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Nice compilation.
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My paternal grandparents live in Guangzhou along with my Aunt. I think my dad might be there right now on vacation.
I recently was there in January. It's pretty nice then because it's not too cold and not too warm. When I arrived at the Baiyun airport, it was completely unrecognizable. I was there maybe 3 1/2 years before in 2004, and its airport reminded me on one in Florianopolis in Brazil: small and kind of grimy. The kind of airport that serves a small city and is never updated. So when I saw the gleaming new airport, it was not so much shocking than it was a "duh, how obvious" situation. This is after all a city with 7+ million people in it. The last time I was on the subway was when I visited in 1999. It kind of reminded me of Beijing's subway nowadays, except it only had one line. It was clean and simple but hardly gleaming. And it seemed completely useless given the one line and how empty it was. When I took the subway last January, the newer stations just blow me away. Despite the gleaming new buildings, airport, and subway, the city is still much the same from before. It's still has many of the same grimy alleys, markets, and street vendors from before. There is something truly genuine in these places that cannot be re-created. The city is an interesting mix of new and old that I find truly interesting. |
^Cool.
I'd love to head out that way one of these days. |
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I have a few other thoughts. It was only 7 years ago that Guangzhou was still using those old-style electric buses that use power from wires running through the streets above. If they were there last January, I didn't see them. The taxis now have TVs in the back. I think the city as a whole has become wealthier. I remember seeing modern skyscrapers back 7 years ago. I didn't think of them much then. In January, I saw even more skyscrapers, and I still didn't think of them much. While the city is richer in general, the people around the city are still generally the same. Despite large changes in the landscape, the people there will still live the same way albeit with some changes. Maybe it seems this way coming from my American eyes. The other thing is that these skyscrapers keep going up, but they're boring in my eyes. There is nothing new or innovative about them, and they all look the same. They may line the streets that I walk, but I never notice them. One more thing. I arrived there last January deep in the night, at around 2 or 3. The streets are bare and everything is generally closed. Only a couple of restaurants were open around my hotel, which was close to where my grandparents lived. It's a pretty dead city at night, but there are places open if you look hard enough and plenty of taxis operating. |
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I was only about 14 or 15 back in 1999, so I didn't really understand what was going on. The single line subway back then had almost nobody on them and seemed completely useless. It seemed like a waste of money to build a subway system to serve a population that couldn't afford the fares, which were expensive compared with buses.
Now, Guangzhou's population is a good deal richer. There are several more subway lines which, as I mentioned above, look far better than the subway before. And there are plenty of people riding the subway not only because they can afford to, but because the expansion of lines has made it convenient to do so. I barely remember the first time I went to Guangzhou. I was about 3 or 4 back in the late 80's. All I know is that the city was still full of bicycles. In fact, my grandfather used to pedal me around on his bicycle with me sitting in the back. So much has changed in the last 20 years, yet people still have not changed their values that much and have simply adapted the new changes (subways, cars, skyscrapers, etc.) to those values. |
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wow, this is far and away the best compilation I've found anywhere on the internet of Guangzhou photos! The pictures really do a good job of capturing the variety of Guangzhou and the beauty of it, because as anyone who has been there knows, it doesn't always look beautiful with the smog, but beneath the smog lies a fantastically interesting city
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i turned down a job in guangzhou a few months ago. kinda regret it now. thanks for the tour.
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And traffic can be pretty tough. I remember in my trip 1 year ago, I was stuck in a taxi at night once. I don't know where I was stuck. I just remember that it took a long time to get past that area. Also, I remember almost immediately after I came back to New York, I read something in the New York Times about Guangzhou. It was something about the city banning all motorcycles and motorized scooters because of thieves using motorcycles to steal purses. Is that still in effect? |
a pearl of a city , very impressive :eek:
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great tour...i love how many people outside of China still wouldnt have a clue about the state of many cities in China.
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Guangzhou is amazing, one of the best cities in Asia IMO.
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I'm going back to GZ on Tuesday!!!!:banana: dchan, they do still have some of those electric buses with the wire above it, I've seen a couple of them last year. Also to the thread starter, I love that pic you have of the road to Baiyun airport, have you seen it early in the morning when the sun is coming up? it looks amazing. Also, have any of you in this thread ever been to Guilin? I'm gonna go check it out on this trip, any exciting things to do there that you would recommend? Cheers
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Thanks for the tour.
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I lived in Guangzhou for 8 years, and often visit there. Overall i like Guangzhou better then Shen zhen, because when i go to Shen zhen i don't get any history, everything is new.
Overall, Guangzhou has the best dim sum in the world, "吃在广州“ lol, lots of great chines food. Their subway system omg, compare to USA is so much better. I used to live in Shamian Island for 8 years, if you go there, you have to go to White Swan Hotel and some photo also, on the week ends go to their Morning Tea Buffet at 3rd floor is all you can eat is around $100 Chinese $. Pretty Cheap, is also a 5 star hotel, great dim sum, used to go there every weekend. As of the electric buses "102" now has Low Floor Cars so they are ADA. I think these electric buses are an great way to show the old Guangzhou. I visit once an while, if you got anything i might be able to answer you. |
Nice post...Thank you very much!!......http://parkservice-flieger.de/Icons/smileyhappy.ico
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Park
http://dcbbs.zol.com.cn/2/19_10652.html http://i969.photobucket.com/albums/a.../guangzhou.jpg http://i969.photobucket.com/albums/a...guangzhou4.jpg http://i969.photobucket.com/albums/a...guangzhou3.jpg http://i969.photobucket.com/albums/a...guangzhou2.jpg http://i969.photobucket.com/albums/a...guangzhou5.jpg |
Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower It was topped-out in 2009 and will be completed in 2010 in order to be fully operational for the 2010 Asian Games. Its located Haizhu District. http://dcbbs.zol.com.cn/2/19_12997.html http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/a...%20China/7.jpg http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/a...20China/gz.jpg http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/a...%20China/1.jpg |
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