Day 2 in Guangzhou

Saturday 12th May.

Destination: The Huang Hua Guang Memorial was a spacious park which was used by locals for family outings and dance practices or leisurely walks.

It also had a Statue of Liberty replica standing atop slabs of stones that commemorated overseas Chinese groups’ contributions to.

Destination: The Guangzhou Historical Museum traced migration routes, especially sea routes, to and from Guangzhou, in its explanation of the significance of Guangzhou’s port.
'First to accept Western Culture' was credited as the attitude that led to the rise of Guangzhou's economy, and probably is the reason why it attracts so many migrants. it is interesting to see how Guangzhou is a migration hub of some sort.


In the past many people would have migrated from Guangzhou to Hong Kong in search of jobs. Now, with Guangzhou’s busy industries, many people from many other parts of China are migrating to Guangzhou to find jobs. Some hope to make it to Hong Kong, others to Beijing or Shanghai. Either way, the industries thrive on migration, because migrants serve as the workforce and the consumers.


Its extensive international links meant that there was a diverse collection of items – from hot pink teacups to carvings of foreigners.





Menu: More Cantonese food at a Guangzhou restaurant for lunch, where the practice of washing eating utensils with tea was also carried out, like in Hong Kong. One wonders where this started (I’m thinking it would have started in whichever place had lazier dish-washers, instead of being a tradition that migrants brought to Hong Kong).




Destination: After lunch we walked along the streets of Guangzhou, which had a lot of cheap shopping and some interesting architecturesh. Shophouses resemble those in Hong Kong and Singapore but seem to be wider and more generous with space. Note: Nu Ren Jie is a ripoff of the one in Mongkok in HK!


Destination: The preserved house of a rich Chinese middleman, the Xiguan Big House, was spacious and its garden was luxurious.

It also housed many traditional Chinese souvenirs like name stamps, paintings, carvings and fans and had a resident calligraphy artist who was raising funds. Oddly enough this seemed to be the highlight of the afternoon – it would appear that we were very much fascinated in this chance to re-connect with our Chinese roots, so to speak.

Menu: Back in Hong Kong that night, we also sneaked in one last mango dessert in Hong Kong's famous dessert chain.

-Yinghui