Guangzhou
广州
Skip unless for business
Guangzhou is where Chinese manufacturing meets the world, and it feels like it. The city is enormous, charmless, and focused entirely on commerce. Yes, Cantonese food originated here, but Hong Kong perfected it. The 'attractions' are shopping districts and a tower. The temples are renovated beyond recognition. It's not bad, just boring - and in China, boring is unforgivable when so many incredible cities exist.
The Honest Take:
It's a massive business hub with good dim sum. That's it. Everything Guangzhou offers, Hong Kong does better and with more style. Unless you have a trade fair to attend, there's no reason to choose this over any other Chinese city.
- •Soulless business city atmosphere
- •Hong Kong does everything better
- •Attractions are just shopping and modern towers
- •Terrible air quality
- •Sprawling and difficult to navigate
- •Cultural sites heavily commercialized
What people fall for: It's a major city so it must be worth seeing
- ✓Shamian Island for colonial architecture
- ✓Chen Clan Academy is genuinely beautiful
- ✓Dim sum breakfast at local spots
- ✓Use as base for day trips to better places
- →If stuck here, eat dim sum early morning with locals
- →Canton Tower is overpriced - skip it
- →Seriously, just go to Hong Kong instead
- →The Pearl River cruise is underwhelming
- →Air quality is often terrible - check before visiting
Hong Kong for Cantonese culture, Chengdu for food, Shanghai for modernity
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