It's Valentine's Day today. A special series called "Why we love Guangdong" has been launched, showing 21 cities in the province from a new perspective, and Guangzhou is the first stop.

Speaking of Guangzhou, what first springs to mind? This city is filled with old Qilou buildings (arcade houses), trendy clothing stores in the Dongshankou area, skyscrapers in the Zhujiang New Town, and lights in the urban villages. In Guangzhou – an inclusive, pragmatic, open, and traditional international city – everyone can be who they want to be.

Xiguan Yongqing Fang: traditional vibes

Xiguan Yongqing Fang tourist area is located on the Qilou building street, covering the Lychee Bay area, Yongqing Fang, and the Cantonese Opera Art Museum. This is one of the best places to experience Xiguan (present-day Liwan district) culture.

Yongqing Fang has been a popular destination in Guangzhou for many years. You can see many passers-by in traditional Chinese costumes, comics exhibitions in the Xiguan Mansions, coffee shops, and bazaars. There is also an intangible cultural heritage block displaying Cantonese porcelain, Cantonese embroidery, enamel, olive carving, and lion dance.

Locals enjoy watching the performances of the folk Cantonese opera associations under the century-old banyan tree in Lychee Bay Park. These associations have been staging daily free concerts for the neighbourhoods at the Lychee Bay Stage here for 12 years.

The Cantonese Opera Art Museum is located one kilometre from the Lychee Bay Stage. The waterfront, rocks, winding paths, cloisters, and banyan trees make it an antique place with Lingnan charm. Costumes and relics of Cantonese opera are displayed here. In addition, visitors can enjoy Cantonese opera performances in the museum as well.

Dongshankou area: old buildings & new trends

Dongshankou, an old neighbourhood of Yuexiu District, preserves a cluster of nearly 500 old western-style foreign buildings built by overseas Chinese during the Republic of China period.

Nowadays, many of the old buildings have been revitalized into art galleries, and many trendy clothing stores, coffee shops, design spaces, and album stores are scattered nearby. Therefore, locals often jokingly say that the hippest people in Guangzhou are in Dongshankou.

Zhujiang New Town: A&B sides of Guangzhou

In Zhujiang New Town, more than 100 Grade-A office buildings with nearly 300,000 jobs have provided thousands of people with access to their dreams. Guangdong Museum, Canton Tower, Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou K11, Mall of the World, and so on provide residents with places for recreation.

With Huangpu Avenue as the boundary, Shipai Village on the other side of Zhujiang New Town is the largest urban village in Guangzhou. The densely packed alleys and houses provide cheap accommodation for many people who are struggling in the CBD.

Nansha District: bright future

With bald cypress forests, Dongchong water town, and flocks of birds, Nansha District owns picturesque natural scenery.

At the same time, data shows that Nansha maintained first place in the city in terms of GDP growth last year. Nansha is Guangzhou's only access point to the sea, and it is also home to the largest cruise home port complex in the country, the Guangzhou Nansha International Cruise Home Port.  

Furthermore, in recent years, Nansha has supported the entrepreneurship and employment of youths from Hong Kong and Macao, launching a centre for facilitating exchanges and integration of youths from Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, as well as 11 incubators and exchange and promotion centres for Hong Kong and Macao people.

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