Chinese City Review - Guangzhou (Canton)

Guangzhou (simplified Chinese: 广州; traditional Chinese: 廣州; Cantonese pronunciation: [kʷɔ̌ːŋ.tsɐ̂u̯] or [kʷɔ̌ːŋ.tsɐ́u̯] ( listen); Mandarin pronunciation: [kwàŋ.ʈʂóu] ( listen)), traditionally romanised as Canton, is the capital and most populous city of the province of Guangdong in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong and 145 km (90 mi) north of Macau, Guangzhou was a major terminus of the maritime Silk Road and continues to serve as a major port and transportation hub.
Guangzhou is currently, the third most-populous city in mainland China, behind Beijing and Shanghai; holds sub-provincial administrative status; and is one of China's five National Central Cities. In 2015 the city's administrative area was estimated to have a population of 13,501,100 and forms part of one of the most populous metropolitan agglomerations on Earth. Some estimates place the population of the built-up area of the Pearl River Delta Mega City as high as 44 million without the Hong Kong SAR and 54 million including it. Guangzhou is identified as a Beta+ Global city. In recent years, there has been a rapidly increasing number of foreign residents and illegal immigrants from the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, as well as from Africa. This has led to it being dubbed the "Capital of the Third World". The migrant population from other provinces of China in Guangzhou was 40 percent of the city's total population in 2008. Most of them are rural migrants, and they speak only Mandarin.
Guangzhou was long the only Chinese port permitted for most foreign traders. The city proper fell to the British and was opened by the First Opium War. It lost trade to other ports such as Hong Kong and Shanghai, but continued to serve as a major entrepôt. In modern commerce, Guangzhou is best known for its annual Canton Fair, the oldest and largest trade fair in China. For the three consecutive years 2013-2015, Forbes ranked Guangzhou as the best commercial city on the Chinese mainland.
Let's take a proper look at Guangzhou, one of the four 1st tier cities in China...
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Twitter: @serpentza
Music used: that horrible annoying techno Chinese new year remix that constantly blares over and over during the Chinese new year...

[@cdnsoul5808]

I love it when you incorporate your fiancée in your video. The female presence definitely adds a little extra. Also as you do this, I noticed that she is not as shy as in the beginning and her English speaking is improving very nicely. Together you show another side of Chinese life viewed from your perspective. Great viewing - keep it up.

[@jaydee1822]

Gz born, new Zealand raised. Can speak fluent mando, canto and English

[@MenkoDany]

The guy at 06:25

[@AndyZULUL]

+Kempyx Exactly, same to men too, unless.. you like ugly ppl...

[@bobloblaw2259]

+Menko I don't know why but that is soooo funny. I'm crying hahah..

[@alanfalleur6550]

Capitalist pig in Guangzhou! ( > ︹ < ‶)

[@yesteryearr]

He's just asking for a punch in the face 😂

[@MalikCanada]

LOL I paused the video just to look for this comment and sure enough! hahaaha

[@irpacynot]

Your best video in a long time! Loved it. The city looks so entertaining at night.

[@laowhy86]

WINSTON - YOU USED THE POISON SONG

[@serpentza]

+laowhy86 worst song ever!

[@laowhy86]

+serpentza awesome video btw. beautifully shot. glad guangzhou gave you a little love this time.

[@serpentza]

+laowhy86 still skating on phlegm wherever I went, but yeah ;) Thanks mate!

[@OrangeCarpenter]

+Larry Li Are you guys talking about the song in the beginning? Do you know it's name?

[@OrangeCarpenter]

+Orange Carpenter Oh I actually found it...:-) 發財發福中國年 高清

[@khangiluta461]

Cantonese is an awesome language. I learn it as well as Mandarin and Hokkien.

[@yuxiangzhang5140]

I want to meet you personally somewhere in China since I have been watching your videos for quite a while. I am a Cantonese, a doctor in training in the US. Thanks you for your videos, so objective and real

[@michaelbaumgarn4733]

Guangzhou is beautiful! When I went there I loved it. So much green in the streets and you have these long way next to the rivers where people can cycle or skate

[@triciamssensensensibility3350]

Saying they are loud is all relative. To them, it is the norm. To you foreigners, it's loud. I am sure in other countries, the volume and chatter is similar, I.e Italy, Mexico. When I visited Guangzhou, I quite enjoyed it. I embraced their culture and their way of life. It was interesting and different. I hope the Cantonese language can survive. Personally I prefer the sound of the Cantonese dialect vs mandarin. Mandarin language sounds so harsh to me.

