Canton Fair

If you’re planning a visit to Guangzhou, whether for business or pleasure, there’s no better time to visit than when one of its famous fairs or festivals is in season. That’s also the time when the weather is at its best, especially during October and November as well as in April and May.

On the other hand, if you’re a big fan of Turkish steam baths, visit Guangzhou during summer for its sweltering heat and suffocating humidity. June to September aren’t ideal months either because of the typhoon season.

Here’s a run-down of Guangzhou’s most festive fairs and festivals.

The Canton Fair

If you’re looking for business opportunities, the best time to visit Guangzhou is either spring or fall when the Canton Fair is in full swing.

Since 1957, the Canton Fair has made a splash every year. It used to provide the only opportunity for foreign businessmen to make contact with companies in China. Also known as the China Export Commodities Fair, the Canton Fair’s importance has not diminished over the years, even with the country’s expanding open-door policy. It is still the most important venue for anyone who wants to do, or is currently doing, business with the Chinese.

The Canton Fair takes place at the city’s two major exhibition halls. These are the Pazhou Complex located at 380 Yuejiang Zhong Lu and the historic Liuhua Complex located at 117 Liuhua Lu.

If you’ve decided to participate in the next Canton Fair, be forewarned: it’s best to book your hotel early. The Canton Fair attracts people from all over the world and most of the nearby hotels are packed well in advance. Since the fair takes place during the third and fourth weeks of April and October ever year, delegates to the Canton Fair compete with regular tourists for hotel space. If you don’t book your hotel early, be prepared to suffer the consequences.

The best hotels for delegates to the Canton Fair are the Dongfang Hotel and China Hotel. They are a little more expensive but are ideally located right across one of the fair’s main exhibition halls. Most other hotels provide complementary shuttle services to the Canton Fair’s venues. Taxis are not a good choice since the traffic controls at the exhibition areas prohibit taxis from entering certain venues, which means you may have to walk a pretty long way. With your suit drenched in sweat and your face all red, you certainly won’t be making a very good first impression. Hence, booking the right hotel is key.

Chinese New Year / Spring Festival

For a riotous good time, nothing quite compares to the city’s celebration of Chinese New Year, which usually takes places in January or February, depending on the date of the first day of the first lunar month.

The entire city celebrates the new year in style, and festivities last for 15 days. While most streets are packed with people celebrating with fireworks and dragon dances, some streets are eerily deserted. That’s because the residents, usually migrant workers, go back home to their provinces to celebrate Chinese New Year and the Spring Festival there.

Meanwhile, if you want to see the city in full bloom, visit Guangzhou around a week or so before the New Year. That’s when the flower fair and its kaleidoscope of color and fanfare is held.

Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated during the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which typically falls on May or June. The festival is held in honor of a famous martyr and poet, Qu Yuan, who drowned himself during the Warring States Period to protest widespread government corruption at that time.

The festival is marked by a series of exciting dragon boat races at the Pearl River, the place where Qu Yuan sacrificed his life. One of the most applauded and watched events during the Dragon Boat Festival is an eating contest where the participant who can eat the most number of rice dumplings wins.

Mid-Autumn Festival

This festival is held during the 15^th day of the eighth lunar month, which typically falls on September of October. During this time, people celebrate by enjoying the local Cantonese moon cakes, a symbol of good fortune and prosperity. If you want to take part in this joyous celebration, try to get your moon cakes at Lian Xiang Lou and Tao Tao Ju. They serve the best and most popular moon cakes in town.

Children celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival by making and displaying paper lanterns. Grown-ups commemorate the festival by taking ferry rides on the Pearl River and watching the full moon ascend.

Among the other notable festivals that Guangzhou commemorates are Tomb Sweeping Day (during the spring equinox). Chinese Valentines Day (August or September) and the Winter Solstice Festival (December 22).

Guangzhou has the Oriental Resort, which is one of the popular places to stay in the city. It is close to area attractions and most of the businesses in the city. All the rooms are decorated and equipped with amenities to fill the needs of all leisure and business travelers. The hotel is one of the highly rated resorts in Guangzhou. You will have the traditional comfort from a hotel while enjoying the modern conveniences.

Room picture:

Average double room rate per night: 438 CNY (65 USD).

To check availability and exact price, click here.

