CHINA – GUANGZHOU, HUNAN SOUTH

Day 12 Mon Oct 27
Flight. Zhanjiang to Guangzhou @10:00-11:25. 9 Air

GUANGDONG
GREATER GUANGZHOU (incl. Zhuhai)
GUANGZHOU
From the airport, it was an 1 1/2 hours on three metro lines to near the hostel, then a 15 minute walk to the hostel crossing over a large railway line on an overpass that had motorbike lanes.
ON Desti Hostel. A very modern, beautiful hostle with many international guests. US$15.

Day 13 Tue Oct 28
I was able to store my large pack at the hostel and just take a day pack for the two day trip. 
High-speed train Guangzhou East train station to Shaoguan Station @09:23-11:00. I booked business class, expensive and not worth it as all the business men talked on their phones. 

GUANGDONG – RURAL AREAS (Shantou, Zhanjiang)
CHINA DANXIA WHS
China Danxia is a landscape of red terrigenous sedimentary beds influenced by uplift, weathering and erosion. It comprises six areas (Mount Langshan and Mount Wanfo (Hunan Province), Mount Danxia (Guangdong Province), Taining and Mount Guanzhi (Fujian Province), Mount Longhu and Guifeng (Jiangxi Province), Fangyan, Mount Jianglang (Zhejiang Province), and Mount Chishui (Guizhou Province). It is in the sub-tropical zone of south-eastern China within a 1700 km crescent shaped arc from Guizhou Province in the west to Zhejiang Province in the east. They are characterized by spectacular red cliffs and erosional landforms, including dramatic natural pillars, towers, ravines, valleys and waterfalls.
Conserved sub-tropical broad-leaved evergreen forests, and host many species of flora and fauna, about 400 of which are considered rare or threatened.
Danxiashan. The Danxia landform is named after Mount Danxia, one of the most famous examples of this landform.
Get there. High speed train from Guangzhou to Shaoguan Station. Take bus line 22, 30-40 minutes to the bus terminal and the old train station (2 RMB). Take a bus 16 RMB or shared cabs
See. Many tourist buses to every point of interest. Yangyuan Stone or male stone, the large red phallus stone. Yingyuan Stone or women stone.
Zhanglao Peak or Elder Peak, cable car to the top of the peak – forest, springs, pavilion, monasteries and hiking trails. Hike down the peak to Biechuan Buddhist Monastery.
River cruise on Jinjiang River, the view along the river was breathtaking and highly recommended. Do not visit Danxiashan in summer, this area is really hot and uncomfortably humid,
Guifeng section of the Longhushan National Park. It is separate from the main Longhushan park. It is very compact. There is one main trail that everybody follows. 8.7 km in total, loop took me 3.5 hours with plenty of stops.
Danxia ‘inselbergs’. panoramic views of the landscape of isolated, eroded peaks. Dan Xia means “vermillion sunglow”.
The trail ends at the dock, from where a (heavily overpriced) ‘sightseeing’ boat will take you back to the visitor center. no other trail to walk out.
Guifeng is an easy half-day trip from Shangrao, which itself is a good hub for the WHS of Sanqingshan and Wuyishan. Take the fast train to the city of Yiyang from Shangrao (17mins) and from Yiyang railway station, take bus #2 or a Didi taxi (15mins/40 yuan) to the site, known as ‘Guifeng Scenic Area’ or ‘Guifeng Mountain’. I left Shangrao on the 7.30 train and got back on the 13.01 from Yiyang. The site entrance ticket costs 60 yuan (for some reason I did not have to pay this), plus 20 yuan for the shuttle ‘train’ from the visitor center to the start of the mountain trail and 80 yuan for the boat ride
Mount Wanfo
Taipingyan Village of Wanfo Mountain is located in Linkou Town, Tongdao Dong Autonomous County. It is the biggest scenic spot in Tongdao and one of the biggest Danxia landforms in China “the Great Green Wall”.
The 168 kilometer-long Danxia Landforms of Mount Wanfo Scenic Spot contains five big scenic areas: Mount Wanfo, Immortal Cave, Seven-star Hill, General Hill and Ziyun Hill. Inside the area, there are “ten wonderful sceneries”: Duyan Hill, Seven-star Ancient Temple, Luck Cave, Lion watching Moon, One Pillar Supporting the Sky, Lady Waiting for Her Husband, Whelk, Tortoise Looking for Food, Inborn Magpie Bridge and Thirty-six Curve Forest Maze. One must be fascinated by its unique beauty and miracle landscape.
Mt Guanzhi “Lotus Mountain,” is a sacred mountain for the local Hakka people in Liancheng, China. It’s known for its unique rock formations that resemble a lotus flower when viewed from afar. The area surrounding the mountain is characterized by fern plants, steep cliffs, and clear streams, which are home to the Chinese giant salamander.
Mount Jianglang (Zhejiang Province)
Three peaks from north to south make its recognizable “river-shaped” arrangement, as follows: Lang Feng, Ya Feng and Ling Feng. Lang Feng has elevation of 816.8 m (2,680 ft). In September 2013, Mount Jianglang was the scene for a stunt by Jeb Corliss where he flew between two of the peaks in a wingsuit, starting the jump from a helicopter.
My experience. Danxiashan. In Shaoguan, there is a bus station to the left just outside the door. Take Bus 22 to Danxishan. 30Y. Walk to the entrance gate and take a golf cart to the ticket office. She drew all sorts of things on the map with little explanation on how to do it. A trail goes to the left to Xiang Long Lake Pier 260m with some moderate rock walls. One can then walk 3.3 km to Yin Yuan Shi. I didn’t and returned to the boat dock. Board the boat. After a short ride, it stopped with a view of Yangyuan Stone or male stone. Everyone got in line and the guide took pictures of every individual with the landforms in the background. Smiles all around, Great fun!, We then continued back past the wharf to a town, the end of the boat ride. I walked over the bridge to an intersection and walked about 1.5 km to the base of the cable car up the top of Zhanglao Peak or Elder Peak, One can see two pavilions and a viewpoint of the male stone. I returned down the cable car, took a bus to a parking area back and then a golf cart to the entrance. There are many great sandstone walls similar to the Colorado Plateau but with dark desert varnish and more plants on every ledge, I assume to their old age. Stone that has broken leaves a veru pale tan to red sandstone.
I got a Didi with two French guys (one studying in China) 111Y to their hotel. There were few places to eat here but I ate at a hotel. The sweet and sour beef ribs were good 50Y. I then got a Didi to my hotel.
ON Helong Hotel CA$17. It was ok.

