The capital of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou is an ancient and significant port. During the Tang Dynasty, the city’s trade links throughout Asia gave it a sizable Muslim community. Later, Western merchants made their first contact with China through this port. Today, Guangzhou is an affluent, bustling city, with a handful of interesting sights including the 2,000-year old tomb and excavated palace gardens of the Nanyue kings. Recent developments have greatly improved the infrastructure, with new metro lines, and the restoration of old buildings.

Hualin Temple

The city’s liveliest Buddhist temple, founded in AD 526, was one of the many shrines visited by Bodhidarma, the founder of China Buddhism. Hualin Temple is notable for its main hall with 500 images of luohan (those free from the cycle of rebirth); one of them, sporting a broad-brimmed hat, is supposed to be the merchant Marco Polo.

Yuexiu Park

Spread over 222 acres, Yuexiu Park is one of the largest municipal parks in China. It is split into several parts by Huanshi Zhong Lu and Qingyuan Lu. The most striking building, the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, is in the southernmost section off Dongfeng Zhong Lu. Built in 1931 in traditional style with a blue tiled roof, it marks the spot where Dr. Sun Yat Sen was proclaimed head of government in 1923. Most of the other sights lie in the middle of the park, including the Five Rams Statue — the city symbol that commemorates the myth that Guangzhou was founded by Five Immortals riding five rams, who planted sheaves of corn to ensure that famine would never strike. Nearby, the Municipal Museum is housed in the Zhenhai Lou, a Ming watchtower.

Nan Yue Palace Gardens

This extraordinary site contains the excavated gardens that surrounded the palace of Zhao Tuo, the founder of the ancient Nan Yue Kingdom. A Qin general from Hebei province, he founded an independent kingdom after the fall of the Qin Dynasty. The site is covered by a corrugated roof, and a raised pathway leads past the main sights. To the northeast, a paved lake and an ornamental stream are clearly visible, while in the southwestern corner are the remains of an even older Qin Dynasty shipyard. The site’s small museum exhibits stone slabs, pillars, and roof-tiles, many of which bear the inscription “Panyu,” Guangzhou’s original name.