It’s time to have the very first Guangzhou Meet-Up! Everyone living or traveling in Guangzhou at the moment can participate in this trip to the Xiaozhou Village. We will have a nice afternoon by relaxing and chatting in a coffee shop, we also have a great chance to walk around the ancient village and take photos.

Time: Sunday 24th March 2pm

Place: Xiaozhou Village main gate (click the map below to see it bigger)

How to get there: Take a bus 45, 252 or 468 to 小洲村 xiao zhou cun bus stop. Easiest way is to hop on to 252 or 468 at Kecun metro station (same side of the road as exit C). The ride will take about 40 minutes. (Click the map below)

If you live on the University Island (also known as University City, HEMC and 大学城) let me know and we can bike there together. The bridge between the University Island and Xiaozhou Village is being renovated so busses or taxis can’t cross it, but bikes can.

Confirmation via email: If you are coming, please send me an email with your name and phone number to sara(a)sarajaaksola.com (change (a) to @ before sending!) I will then send a message back to you so you can contact me if you get lost or are late.

See you on Sunday!

Flower Fairs are a big tradition in Guangzhou before the Chinese New Year. Firework show being cancelled from now onwards the best way to celebrate the holidays is to visit different flower fair available all around the city. Tomorrow will be the last day of the flower fairs in Guangzhou.

I visited the Haizhu District Flower Fair at Binjiang West Road (滨江西路). You will need at least one hour, but better to prepare even more time. Besides flowers there is so much else to buy too. Anything you need to have a beautiful and tasty Spring Festival.

Do you think Guangzhou is all about the bustling city life and high rises in Tianhe and Zhujiang New Town? Well, guess again! You can find many relaxed countryside destinations inside Guangzhou too! Following photos are from the Changzhou Island (长洲岛), right next to the University Island （大学城）.

To get to Changzhou first take the metro to the Higher Educational Mega Center North on line 4. Then get exit D and a bus 332 to Changzhou. You can get off at the last stop for example.

2012 South China Book Festival opened today on the 17th here in Guangzhou and it was my first time to visit the book festival. It truly is a book lover’s heaven! Books in simplified Chinese for all taste and reader, books written in traditional characters at the Taiwan pavilion and English books section right next to it.

South China Book Festival is open at Canton Fair Pazhou Complex (Area B) until the 23rd. The festival is free and we didn’t even need any tickets to enter the area.

If you are in Guangzhou or close-by and want to buy books, including cheap English books, you should visit South China Book Festival. Besides books you can also find lots of stationary products there.

There are so many books at the festival so it’s hard to know where to start! Most of the books were in some kind of discount, for some you could even get 90% off! The cheapest English books were 15RMB, that’s very cheap.

Books I bought

I bought Peony in Love and Dreams of Joy by Lisa See, I’ve read some of her books before and liked them a lot. I haven’t read anything from Hong Ying before, but her K: The Art of Love sounded good so I decided to buy it. It’s hard for me to resist any cheap books about China! K: The Art of Love is a true love story between Julian Bell and Lin Cheng in 1930′s China.

A true story is also Aisling Juanjuan Shen’s memoir A Tiger’s Heart, which is a story of a modern Chinese woman who was born in 1974. I’ve always liked memoirs and autobiographies from Chinese writers, I’ve read dozens of them, so I couldn’t leave this book behind.

Then I saw A Good Fall by Ha Jin. I’ve heard the name before and had the impression that he is regarded as an excellent writer so I decided to buy his book. And just now I remembered that I have read his The Crazed and it’s in my bookshelf!

The last English book I bought I had been wanting to buy for a while now. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua caused a stir when it was published and finally I can read it myself. Have any of you read it?

Some of you might remember my goal to read five books in Chinese this year. I’m now reading my second book and I have to keep up in order to finish that and three more during the next few months. Because I’ve noticed that translated books are usually a bit easier to read, I decided to buy Twilight by Stephenie Meyer in Chinese! I’ve read the second book two years ago in English when I was in a hospital and seen two movies, so familiar story will make reading easier too. The language in translated books like this is closest to my level so it’s excellent study material even though it might not be the greatest work of art.