[@dc-og1dd]

Tricia MsSenseNSensibility +totally agree sound of the language is personal thing but u don't critic or show facial expression in disgust esp in public anyway CANTONESE is profound classical Chinese than Mandarin ,every scholar knows

[@khangiluta461]

Hokkien also sounds very nice. We should learn all forms of Chinese.

[@wayneq6237]

For one, in a crowded city, especially in a subway train, you have to speak louder when a lot others are also talking around you. For two, it’s not like you English speakers do not speak loudly - head out to any pub, after a couple of drinks, you people are also loud af, and I believe you have seen the freaking Irish when they are drunk. All I am saying is, whether anyone speaks loud or not, pretty depends on the personality of the person, and the emotion when the person speaks (e.g the person is very excited at the moment he/she speaks)

[@krisl7068]

How loud people speak is due to the culture. Hong Kong obviously speaks Cantonese and is just as dense, but in general they don't speak anywhere as loud as mainland Chinese people.

[@BB-hh7xq]

Of course, everything is relative. You could also say the same for pollution and manners, etc. You then go on to say Mandarin is harsh? Isn't harsh relative as well? Contradiction much? I've travelled to 100 countries and the people of Guangzhou are the second loudest people I've encountered - after Vietnamese people. People in China will say the same thing about the noise pollution there. You "visited" Guangzhou, so you know what is the "norm" in China now? Winston has been in China for over a decade and is married to a Chinese woman. Who has more credibility here?

[@hansuchtdruck162]

ZerpentZA's videos are just great! You have an unique style with interesting topics and a serious but entertaining style of commenting it! I am studying Modern China and have a big one year long stay in Beijing and Taipeh coming up, thanks for helping me preparing the journey! Keep doing your thing, greetings from Germany!

[@mianmianbao]

Who also speak Cantonese and is watching this?

[@jiayiyang3713]

my hometown

[@LSC124377322]

Aph meow 我

[@jimwong141]

So what？

[@manonxiong5113]

me~

[@postponpanda3302]

me as an guangzhou citizen

[@ThisIsJoe11]

Very nice video man!

[@TsarOfRuss]

Hey man, Your new Fiancee is very beautiful but most of all, very very positive, i have noticed she was always smiling even in ur previous videos... I hope you guys will be forever happy together, goodluck man... Thanks for the good vids as usual

[@AdrianJNyaoi]

You said Cantonese speakers are loud? then you have not mix with the Foochow. You can can hear them whisper to each other from from across the street

[@keenbros1714]

I have only been to Guangzhou once (well to China for that matter), but when we were there in April, the people on the trains were much quieter than on this video. Everyone seemed to be in "work" mode, where they seem to be in a more holiday spirit in the video.

[@kennyli4254]

Happy Chinese new year. Yes, Guangzhou is good, anyway FIRST!!!!

[@red-hat-mike]

+Kenny Li....... I been to GZ... about 6 times, and I love it ... more and more each time.

[@jkuang]

I can see a huge difference between 2010 and 2016. Your videos actually provided quite some records on how much Guangzhou has progressed. Nicely done.

[@carlanderton4510]

As usual ,great info from Winston ,my 3 year in china he has helped me out many times .,keep doing what you are doing mate.cheers

[@Game7Mode]

Charming video man I feel some poetic justice watching this having laughed my ass off at your Guangzhou misadventure.

[@MikeLiangsz]

I have the same impression as you. I've stayed in Guangzhou for 4 years for my college, and now I've been working in Shenzhen for more than 10 years. I think the the main reason is that Guangzhou likely has much much more people everywhere. Shenzhen also has very large population, but I don't know why the people is not that much on the street as Guangzhou.

[@michaelwatson6617]

very nicely done in other words good job on another good video

[@ggarzagarcia]

祝你们新年快乐！And y'all stay awesome!!! Now I want to see Guangzhou! 😊

[@AngelTovar]

Amazing and beautiful video!