Day 14 Wed Oct 29.
High speed train Shaoguan Station to Hengyangdong train station, Hunan South Province.

HUNAN SOUTH  (Chenzhou, Shaoyang, Hengyang)
HENGYANG
The two temples were 58 and 80 km away and not practical, but the scenic area was in the middle of the city. Bus from train station to it wa 2Y.
Huiyanfeng Scenic Area (Huiyan Peak Scenic Area)This is a lovely urban park with great landscaping, lovely paths, a lily pond, and the 4-story Wild Goose pavilion (pagoda, 35 m high with 72 pillars. There were many groups of women, all dressed identically, doing their dance routines. They wer fun to interact with. Urban Legends
I then took the city bus back to the train station 2Y. 
High speed train Hengyangdong train station to Guangzhouran (south) train station @ 15:22-17:49. second class $43. Metro back to Disti Hostel
ON Disti Hostel for the second night.

Day 15 Thur Oct 30
GUANGZHOU
I spent the day doing business, and didn’t leave the hostel. I have 4 days before Anna arrives. 
ON Disti Hostel for the third night. There were many foreigners here for the Canton Fair. Most from India, but also from all over the world. Apparently, the venue is massive and there are about 300,000 businessmen trying to make deals. Everyone has a financial dream and hopes China will make it happen.

Day 16 Fri Oct 31
I decided to spend another day at the hostel catching up on business. 
ON Desti Hostel for the 4th night. 

Day 17 Sat Nov 1
This was my day to see Guangzhou sites in the north and far east of the city. I used Didi, the metro and walked a lot. 
Guangzhou Orchid Garden. A large, beautifully landscaped park with trees, shrubs, arches, water ponds and nice bridges. Most of the outside orchids were not in bloom, but the enclosed space had hundreds planted in pots. 8Y, free reduced.
Sculpture Park. A gorgeous park full of grass and big trees. At the entrance are several columns made of huge rock blocks. Some of the highlights were the scenes of Guangzhou life (many humorous and often with children and adults in endearing poses), a huge bull fighting a bear, several military statues, and three bright metal figures commemorating the 1986 joint (Japan, Nepal, China) traverse of Everest. Free
Guangzhou International Finance Center is a 103-story, 438.6 m (1,439 ft) skyscraper. One-half of the Guangzhou Twin Towers is the 24th-tallest building in the world, completed in 2010. It is the world’s tallest building with a rooftop helipad, at 438 m high. It is a conference center, hotel and office building. Floors 1 through 66 are used as offices, floors 69 to 98 have a Four Seasons Hotel with the lobby being on the 70th floor, and floors 99 and 100 are an observation deck.
It is in an oval shape with dark glass. Architectural Delights
CTF Finance Centre is a 530-metre (1,739 ft) mixed-use supertall skyscraper completed in 2016. It is the tallest completed building in Guangzhou, the third-tallest in China, and the eighth-tallest in the world, with 111 above-ground and five below-ground floors and houses a shopping mall, offices, apartments, and a hotel. It houses the world’s fastest elevators, which can reach speeds up to 21 m/s (69 ft/s).
It is a skyscraper and an eight-floor podium, that is connected to the skyscraper. The podium features a 30 m (100 ft) high atrium with a glass roof. The facade is glass and has vertical mullions, made out of white glazed terracotta.^[15] The mullions are projecting out from the windows to create shades.^[7] The windows are operable and there are vents between them and the terracotta. Aluminum fins are located next to the vents to protect them from the wind. White LEDs are integrated into the fins to light the terracotta at night. 

