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).