[@chkhenderson]

Good Post. I (VERY MUCH) enjoyed her mandarin introductions.

[@TrueMexico]

First mainland city I visited. I remember being out of my comfort zone with all the activity on the street, like people on bikes heading in the opposite direction on multi-lane roads. Got used to it and grew to love the choas. I'd love to see a, Is Dongguan any good?, video. All I hear is that it's a dump and China's prostitution central. And maybe it is but there must be some good points, good people, food etc to Dongguan too. Go on, help out the city!

[@songhui2743]

Hello friend, don't you know the Dongguan sex industry had been investigating and punishment. Not prosititution centre any more. What a pity huh. Anyway, China still gets plenty of nice places worth visiting, welcome to China.

[@yeahxukee]

DongGuan is known for it's Southern cuisine, do some research or hook up with a local to take you places to eat!

[@bluecedar7914]

祝你哋恭喜發財！

[@worldcitizenra]

On a 3 day family visit trip for Chinese New Year, you would not have had time to see a lot of places that I really liked during the years that I was able to visit Guangzhou regularly. I didn't particularly enjoy the central part of the city, but there were still places in the center that were good and many places a short distance from the center. Canton Tower and the surrounding area were finished since my last trip to Guangzhou, so can't comment on that. If anyone is going to Guangzhou and has time to look around, try these places: DaFu Mountain Forest Park - great place to get away from it all and spend a day in a scenic park. Don't go on public holidays or weekends unless you enjoy being shoulder to shoulder with a lot of people going to the park on work holiday. The Temple of the Chen Family Heritage Museum - small restored old family home and family temple in Guangzhou center. BaoMo Gardens - beautifully landscaped area to spend a relaxing afternoon. LianHuaShan Park near LianHuaShan Port on the outskirts of Panyu - a strikingly restored and landscaped stone quarry that goes back to the time the Great Wall was being built. A great way to spend an afternoon in a peaceful setting. YuYuenShangFang (not sure of the pinyin spelling) - a family outing place. Combination landscaped gardens and low key family amusement park. No big amusement park rides when I went there, but plenty of activities for kids. Dim sum tea houses - Have to go to these places. I preferred the ones in several small off street pockets in Panyu where this type of restaurant is concentrated. Not as fancy and upscale as some of the famous dim sum restaurants in Hong Kong, but great food and fantastically low prices. However, you have to be with someone who is fluent in Cantonese (preferred) or Putonghua, because you are unlikely to find anyone working in these restaurants who speaks Englsh. In Guangzhou city center I went to dim sum restaurants that had English menus, but not in Panyu outside of western style hotels, where the food was both not as good and way more expensive. Hope you can go and have fun. Try to avoid the time of the Canton Trade Fairs in April and October. During those times, prices go up everywhere in and around Guangzhou, crowds become bigger, and quality of food and service goes down.

[@alanfalleur6550]

Guangzhou looks great! So colorful and the lights of the Canton Tower area, they kind of remind me of the Las Vegas strip. I love those old, preserved neighborhoods, too.

[@kaidw5618]

Happy lunar new year! Enjoy your video

[@Icebeam47]

That Light show is super awesome. Makes me want to go there

[@felixz2083]

Haha I really like your expressions "subpar", good one!!

[@MrGod47]

新年快樂！

[@Riskninjaz]

Thanks for the HD video

[@dtshakuras]

Wow, I just realized your fiancee is Canto. Way to go Winston! And Guangzhou is the best!

[@TheCrazyGent]

Enjoyed a couple of days there - Shamian Island (ex concession) and White Cloud Mountain were good quieter spots. Love the videos, make me want to go back.

[@ellaouise20]

very useful. Considering a job at Yinghao College, Guangzhou. Thanks, you are both very cool. Will check out more of your videos.

[@QQ367084099]

新镇...shenzhen is a new city it was built in 1980 ,before there is a little village.but guangzhou (canton) was built in A.C 214 , it is a old city ,you can't compare this. and a lot of shenzhen people don't likes guangzhou, because their envy

[@serpentza]

+L_Hob not about envy, more about personal preference

[@jeffreylai6796]

L_Hob i tot it shd be 深圳？

[@Kyle-nr6nm]

深圳 u smartass

[@xiaomengliu3177]

Your fiancé is very charming, even in Chinese perspective.