The offices occupy the floors 7 through 66. 24 floors with a total of 355 serviced ap artments,The highest sixteen floors are occupied by a hotel managed by Rosewood Hotels & Resorts with 251 rooms with a minimum size of 55.0 m²  elevators. Architectural Delights
Zhengjia Plaza. This is a huge 7-story + 2 in the basement mall. A large round open area has several rows of stores coming off like spokes of a wheel.
CITIC Plaza (China International Trust and Investment is an 80-storey, 391 m (1,283 ft) office skyscraper. The height includes two antenna-like spires on the top. Completed in June 1997, it was the tallest concrete building in the world until the completion of the Trump Tower Chicago, and the tallest in China. As of March 2025, it ranks as the 23rd-tallest building in China, 30th-tallest in Asia, and 45th-tallest worldwide.
It is part of a complex that includes two 38-storey residential buildings and the Tianhe Sports Center. Architectural Delights
I then walked to an e-cigarette store that looked abandoned. It appears that e-cigarettes have been made illegal and not available. 
Guangzhou Museum of Art. The venue of this museum changed this year to a wonderful building (a large oval with metal cladding) and a massive central atrium the full five levels of the building. 1st floor had unique abstract logs heavily finished and carved to reflect the natural wood. 2nd floor. Wonderful watercolours by Yang Zhagung. 3rd floor Modern landscape paintings (mediocre) by Lai Shaoqi, 4th floor Cultural relics and 5th floor wonderful sculpture. Free 

Day 18 Sun Nov 2
I had an easy morning finishing several pieces of business, ate sweet and sour pork at the restaurant next door to the hostel and caught a cab to our hotel, where Anna was arriving in the evening. I walked around the not-so-nice neighborhood looking for restaurants.
ON Aesthetic Fashion (Kaino) Hotel. Very nice. 320Y

Day 19 Mon Nov 3
After a lazy morning, we went out to eat at Friend, a great burger joint with an usual selection of burgers, all very good. In the afternoon, we had a walkabout to see some sights.
Sacred Heart Cathedral. A grand yellow stone cathedral with two towers and spires and a great rose window. It was closed. Hours: 06:30 every day, Sat – 16:00 and 19:30, Sunday – 08:30, 12:30, 15:30, and 19:30,
Aiqun Hotel. Built from 1933-37, it is 11 floors with an observation/dining room at the top. It has an unusual shape with a narrow, rounf end that slowly widens as it extends back along the block. Hospitality Legends
Nanfang Building Electric Digital Centre is a historic high-rise building completed in 1922, when it was the tallest building in the country. Since then, it has served as offices, department stores, electronics markets, and hotels. It presently houses hundreds of almost identical shops. Architectural Delight

Shamiandao Island is a sandbank island in the Liwan District that was divided into two concessions given to France and the United Kingdom by the Qing government in the 19th century (1859–1943). The island is a gazetted historical area that serves as a tranquil reminder of the colonial European period, with quiet pedestrian avenues flanked by trees and lined by historical buildings in various states of upkeep. The island is the location of several hotels, a youth hostel, restaurants and tourist shops selling curios and souvenirs. It is 900 m from east to west, and 300 m from north to south bordered in the south by the Pearl River, and it is separated from the mainland by a canal.
Shamian Island was an important port for Guangzhou’s foreign trade from the Song to the Qing dynasty. From the 18th to the mid-19th century, the foreigners lived and did business in a row of houses known as the Thirteen Factories, on the banks of the Pearl River. In 1859, Great Britain and France dug an artificial river (now called Shajichong) to the north, making it an island. Since then, Shamian became a strategic point for city defense during the First and Second Opium Wars. The British captured the Shamian Fort in the Canton River operations in March 1841 during the First Opium War. In the 1847 expedition to Canton, they seized the Shamian batteries along with the rest of the forts guarding the city. In the first armed conflict of the Second Opium War, the British recaptured the forts in 1856.
It was connected to the mainland by two bridges, which were closed at 10 pm as a security measure. Trading companies from Britain, the United States, France, Holland, Italy, Germany, Portugal, and Japan built stone mansions along the waterfront. The construction on the island was characterized by climate-adapted but Western-plan detached houses with hipped roofs and large verandahs.
After 1949, the mansions of Shamian became government offices or apartment houses and the churches were turned into factories.
Various bronze statues are scattered around the island, which depict life as it was during earlier periods on the island, as well as from more recent times. For example, one statue entitled “A gentleman, a lady and a darn woman” shows a Western couple watching a Chinese woman darning cloth. Another depicts the changing appearances and stature of Chinese women, with a woman from colonial times in traditional clothing, a slightly taller woman from the early or mid-20th century wearing a cheongsam, and a relatively tall and slender young Chinese woman wearing shorts and talking on a mobile phone. Urban Legends
Qingpink Medical Herbs. Surrounded by herbals in all directions, this is a large store occupying a large corner. 
Shangxiajiu Street. A major shopping street with mostly clothes and jewelry stores. The street is pedestrianized and ends on one end at a large square. A statue of a globe topped by a horse is at one side. All the small food shops are on the street to the north.  Urban Legends
ON Aesthetic Fashion (Kaino) Hotel for the second night.

