Editor's picks
A local's shortlist — the places worth your time first, each with a tip.
Shamian Island
Landmark · Liwan, on the Pearl River
A small sandbank that was the foreign concession from 1859 — colonial banks and consulates, banyan trees, and almost no traffic.
Local tip: Go early. By mid-morning it fills with wedding photographers, and the point of Shamian is that it is the one place in Guangzhou where you can hear birds. The old Anglican church and the riverside path on the south side are the good parts.
Xiguan & Enning Road
Neighborhood · Liwan, west of the old city
The historic Cantonese merchant quarter — arcaded qilou shophouses, Cantonese opera houses and the oldest food streets in the city.
Local tip: Enning Road has been restored and is busy; the interesting part is the lanes running off it, where the old Xiguan houses with their carved wooden folding doors are still lived in. This is where Cantonese food culture is at its densest and least performed.
Zhujiang New Town & Canton Tower
Landmark · Tianhe, the modern CBD
The new central axis — the opera house, the library, the museum, and the tapering Canton Tower across the river.
Local tip: The axis is best walked at night from the library down to the river. Skip the tower's paid observation deck; the free view from the Haixinsha park at the base of the axis, looking across at the lit tower, is the better one.
Qingping and the tea markets
Food · Liwan and Fangcun
Guangzhou's traditional medicine, dried goods and tea wholesale markets — enormous, working, and utterly unlike a tourist market.
Local tip: Fangcun is the largest tea wholesale market in China and the vendors will brew for you at length whether or not you buy. Go with a Cantonese-speaking friend, allow three hours, and expect to leave with more pu'er than you intended.
Xiaobei & Dengfeng
Neighborhood · Yuexiu, north of the centre
The trading district that has hosted Africa's and the Middle East's business communities in China for two decades.
Local tip: The restaurants here are the real reason to come — Nigerian, Ethiopian, Turkish, Uyghur and Yemeni cooking that exists nowhere else on the mainland at this quality. Numbers have fallen since 2020 but the food and the freight forwarders are still there.
Baiyun Mountain at dawn
Hidden gemNature · Baiyun district, northern Guangzhou
A 380-metre wooded massif inside the city, laced with paved paths and used properly by locals rather than visitors.
Local tip: Go at six in the morning and you will find several thousand Guangzhou residents walking, singing opera, practising tai chi and drinking tea at the summit teahouses. It is the single best window into ordinary Cantonese life in the city, it is free before a certain hour, and almost no foreign resident ever goes.
Explore 77 places across Guangzhou
Museums, landmarks, monuments, heritage sites and parks — mapped, with photos. The most notable spots first.
Museums & galleries
(18)
MuseumGuangdong Museum
General museum in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
MuseumChen Clan Academy
Academic template in Guangzhou, China
MuseumGuangdong Museum of Revolutionary History
Museum in Guangzhou, China
MuseumGuangdong Science Center
Science center in Guangdong, China
MuseumNanyue King Museum
A large archaeology museum in Guangzhou, China
MuseumXuelei Fragrance Museum
Museum in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
MuseumMemorial Museum of Generalissimo Sun Yat-sen's Mansion
Museum in Guangzhou.
MuseumGuangdong Museum of Art
Museum in Guangzhou.
MuseumCantonese Opera Art Museum
Museum in Guangzhou.
MuseumWong Fei-hung Memorial Hall
Museum in Foshan, China
MuseumGuangzhou Museum
Museum in Guangzhou, China
MuseumSite of Palace and Garden, Nanyue King Museum
Museum
MuseumGuangdong Overseas Chinese Museum
Museum in Guangzhou.
MuseumThe Museum of Biology, Sun Yat-sen University
Museum in Guangzhou.
Liwan Museum
Museum.
10,000 Tree Cottage
越秀区
Museum in 越秀区.
Memorial of the March 29th. Uprising Headquarters
越秀区
Museum in 越秀区.
Guangzhou Revolution Museum
Museum.