[@Texas80]

I fell in love with Guangzhou when I visited last. Pretty much love the entire Pearl River Delta and want to explore it more! Hong Kong up to Guangzhou/Foshan and down to Macau.

[@wunademones]

Good editing

[@Blakeusblades]

Love the mandarin names of the places spoken after the English! It's so clear and easy to understand!

[@SavlaKaivanDeepak]

happy new year! 我们全家都喜欢你，顺祝你全家新年快乐，万事如意！

[@brewenshaw7501]

I was visiting Guangzhou at this time also! would have enjoyed meeting you and buying you a drink!

[@TampaTec]

great insider view on Guangzhou China! How much is it for hotel room daily?? in Tampa USA it's about $70 usd (455.yen) 1 night/day for a ok place and about $170 (1107.23 Yen) for nicer hotel room near the beach.

[@l0rd0f0blivi0n]

I'm assuming you mean yuan not yen.

[@xiaofeng1797]

+Tampatec the ordinary Guangzhou hotel room about 200-500 rmb one day, expensive about 1000 rmb, china other cities almost the same, except Hongkong & Macao.

[@garethgibson5676]

nice video! also like to give an over-due thank you to you Serpentza. I watched all of your videos before moving to China back in June '13, they really helped prepare me for what life in china is like, its really much appreciated. Glad to see your channel has exploded in popularity since then. Also, you were on Beijing Road but you didnt get to ShaMian island? Next time youre in town I'd highly recommend taking your fiancee there, its a really historic, quiet and potentially romantic place. HaiZhu Lake and HuangPu old town are also 2 very nice and (relatively) quiet parts of the city. Anway, thanks again! Stay awesome.

[@l0rd0f0blivi0n]

Shamian was really nice when I went there. It seems like the kind of place people go for a leisurely day out, or where some rich people now live.

[@chinaheartforever4707]

恭喜发财！

[@DavidisDawei]

Guangzhou is worth a visit; if you have the time. There are other places to see if you have limited time in China. A lot of Westerners might know Guangzhou as "Canton" and I recall it being the Pearl River and Pearl Delta that stretches all the way down to Shenzhen, Macau and Hong Kong

[@OrangeCarpenter]

Hey there SerpentZA...you gotta tell me what's the name of that song playing in the beginning and at the end of your video. I think it's the song I heard in wedding studio in 2012 while we were taking our wedding photos....it's been playing in my hear ever since but never got to know what it was....so can you name it in chinese?...

[@easonliu3505]

Happy new year.Hope you see more good things in China and nice people.

[@viktorarvid8609]

I really like the city review concept. It might be good for people who want to go to China but don't know where to go, or to get an idea when planning your route through China. Would personally like to see Chongqing and Chengdu.

[@GordonWongKT]

Guangzhou feels like home to me, as I am a Malaysian Cantonese. I visited Guangzhou as well last year and this video reminds me of my home in China. Thank you.

[@sameerrazaali3777]

Come to india your impressions of china will change forever

[@eddiewang5117]

what do you mean by change

[@f481]

Yeah he would love it again in china cause of what a shithole india is.

[@johnsontan345]

The funny thing is he did, and he hated it.

[@AJsAdventuresinAsia]

Glad you finally enjoyed GZ. I hear 90% good things from travelers about it. For a huge city it looks quite nice to me.

[@wendychen7152]

Nice video to show around Guangzhou. It would be more impressive if you can also show the CBD of Guangzhou in the video!

[@socialcody]

Been away for awhile . back again and good to see your videos that i missed out on while i had been busy . I was curious about guangzhou , and this video is good input , for one i want to locate to a part of china which speaks mandarin so it's good to know the local language being mandarin or not . Cheers , Winston!

[@friedrichwong8998]

+socialcody In fact,every educated chinese can speak mandrin,and some of them can speak english.(especially people in beijing,shanghai,guangzhou,and shenzhen,the most international cities in china)So,dont worry about the language,just chose the city you like.