My boyfriend asked when do I have the time to read all these books. I replied that he has no idea how many books I have in Finland that I haven’t read! Besides reading, buying and collecting books is a dear hobby of mine. Most of my books are written by Chinese authors or are about China. Some in Finnish, many in English, and hopefully later on I will have many more in Chinese too.

Click the map to see a larger version!

Today I want to introduce you to one of the most interesting areas in Guangzhou, the Xiguan district. If you are at all interested in history of Guangzhou and seeing local lifestyle, then continue reading.

Wikipedia article of Xiguan says:

Xiguan is a traditional geographical division of Guangzhou, China. It is situated in Liwan District. The area outside the west gate of Guangzhou is collectively called Xiguan in Ming and Qing Dynasty. It is worth mentioning that the name is still in use nowadays.

After this short introduction we’ll go for a tour and see some interesting spots in Xiguan.

Jin Lun Guild Hall, Guangzhou Silk Industry Museum

The first stop is Jin Lun Guild Hall that includes the Guangzhou Silk Industry Museum. It’s a small museum, but a very excellent one as it’s has a lot of information in English too. It’s free to enter, but you have to sign your name.

Show this to taxi driver: 荔湾区康王南路289号，锦纶会馆，广州丝织行业博物馆

Hualin Jade Street

Hualin Jade Street is the place in Guangzhou to buy jade. Even if you’re not buying anything, it’s interesting to take a look at the jade jewelry and get the feeling of a buzzing market place from the Qing dynasty.

To taxi driver: 荔湾区，华林玉器街 （上下九附近）

Hualin Temple

The history of Hualin Temple dates back to Southern Dynasties, “1654 the temple was expanded and renamed Hualin Temple”. I have visited many temples in China and I believe that the best experience would be to visit with a guide who knows about Buddhism and the history of that certain temple. Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to have such a guide and that’s why visiting temples is more for taking pictures.

To taxi driver: 荔湾区，华林寺 （上下九附近）

Yaohua Community (Lingnan style houses)

This week was my second time to visit the Yaohua Community, one of my favourite places in Guangzhou. My dream would be to buy a place here, renovate it and live here with my family. But I don’t know even if foreigners are allowed to live here!

More information from Life of Guangzhou:

Yaohua community, which is crisscrossed by nearly a hundred flagstone paths, is well-known and respected for its history and architecture. — The commonly seen Xi Guan style (old Guangzhou) residences in the Yaohua community are miniatures of traditional Cantonese architecture. — Feng Yuan Street now has 12 arches, more than any other street in Guangzhou. — The Yaohua Community currently has a population of 5,958 people, 21.8% of which are senior citizens.

To taxi driver: 荔湾区，文昌北路，耀华大街

Litchi Bay (Lizhiwan)

Litchi Bay is a must see destination in Guangzhou, no matter if you are a history puff or not. Take a boat ride along the small river, taste traditional small snacks and walk around the beautiful park. From here you can also find the Lingnan Museum.

Like in any other park, also in Liwan Lake Park (next to Litchi Bay) you can find Chinese people playing, singing and enjoining their lives. I think parks are excellent tourist spots because there you can see how the local people relaxes and uses their free time.

To taxi driver: 荔湾区，荔枝湾

Enning Road

I don’t have any photos from Enning Road because the two times I’ve been there it have been always raining. But here is some information about this road from Life of Guangzhou:

Xiguan people living in Enning Road have retained their way of life. The evolution of the city has seemingly stopped here. Elderly with fans lying next to sliding timber doors, sleepy dogs on the stone-made streets, stalls selling steel pans, coal or repairing shoes, old-style shops for hair dressing and tailoring. Elements of Xiguan culture concentrated in this tiny historic road.

Enning Road has a nice little foot massage place that offers foot bath and massage for 25RMB. Besides foot they also massaged my neck, back and arms for the same price!

To taxi driver: 荔湾区，恩宁路

Shang Xia Jiu Shopping Street

Shang Xia Jiu is the place for shopping and eating. I’ve been there many times during my plus two years in Guangzhou. You can find cheap clothing, bags and shoes, food from Western pizza to Chinese snacks.  Here you can also find shopping malls for silver and pearl jewelry. The Jade Street is right behind the Shang Xia Jiu.

To taxi driver: 上下九