Pearl River Cruise

It will be a highlight of your Guangzhou tour that taking a Cruise on the beautiful Pearl River. The third longest river in China, the Pearl River measures 2,214 kilometers in length. The cruise will take you about 1.5 hours and it is really a great way to see the Guangzhou skyline as well as spectacular sites along the Pearl River. You can see many buildings which are very different from the skylines in Shamian Inland (Shameen Island). They are the reminders of Guangzhou’s colonial history. From the 18th to the mid 19th century, the Shamian Island was the only place where foreign businessmen were permitted to set up their warehouses and factories.

Sooner or later, you may find out that this city is similar with Hong Kong in some ways. They all like Dim Sum as well as pizza. In other words, Guangzhou is a modern city which doesn’t lose contact with its pass. However, as one of the largest cities in mainland China, Guangzhou is unique. Moreover, having dinner or sipping a cup of coffee or tea on the ship while you are enjoying the outdoor scenery will be very nice! 

Departure Time:
A:  18:30 -20:00, a buffet dinner will be supplied on board.
B:  20:30-22:00, tea and coffee are available on the ship for free.

Tips:
There are daytime cruise available on major holidays, Sunday, Saturday or even Peak tourism seasons. However, enjoying a Pearl River Cruise at night will be more pleasant for you to discover the charming southern China city.


The Canton Fair
China Import and Export Commodities Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, is held twice a year in the spring and autumn since it was inaugurated in the spring of 1957. The Fair has won its renown of “China’s No.1 Fair” for the longest history, the highest level, the largest scale, the most complete exhibit variety, the biggest buyer attendance, the broadest buyer distribution, the greatest business turnover, and the best credit standing in China. Anyone who is doing or wants to do business with China should consider visiting.
 
Forty-eight trading delegations, being composed of thousands of China's best foreign trade corporations (enterprises) with good credibility and sound financial capabilities, take part in the Fair, including foreign trade companies, factories, scientific research institutions, foreign invested enterprises, wholly foreign-owned enterprises, private enterprises, etc.

Besides traditional way of negotiating against samples, the Fair holds Canton Fair online. The Fair leans to export trade, though import business is also done here. Apart from the above-mentioned, various types of business activities such as economic and technical cooperation and exchanges, commodity inspection, insurance, transportation, advertising, consultation, etc. are also carried out in flexible ways.

Tips:
If you are going to the fair, book a hotel well in advance. Hotels tend to be booked and expensive during the Fair.
Taxis may not be your best option since there are traffic controls in the exhibit areas.


Flower Fair at Spring Festival Time

Guangzhou Flower Fair is an annual local festival. The origin of flower fairs can be traced back 500 years. From then on, flower fairs were held in Guangzhou during the Spring Festival. There is an old saying there, "No flower fairs, no Spring Festival."

When the Spring Festival approaches, the streets and fairs in Guangzhou bustle with people shopping and florists from suburban areas setting up temporary shacks for the flower fair. And it is customary for most of the families to visit the fair after the reunion dinner on the Chinese New Year's Eve and buy a potted tree with tangerines hanging on it. The tangerine symbolizes good luck and wealth to the local people and the chrysanthemum symbolizes longevity. Whether it is a "money" tree, cherry blossoms, or sweet olive plumes, plants and flowers all signify the blossoming of the New Year. This is an area of strong visual impact and cultural significance for the visitors. In the fair, there will be traditional Chinese performances, face painters, painting and calligraphers.


Guangzhou International Gourmet Festival

The Guangzhou International Gourmet Festival which is held during the period of the Autumn Canton Fair is a great time for those who are seeking for delicious cuisines. The fair gathers international and Chinese branded cater and snacks at the same venue. Signature dishes offered by local famous Guangzhou hotels and restaurants are excellent and characteristic. The highlight during the festival is the “Cooking Competition”. Participants are all top chefs in Guangzhou, judge by famous food critics and visitors. It creates great opportunities for learning and communicating.

Guangzhou Catering Culture:
Guangzhou cuisine also known as Cantonese Cuisine is one of the four famous cuisines in China. It becomes eminent with the development of its unique history, culture, geography and technology. Cantonese food gathers the advantages of other food styles. There are various extractive materials and seasonings like sea foods and wild vegetables. The cooking skill pays priority to light, fresh, clear, slippery, tenderness and nutrition, which also change with the seasons.

Guangzhou residents like drinking a cup of tea as well as having dim sum in the morning. When they meet in the morning, they usually greet each other by “Have you drunk tea?” There is a popular saying goes, "A cup of tea in the morning keeps the doctor away" indicating their love for morning tea. So if you visit this southern city of China, please do get up early in the morning!


Litchi Festival in Zengcheng
If you would like to visit Guangzhou and stay in the countryside for a while in summer, that you can’t miss the Litchi Festival held in Zengcheng. There you can feed yourself with the fresh Litchis and enjoy fabulous entertainment shows and artistic photograph exhibition as well.

Zengcheng has a long history of Litchi cultivation and the litchi economic prosperity, and these have a profound impact on every aspect of social life. A lot of streets and buildings named after litchi, and it also became signs of variety business. Litchi is theme of the poetry, photography, painting, and it is the theme of legend, anecdote, and other literary works as well. The distinctive Litchi Festival is celebrated by the locals as well as tourists who love this kind of fruit very much.

Cantonese Opera

The Cantonese Opera Festival is a great Guangzhou cultural event which is set to launch around November. It is hosted by the Guangzhou Cultural Affairs Bureau, Guangzhou Cultural and Art Union and Guangzhou Foundation for Cantonese Opera Revitalization.
Masters of Cantonese Opera from China and overseas will gather in Guangzhou to perform with high level. Excellent operas would be awarded during the event and also nice works and special cultural forums would be highlighted for the public and opera fans.

Maybe the Cantonese Opera is not as familiar as Peking Opera to the west. However, because of the charm of Cantonese Opera, there are more and more renowned troupes from Guangdong, Hong Kong, America, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Belgium, Demark, France, Switzerland, Thailand etc. take part in the festival. Local government wants to attract more young people's attention to this cultural essence of Guangdong, so the ticket price is reasonable. All the tickets for Cantonese Opera shows in the city’s Cultural Park will be just CNY10. Famous Cantonese Opera repertoire includes “The Legend of White Snake”, “Princess Chang Ping”, “Vicissitudes of the Country” and “Returning Home on a Snowy Night” and so on.