Adress:

1068 Baiyunnan Road, Baiyun District – 510 405 Guangzhou

The Holiday Inn City Centre Hotel is centrally located within reach of many of the businesses and attractions in Guangzhou. The hotel has many amenities that you would expect in a hotel to provide guest’s with comfort. Visitors to Guangzhou can stay in the highly rated hotel that offers excellent service to its guests.

Room picture:

Average double room rate per night: 588 CNY (85 USD).

To check availability and exact price, click here.

Adress:

28 Guangming Rd, Huanshi Dong – 510095 Guangzhou

Whether you’re looking for impressive souvenirs, unique Chinese novelty items or just some great fashion bargains, Guangzhou’s streets and shopping malls will provide you with what you need.

The city’s main shopping center can be found at Beijing Lu Pedestrian Street, the venue of a host of local shops, including the Mayflower Plaza, which sells anything and everything and is also a favorite hangout of fashionable young people. It’s open daily, from 9am to 10pm. There’s a flourishing DVD piracy trade in this area, but don’t be deceived by the cheap prices because their quality is often poor. And beware of sidewalk vendors who lure you into dark alleys with the promise of big bargains and imitation goods. They are likely to fleece you of everything you have.

The Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street is another popular shopping area that offers a wide range of products. If you know how to bargain, you will fit right in. This is also where you will find Liwan Plaza, located at 9 Dexing Lu, a place that’s famous for its crystal products. This entire area is a beautiful snapshot of traditional Cantonese architecture.

Malls and shopping centers

Guangzhou is the home of a number of huge shopping malls and plazas. The following are among the most popular:

1. Teem Mall
   Located at 208 Tianhe Lu above the metro station, this is the most popular mall in the city center. Whether you’re looking for clothes, appliances, household items, toys and the like, you’re likely to find it in Teem Mall. At any time of the day, the place is filled with scores of people moving to and fro and on a seemingly never-ending shopping spree. There’s nothing like the endless array of fabulous items up for sale to put one in the mood to shop.
2. Zhengjia Plaza
   Located a short distance away from the Teem Mall, Zhengjia Plaza on 228 Tianhe Lu was built precisely to challenge the popularity of its older neighbor. It has established its niche as the favorite shopping destination of foreigners. The plaza houses a number of department stores and many world-famous fashion shops. It is exquisitely decorated by rows of beautiful fountains and elegant designs. According to some estimates, close to half a million shoppers a day can be found here during festivals and holidays. Tourists will feel right at home, especially with fastfood chains like Pizza Hut and McDonalds as well as Dairy Queen and Starbucks prominently on display.
3. China Plaza
   This is another huge shopping mall located atop a metro station, located at 33 Zhongshan 3 Lu. It houses a wide array of popular department stores, clothing shops, electronic stores and restaurants.
4. Zhong Tian Shopping Plaza
   Located at Zhongxin Square, this plaza offers more than just shopping and dining. There are also services such as banking, grooming, dry cleaning and the like.

Other notable shopping malls and plazas in the city are the Zi You Ying Outdoor Travel Goods, located at 229 Jiangnan Dadao Zhong, Xin An Plaza Suite 180; the famous Wang Fu Jing department store, located at 40 Long Lin Xia Lu; and the Friendship Store, located at 369 Huanshi Dong Lu and a special favorite of foreigners.

Street markets

Meanwhile, if shopping in plush and upscale malls isn’t your cup of tea, Guangzhou also has a host of street markets where searching for fabulous bargains has become a local pastime.

Most of these street markets are located in back alleys which cars and scooters cannot enter. However, walking is the ideal way to shop here anyway, since that will give you the best possible chance to discover those hidden bargains.

One of the city’s most popular street markets is the Haiyin Shopping District, located just northwest of Haiyin Bridge. It offers some of the best prices for clothes, fabrics, appliances, electronics, camera accessories, sporting goods and the like.

Now, if it’s the raw ingredients for Cantonese food you’re looking for, everyone knows that the best place to just about any type of food is the Qingping Market. Located at Qingping Lu on Shamian Island, this market is famous all around the world for its wild animal trades.

One of the best things about the city’s street markets is that particular goods are usually concentrated at a specific area. For instance, there’s Jade Street, located at Changshou Lu and Wenchang Lu; Xiguan Antique Street, located near Liwan Park; Ivory and Sea products, located at Daxin Lu beside Beijing Lu; Flowers, Aquatic and Lightings Street, located at Danan Lu; and Flower Street, located  at Baohua Lu.

