Explore Guangzhou Highlights

Spending a whole day touring the Chen Clan Academy and Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall  is an amazing and unforgettable experience.

In the morning, I leave the hotel for academic temple in Guangzhou: Chen Clan Academy which was built by the 72 Chen clans for their juniors' accommodation and preparation for the imperial examinations in 1894 in Qing Dynasty. It was changed to be the Chen Clan’s Industry College and then middle schools afterward. Now it becomes the house of the Guangdong Folk Art Museum and the complex consist of 19 buildings with nine halls and six courtyards.

Walking in the yard, facing south, the complex forms around a north-south axis. It exemplifies traditional Chinese architecture and decoration style and has influenced cultural and architectural developments worldwide. For the history, Chen Ruinan and Chen Zhaonan, Chinese-Americans who returned to Guangzhou proposed the idea to raise money from all the Chen clans to build a temple for worshiping of their ancestors and a place for their clansman to study for examination was finished in 1894 with the money donated by Chen families in 72 counties of Guangdong Province as well as some overseas family members. Go through on the main axis lie the Head-entrance the Gathering Hall and the Back Hall. These three main buildings are separated with courtyards.

After this traditional yard tour, I just go to explore the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, which is an octagon-shaped building in Guangzhou. The hall was designed by Lu Yanzhi and was built with funds raised by local and overseas Chinese people in memory of Sun Yat-sen. The construction work commenced in 1929 and completed in 1931. The hall is a large octagonal structure with a span of 71 meters without pillars, housing a large stage and seats 3,240 people.

Having been severely damaged it was repaired and improved several times. Until 1998, it was comprehensively upgraded to its present-day condition. A statue of Sun Yat-sen was erected in front of the main entrance which can give your very solemn feelings. It will refresh you after visiting the bustling commercial metropolis and provide you with a moment to touch this great man in Chinese history. He is our national hero and ends the Feudalism in China.

I always think Guangzhou is one of the most modern cities in China, however, after today’s unforgettable trip make me to start believe that this city is full of Chinese traditional culture and give you plenty imaginations for this lovely metropolis. 

Escape the hot summer in Gulangyu

The hot summer always drives people to escape from it and the seaside is certainly an ideal choice.

In the morning, we walked towards Gulangyu following our guide from Beijing China Holidays.

Alongside the road were flowers and trees. The taste of fleur and the solid fill the air. Sophia Yu, the guide told us how Gulangyu got its name. It was uninhabited island called Yuanzhouzai. Only some Egrets and sea gulls flied there and took a rest. At the end of Song dynasty, a fisherman met with storm and anchored on the Gulangyu. He found a rock higher than a man and would cause sound of honglonglong as drums. Since then he called the island Gulangyu.

After waiting for about 10 minutes, we boarded a cruise. White clouds floated on the sky. The wave lashed against the rocks，sending up pearly sprays.  The wide sea eased my mind.

Stepping into alleys of Gulangyu, I didn’t see noisy crowds and cars. There were many building of European style with nobody lived.

In the Crystal Cove, we got the opportunity to appreciate pianos from different countries, which were spared from the two world wars. The staff in the museum introduced the background of every piano and played a tune.

The beach was shinning with the sunshine. The white sea tide was washing the golden beach. Men rolled up their pants and women’s dresses danced with the wind.

I found a reef flat and warm. I lied down, enjoying the touch of the wind, bathing in the sun and listening to the sea tide. All these helped me forgot all sorrows and miseries. If you want to refresh yourself like me, you can find a beach tour by visiting http://www.chinaholidays.com/tours/xiamen-daytrip-gulangyu-island.html

    

Enjoy the picture gallery along by Lijiang Cruise

Li River is situated in Guilin, Guangxi Province. It is considered as the highlight of sightseeing in Guilin. The 83-km-long waterway from Guilin to Yangshuo is the masterpiece of Li River, decorated with rolling hills, steep cliffs, fantastic caves, leisurely boats and lined bamboos which is just like enjoying a melodious symphony.

The crystal clear Li River is located amid precipitous peaks hung with waterfalls. Among poems singing the praise of its beauty are these tow lines: "He who travels in Guilin hills finds himself in a fairyland", and "He who sails along the Li River finds himself boating in a sweet dream."

You can breathe the fresh air, feel gentle breeze and appreciate the fabulous landscape on both sides of Li River. In spring, tourists may stand on the front of a boat and let the mizzle falls onto their faces. It is really a wonderful experience.

The most beautiful scenes of Guilin are found along the Li River. The hills beyond hills with their reflections in the crystal water are like fairy land, the green bamboo greets you all the way along the river in the breeze; the water buffaloes eating grass casually; the ducks swimming along the river; the fisherman fishing or catnapping on the bamboo rafts with his cormorants resting peacefully next to him, it's God dotted landscape. "Serenity" is a word poet tried to describe, "story-book-mountains" is kids say about the hills. Chinese traditional paintings are what Chinese artists have being trying to depict the scenery for thousands of years. But the natural beauty of the Li River is indeed beyond any descriptions, you have to be there to see with your own eyes and to feel with your own heart.

Li River cruise ends in Yangshuo. Yangshuo is a small town, where the clear water, verdant mountain peaks and hillocks, and spectacular caverns compose a captivating picture. Green Lotus Peak, Schoolboy Hill and Snow Lion Ridge surround this beautiful town. Many people would like to do countryside tour programs in Yangshuo, including bamboo rafting on Yulong River, cormorant fishing show and cycling tour in Yangshuo.

China’s Guoliang, Kunshan tunnel and Xiyagou hanging wall highway

It is the world's ninth largest miracle of artificial digging. It’s rather difficult to find these tunnel roads. They are located in a very remote region deep into China. If you want to get there, you should start your trip in Xinxiang, a city in the Henan province.

Guoliang tunnel located in the Taihang Mountains of China. It is a natural village of Taihang mountain. Guoliang village is located on guoliang cliff. In the past, people walk through a valley surrounded by steep cliffs is the only way down the mountain, and then climb a series of cut out stone steps. Cut off from the rest of the world, unless a road could be constructed trough the cliffs.

This all changed in 1971. The villagers decided to dig the tunnel road themselves. It was their only hope to get connected to the rest of the world. Without any training, the construction of the tunnel was very dangerous. Farmers were working with explosives on the steep cliffs. Some of them died in fatal accidents, but the others kept on digging. Finally, known as “Cliff promenade” the tunnel was opened to traffic. The tunnel is about 5 meters high (15 ft) and 4 meters (12 ft) wide. It is wide enough for two vehicles to pass.

Xiyagou hanging wall highway and Kunshan Tunnel

Not so far away from Guoliang, but located deeper into the Taihang mountains, there are two other villages who connected themselves to the world by means of a Kunshan tunnel  and Xiyagou hanging wall highway. Kunshan is very little is known about it, but just as the other tunnels it was constructed by farmers to create an easy access to their village. The pictures speak for themselves. The road would spiral across the surface of a cliff with windows along the way to remove the crushed rocks, just like the villagers in the nearby Guoliang had done it.