Day 20 Sun Nov 4
We had decided to change hotels nearer to Beijing Street and spent the day reading, sleeping and relaxing. I ate lunch at Friend, the burger joint with very good burgers of unique varieties.
ON Fashion Period Ins Projection Hotel. We were on the 29th floor with the lobby on the 18th. The very bottom is totally renovated and modern, but the hallways of the hotel are in shabby condition. The room is nicer but still dated, but it has windows, a small kitchen and fridge.

Day 21 Mon Nov 5
Beijing Road (Bei Jing Lu) is one of the most popular shopping destinations in Guangzhou, attracting both locals and tourists alike with its vibrant atmosphere, rich history, and endless shopping options. As you stroll along the street, you’ll encounter remnants of ancient Guangzhou, including archaeological sites and historical ruins uncovered beneath the pavement. These include sections of old roads, ancient city walls, and other artifacts that showcase the city’s deep history. Urban Legends
Taotaoju. A restaurant famous for its traditional Cantonese food, especially wontons. There are several outlets, and it was difficult to determine the original restaurant. One just off Beijing Road was on the 7th floor of a large building.
Site of Southern Yue State Tentative WHS: (28/03/2008). (203 B.C.-111B.C.) Enter a huge building with the archaeological dig, There is a sizable stone-structured pond, an artificial stone brook, several wells and a few rough columns of dirt whose layers showed several dynasties. The walk through some small exhibits and go outside to a large grassed area with a nice stone drum. Another large building has the palace of the southern Yue state, but it was not so interesting. Free
Guangdong Museum of Revolutionary History. This dates from 1927 and the Guangdong Uprising, and continues through the three buildings to describe the Sino-Japanese War, and up to 1949 and the end of the Revolutionary War, when the communist party finally came to power. There are hundreds of photos and newspaper clippings that were all in Mandarin. Military, War and Police Museums Free
Dafo Temple. This massive Buddhist temple has gorgeous wood construction (beams, trusses, windows, balconies, roof lines). Enter through the magnificent main building and enter a square with several temples (some that seemed more Tao than Buddhist) surrounding the main temple with three giant gold Buddhas and a room resonating with the chanting of monks. Behind the above Buddhas is a great wall with a ceramic mosaic
ON Fashion Period.

Day 22 Thur Nov 6
We planned to see all the sites north of our previous sites, but instead, we watched mountaineering movies and played Yaniv all day. We have great fun with this card game. Anna is very good and won 5 out of 6 games. One was a monster with 57 hands, taking over 2 hours.
ON Fashion Period for the third night. 

Day 23 Fri Nov 7
We both flew today in the evening, so we saw the rest of the NM sites before noon, left the hotel at 12, ate and played cards and left for the airport at 3:30 pm.
We caught a Didi three km to the 5 goats and walked back past these sites. 
Five Goats of Guangzhou. A lovely large stone monument with a large male goat, a juvenile male and two ewes, one suckling a kid.  Walk through a park and up a long flight of stairs to a hill with the monument. Monuments:
Dr.Sun Yat-Sen’s Memorial Hall. From Guangzhou, he was the premier of China in 1921, and this hall was constructed from Architectural Delights
Temple of the Six Banyan Trees. (Liurong Temple)
Huaisheng Mosque. A simple mosque with white trusses, no mihrab, but a simple wood minbar. Women aren’t allowed.
Anna and I played cards and then took the metro to the airport. Her flight left at 7 and mine at 9.
Flight. Hainan Airlines. Guangzhou – Haiko, Hainan @21:00 – 23:00.
With a 9′ layover, I slept in the Haiko Airport.
Haiko – Osaka, Japan @ 08:05-12:20.

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