There’s also Toy Street, located at Yide Lu; Bridal Street, located at Jiangnan Bei Lu; Cultural Street, located at Wende Lu; and Household Merchandise Street (for everyday goods), located at Gaodi Jie.

Many tourists hesitate to visit China because of its reputation as a strict and repressive place. But if there is one city that you could call the exception to the rule, that would be Guangzhou. It’s the perfect place in China to mix business with pleasure. For quite some time now, Guangzhou has been one of the most progressive and cosmopolitan cities in China.

Tsing Tao and Zhu Jiang are the two most famous Chinese beers, and they’re available everywhere in Guangzhou. If you prefer a foreign brand, Carlsberg tops the list. That’s because there’s a major Carlsberg brewery in the city, which accounts for the ubiquitous Carlsberg taps in bars.

If you’re new in town and are absolutely clueless about the city’s night life, pick up a copy of That’s PRD, a popular monthly English magazine that features reviews and news about the leading bars, pubs and restaurants in town. It’s absolutely free and readily available at most top-flight hotels and lounges.

Here’s a run-down of the best places to drink and while away the night in Guangzhou:

1.    Overseas Chinese Village

Located right beside Holiday Inn Guangzhou, this venue is actually comprised of a row of six or seven bars standing side by side, each one two stories high. Each of the bars has its own unique theme. Drinks are relatively pricey, ranging from around ¥40 and up for a beer, but it’s a popular place to meet and mingle with the expatriate community.

2.    Hooley’s Irish Pub and Restaurant

Located within the Bing Hua Hotel 2 Tian He Bei, Hooley’s is probably the most famous pub in Guangzhou. From Thursday to Saturday, this true-blue Irish pub offers guests all types of live music, whether its rock, jazz, folk or pop. Meanwhile, soothing piped in music fills the air from Sundays to Wednesdays. Chef Rob, one of the city’s best-known culinary chefs, specializes in a wide array of Irish, Italian and fusion cuisine. Telephone number is 13560231914.

3.    The Cave

Located at the Zhu Jiang Building basement on 360 Huanshi Dong Lu, the Cave is another well-known expatriate haunt. The resident DJ dishes out pop, disco and trance music all night long. Later in the night, erotic dance performances heat up the dance floor. Drinks start at ¥30. Telephone number is 020 8386-3660.

4.    Gipsy King Bar

Located right across The Cave on the other end of Zhu Jiang Building is an underground bar that resembles, you guessed it, a cave. But instead of bats, this cave has a colorful array working girls floating around. The bar is an interesting vantage point to watch the night’s action, which usually starts around 10pm. Gyrating solo dancers dominate one end of the bar while lively group performances rule the other. Drinks start at ¥30. Telephone number is +86 020 8387-5177.

5.    Sleeping Wood Café

Located right beside the Holiday Inn (with another branch along Pearl River), this laid-back bar and restaurant is an ideal venue to relax and unwind after a hard day. During happy hour (any time before 8 p.m.), the delectable pint-sized Tsingtao draft beer is sold at half-price, so you can wash your worries away twice as fast. The bar is well-stocked with all kinds of drinks and western food is a-plenty. As an added bonus, all the waiters and waitresses speak English. Drinks are reasonably priced at ¥25-30 a pop.

6.    Tang Club

Located at 1 Jianshe 6 Malu, this is the place to visit if you’ve got money to burn. No other venue is more expensive than the Tang Club. This is where the beautiful people hang out. it’s the place to see and be seen. Their live band plays some of the meanest rock and roll in town. The regulars are mostly stylish expatriates and well-to-do local wannabes. The cheapest drink starts at ¥50.

7.    Strange Brew

Located at 103 Ming Yue Yi Lu and just a short walk away from Ramada Hotel, Strange Brew has created quite a following thanks to its tasty burgers and cheap beer, particularly, Paulaner and Tiger. This joint is owned by three Canadians who have a unique style all their own. Telephone number is 13450227140.

Other Notable Drinking Spots

Among the other noteworthy bars and pubs in Guangzhou are the Hill Bar, located across Garden Hotel just outside of Baiyun Hotel; Paddy Field Irish Pub & Restaurant, located at the back of the Garden Hotel and renowned for serving some of the best western food around; Lucy’s Cafe Bar, located along the Pearl River, beside the White Swan Hotel, where food and drinks are reasonably priced; Sky Bar, located beside Holiday Inn and famous for its Brazilian food.