[@socialcody]

Friedrich Wong Xie xie ni , Friedrich ! =)

[@xiaoxiao5755]

I think the flower market thing is just in Guangdong, because the weather in other parts of China during spring festival are not warm enough for flowers to bloom

[@seankanouse1533]

you're getting a lot better at making videos about China. I am glad you get to do this for a job. I hope you get a huge donation from a fan. if i were rich id do it. lol

[@user-fn2vb1nn5t]

新年快乐!

[@heinzguderian1489]

Nice video by the way,I love your video's.

[@serpentza]

+Brian Ippolito haha, thanks mate

[@kealeamea]

mmm this video is more like it compared to the one i commented before :) ty!

[@MinhNguyen-mo5fp]

Beautiful city thank you for sharing ☺

[@hi-z]

my roommate is from this city. i didn't even realize this whole time she was speaking cantonese

[@dave101t]

6:50: "If you want to see some old bricks, come here" That would be the best advertising slogan!

[@myronl2910]

Cantonese language is like a competition of speaking louder than the other and very aggressive. my dad even sneezes extremely loud. I remember my mom telling me when we first came to America. My dad would get a lot of tickets for spitting lol. I think Winston would like to see that in China.

[@LIUSANG1]

In new year times, Flower markets are only in far south part of china, where it is warm. In ShanDong, where I'm from there are no such thing, as it will be to cold to have any flowers.

[@DavidisDawei]

Winston, I meant to ask before if you miss living out in Buji? It is so much different than Luohu

[@motognome2395]

Definitely looks worthy for a visit.

[@snarkyguy]

Did you go up inside Canton Tower? Its pretty awesome inside, that is...unless you happen to visit it when there is fog everywhere (in which case, you can see NOTHING).

[@serpentza]

+Snarky White Guy No didn't go inside, but I remember you made a vid about it a while back, cool stuff!

[@ciscokid3799]

Man, I need to save up some money, watching your videos inspires me to do some serious traveling.

[@AmazingGrace945]

The lights and colors are just beautiful.

[@LordApathy1]

Other nice places to see in Guangzhou are Chen Clan Academy, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, Shamian Island, Yuexiu Park and Baiyun Mountain.

[@violetyeung2245]

I come from the old part of Guangzhou and it is my favorite city in China....I think the subway is a bit noisy is because people from Guangzhou love "re nao" 热闹，especially during Chinese New Year. Actually local people in Guangzhou is very nice and full of "ren qing wei" 人情味. :) love this video

[@Dave-zc1du]

Hi Serpentza. How did you learn to read/write/speak mandarin? Did you attend classes in china during your time as a teacher, or did you study on your own? What did you do?

[@elasticharmony]

Chinese new year!! I even got my boxes of carmal!, Nice to think spring has started i hope.

[@steamsearcher]

We spent a week in Guangzhou and visited the museum cube. The tower was under construction at that time. I felt sad at the clearance of the smaller houses for the progress!! The old houses in the English quarter was interesting by the Pearl River. Best street found was the one just lined with shops selling bra's and shao co co's!!! Lily has a cousin living just up from the middle main station!!

[@montaguable]

First mainland City I ever visited. Only spent 4 days there and 3 were at a trade show and hotel across the street which was good but only places I visited were those meant to give most impressive impression to foreigners. I need to get back to spend some real time as it was a blur but I loved it. Thanks for the videos .

[@urbandweller]

Guangzhou is amazing. It was my 2nd city in China I had visited (after Shenzhen). The Zhujiang New Town CBD is perhaps the most impressive modern place in the world.

[@jjyoung3707]

Happy New Year!

[@fupabox]

The clarity on this video is amazing.. what camera are you using now ? ... great vid

[@serpentza]

+fupabox Canon G7X :)

[@fupabox]

serpentza thanks

[@pandabear153]

Gong hay faht toi!!! Happy Lunar New Year!

[@Brick-Life]

I go to Guangzhou every year both my parents are from Guangzhou i love it so good to be in and such good food. We have a apartment in Yuexiu area

[@Howard078]

Haha, finally you speak something good about Guangzhou. Thought you would never do that. By the way, perhaps you can also go to Zumiao祖庙 and Lingnanyinxiangyuan岭南印象园, if you want to to see more about Cantonese culture.

