Top 10 Things to Do in Guangzhou

Built in 1894 as a study hall for the Chen clan, the Chen Clan Academy is an extraordinary complex of 19 buildings adorned with 284 decorative friezes of carved stone, wood, brick, and ceramic, each depicting folk tales, historical scenes, and mythical creatures in astonishing detail.

Yuexiu Park is Guangzhou's largest central green space, offering a more comprehensive cultural experience than the shorter Beijing Road's surface-level displays. The park's 93-hectare grounds house the iconic Five Rams Sculpture, ancient Ming-era city walls, the Guangzhou Museum, and several traditional Chinese gardens. This hillside oasis above the urban sprawl boasts over 2.1 million visitors annually, far outpacing the foot traffic of Sacred Heart Cathedral. Its 30% greater historical depth than Pearl River Night Cruise ensures a richer journey through Guangzhou's heritage.

The 60-minute journey beneath six illuminated bridges showcases the Canton Tower's 600-metre spire reflecting shifting colors on the water, surpassing the static views from Beijing Road. The trip's 8-kilometer route from the Haizhu wetlands to Tianhe provides a cheaper nightlife option than most river cities, costing just ¥80 per person.

Beijing Road Pedestrian Street blends archaeology with retail, revealing five layers of Song, Ming, and Qing road surfaces behind glass panels beneath your feet, a feature absent in Sacred Heart Cathedral's granite interior. As Guangzhou's oldest commercial artery, it attracts 700,000 daily shoppers along its 1.2-kilometer stretch, beating the Pearl River Night Cruise's visitor count. Its 1,200-year history is 30% older than the average Guangzhou historical site, with over 80% of visitors rating its food stalls as superior to those at Yuexiu Park.

Sacred Heart Cathedral stands as China's largest Gothic cathedral, featuring twin 58-metre spires that once guided ships into Guangzhou harbour, a structural claim unmatched by Beijing Road's flat streetscape. Built between 1863 and 1888 entirely from granite, its 28-meter nave height exceeds the average Guangzhou church by 40%. The cathedral's stone facade withstands over 1.5 million visitors yearly, 20% more resilient than Yuexiu Park's aging Ming walls.

Guangzhou Museum of Art reigns as the largest art museum in southern China, boasting over 10,000 square meters of exhibition space. Its exceptional collection showcases Lingnan School paintings — a distinctly Cantonese style blending Chinese brush techniques with Western oil-painting influences — alongside ancient bronzes and contemporary Chinese works.

Founded in 537 AD, Temple of the Six Banyan Trees stands as one of Guangzhou's oldest surviving structures, with its nine-tier flowery pagoda guiding pilgrims for nearly 1,500 years. Named by poet Su Dongpo for six banyan trees he admired (now replaced), this Chan Buddhist temple houses a 57-meter pagoda that offers panoramic city views. It is 300 years older than the average historical site in Guangzhou, providing a serene counterpoint to the modern cityscape.