Landmarks & architecture
(14)
LandmarkGuangzhou Bridge
Bridge in People's Republic of China
LandmarkHaiyin Bridge
Bridge in People's Republic of China
Landmark
Landmark
LandmarkJiangwan Bridge
Bridge in People's Republic of China
LandmarkHaizhu Square
Public square in Guangzhou, China
LandmarkMemorial square of the first national congress of the Communist Youth League of China
Memorial square in Yuexiu, Guangzhou
LandmarkZhujiang Bridge
Bridge in People's Republic of China
LandmarkShijing Bridge
Landmark in Guangzhou.
LandmarkDoi Jyut Bridge
Ancient bridge in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, one of the twenty-four scenic spots in Jiu Kai, located between Gaak Saan Village and South Village in the Pearl River Southern Region, once a major transport route
Former police dorm. of the 11th District Police Station
Historic manor.
Black Flag Army Camp Remains
Castle.
General Temple
Historic manor.
联鹤新街2、4、6、8、10号民居
Historic manor.
Monuments & memorials
(5)
MonumentMemorial to the Shakee Massacre
Monument in Guangzhou.
Chen Yu Statue
Public artwork.
Yun Dai-ying Statue
Public artwork.
Lie Rong-zhen Statue
Public artwork.
Yang Yin Statue
Public artwork.
Places of worship
(15)
Religious
ReligiousSacred Heart Cathedral
Roman Catholic cathedral in Guangzhou (Canton), South China
Religious
Religious
ReligiousOur Lady of Lourdes Chapel
Chapel in Shamian Island, Guangzhou
ReligiousShamian Christian Church
Church in Guangdong, China
ReligiousTianhe Church
Church in Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China
Religious
ReligiousNanhai Guanyin Temple
Buddhist temple in Foshan, China
ReligiousChrist Church Wanshan
Church building in Liwan District, People's Republic of China
ReligiousZion Christian Church of Guangzhou
Religious in Guangzhou.
ReligiousHaopan Street Mosque
Mosque in Guangzhou, China
ReligiousFranciscan Church of the Five Injuries of Dongshan
Religious in Guangzhou.
ReligiousFuiSing Temple
Religious in Guangzhou.
Cui Clang Ancestral Hall
Place of worship.
Heritage & archaeology
(4)
ArchaeologicalSouthern Han Mausoleums Museum
Museum and cemetery in Guangzhou, China
ArchaeologicalSite of Nanyue Kingdom Palace
Archaeological site of the Palace of Nanyue Kingdom
Archaeological Site of the Wooden Watergate of Nanyue Kingdom
Archaeological site.
Pearl stone
Archaeological site.
Parks & nature
(18)
ParkSun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (Guangdong)
Memorial hall in Canton, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
ParkYuexiu Hill
Park on Yuexiu Hill, Guangzhou
ParkSouth China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Facility in Guangzhou, China
Park
ParkGuangzhou Insurrectional Martyr Cemetery Park
Building in Guangzhou Insurrectional Martyr Cemetery Park, China
ParkCemetery of 72 Martyrs of Yellow Flower Mound
Cemetery in Cemetery of 72 Martyrs of Yellow Flower Mound, China
ParkYuyin Shanfang
Park in Guangzhou.
ParkDafushan Forest Park
Park in People's Republic of China
ParkTianhe Park
Public park in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China
ParkGuangzhou Children's Park
Park in Guangzhou.
ParkYuntai Garden
Park in Baiyun District, People's Republic of China
ParkYunxi Botanical Garden
Park in Guangzhou.
ParkGuangzhou Pearl River Park
Park in Guangzhou.
ParkWanzuitou Wetland Park
A wetland park located in the southwest corner of Xiaoguwei Island, Panyu District, Guangzhou
ParkDouble Bridges Park
Park in Guangzhou.
ParkYunluo Botanical Garden
Park in Guangzhou.
ParkGuangzhou Higher Education Mega Center Central Lake Park
A public park in Panyu, Guangzhou
ParkBaiyun New Town Yunqili Park
Pocket park in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, China
More to explore
(3)Baiyun Dawn Lookout
Viewpoint.
Chimelong Resort
Visitor attraction.
Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street
Visitor attraction.
Data from Wikidata (CC0) & OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Images via Wikimedia Commons — see each credit. Listings are community-maintained and may be incomplete or out of date — verify hours and access before visiting.
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