[@footstepsinchina299]

The wholesale markets around the railway station can be a lot of fun if your a bargain hunter. (the knock-off touts can get annoying though)

[@TheNomadsLens]

There's something for everybody in Guangzhou and if you're travelling with kids, there are plenty of activities for them. There is much for you to see there. Yuexiu Park Take a cruise on the Pearl River. Baiyun Mountain - White Cloud Mountain walk up and take cable car down. Shamian Island Chimelong Safari Park Chimelong Water Park Guangzhou Opera House

[@Nothingbutdust_]

I've been to Guangzhou too once and for the same reasons as you i didn't really like it that much. But i really liked Canton Tower and the bubble tram at the top ^^

[@blondegaijin]

If you buy "pleural eyes" software, it will automatically synch all your video to your externally recorded sound.

[@MrDavidc]

That park looked nice

[@garyyuan1958]

U don't like cantonese, but so many people love them and guangzhou city not just only speak cantonese ........

[@besozeshkan]

I lived in Guangzhou before and you have so much more there and the first thing i did when I got ther was to visit Chimelong Paradise that is one of my best memories.Then you have so many markets that you did not go through for all kind of products of whatever you want you´ll find in Guangzhou.My advise if you are a businessman/women is to visit when it´s Canton Fair then you have all kind of people meeting at one Place and you can find Everything from A to Z and a very good price also.

[@viersjohnyahoocom]

I love Guangzhou!

[@boobio1]

yes easy pussy love it!

[@sujohn534]

boobio1 omg!! lol

[@jmanlon2997]

question: what types of music does china have like are there different genres in Chinese like rap rock country and what is popular music there thanks and keep up the great work

[@gregorywang1945]

Hey, i like ur videos but can u plz use cantonese pronunciation next time for the places in canton thankss

[@MrKege1]

I can imagine you walk a lot in China. Do you track how many steps to walk a day? The last time I was there I walked till my feet dropped off

[@scorpio252000]

Check out the theme parks and the zoo in Panyu and you also can bike around the 大夫山. you can rent a bike really cheaply.

[@louier9033]

I love Guangzhou. If you go there you must go to the top of the Four Seasons and have a drink at the bar

[@charelesdickens434]

As someone who's grown up in New Mexico and loved visiting big cities like Toronto, would you recommend Guangzhou?

[@serpentza]

+Chareles Dickens sure, but Shenzhen is better

[@charelesdickens434]

+serpentza thanks

[@jameszeng3588]

Guangzhou is a cultural city with a history of more than two thousand years, Shenzhen city was built for more than thirty years, there is no long history of culture, only the tall buildings.

[@charelesdickens434]

+james zeng they're close enough I could see both right?

[@salmaabdullahgb]

Chareles Dickens Omg try Beijing

[@bikramdas01]

The quality is superb today...or is it my iPad and good lighting I don't know. The town square and Guangzhou tower was impressive

[@chanreaksaim]

hey dude! I'm currently a student in Kunming ( I love Kunming lol) and I'm about to go on a trip to Guangzhou and Shenzhen this August. so I'm just wondering if there are any advice or suggestions you can give in advance to a solo backpacker like me to make this trip wonderful. 谢谢！

[@wesleyshiong]

Did you guys avoid Sha Mian Island on purpose? It's the only place worth visiting in Guangzhou in my humble opinion.

[@tracyl5639]

He doesn’t want people know the good part

[@haoleon2464]

You should come to Zhejiang and Jiangsu next time, especially Hangzhou and Suzhou, really nice and Morden. Suzhou also protect its traditional culture and heritage very well.

[@Hoo88846]

+GUANHAO DU Love Hangzhou and Suzhou, heaven on earth. You should also visit the Hengdian Chinese Hollywood 横店影视城. It took us a whole day to just visit the 清明上河图.

[@jibalan]

其他城市跟北上广深没得比。

[@qdk4971]

呵呵 高楼大厦最没意思 要看就要看真正中国

[@mytu1000]

Guangzhou is nice place Thanks for the video Congrats to you & your fiance too