China 2000

Area: 7,475 square kilometers
Population: 6.56 million

Guangzhou, a capital city, is the largest and most prosperous trading city in southern China. It is situated in the south of China, with the Baiyun Hill in the north and the Zhujiang (Pearl River) Delta Plain in front. The city is 125 kilometers northwest of Hong Kong on the Pearl River.

The Chen Family Temple, also known as Guangdong Folk Art Museum, was built in the 1890s and has nine halls and six courtyards. Its windows, door frames, and pavilions are lavishly decorated with intricate carvings and sculptures. It is now the largest and best preserved and decorated ancient architecture existing in Guangdong province. The decoration combines wood carving, brick carving, stone carving, clay sculpture, ash sculpture, brass and iron foundry, grotto, new year painting, and other art forms. The special historical, artistic, and scientific aspects of the temple have made it an important attraction in Guangzhou

Six Banyan Temple is situated on the Liu Rong Road. Built in 537, it is a renowned Buddhist cultural site. The temple enshrines three large Buddhist statues--the biggest copper Buddhist statues existing in Guangdong province. The thousand-Buddha copper pillar cast in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) is kept on the top story of the pagoda. The 184-foot pagoda appears to have nine stories; inside, however, there are 17 levels. Because of the colorful exterior carvings, it is popularly known as the Flower Pagoda

Sun Yatsen Memorial Hall, built in 1931, is a famous commemorative structure of the Chinese revolution of 1911. It was designed by the well-known architect of modern China, Lu Yanzhi, who was also the designer of the Sun Yatsen Mausoleum in Nanjing. The building complex is composed of the arch over the gateway, the auditorium, and the several-storied buildings to the east and west. The auditorium is octagonal--in the shape of the palace hall.

We tried to go to the top of this tower, but luckily it was closed for the time being.

The tower above seen from Zhenhai tower.

In the middle, old Guangzhou.

Standing on the top of Yuexiu Hill in the northern suburbs, the 28-metre-high five-story tower, Zhenhai Tower (also known as the Five-Story Pagoda) was built on the orders of Zhu Liangzu, the Yongjia Marquis of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), to flaunt his power and the obsession that he was able to shake the seas and mountains. A magnificent building, it commands a bird's-eye view of the whole city. The tower now houses the City Museum; its exhibits chronicle the history of Guangzhou from Neolithic times till the early part of the 20th century.

The story tells that you have not visited Guangzhou before you have seen the five goats. Here is the evidence, I have been there.