on the 8th of the fourth lunar month, the birthday of Sakyamuni.
(Source: Women of China English Monthly April 2004)
