what to eat

Man Han Quan Xi
Man Han Quan Xi was reproduced by Guangzhou hotel in 1984. It is the most famous Chinese banquet in history. This banquet rose up in one of the three great Chinese prosperity dynasty: the rein of Emperor Kangxi and of Qianlong in Qing Dynasty. There are 108 dishes to nearly 200 dishes in Man Han Quan Xi Banquet. Guangzhou Hotel cooks Man Han Quan Xi with 108 courses which famous in recent years. There are too many things to see in this banquet including salty dishes, sweet dishes, meat and vegetable dishes... This banquet with fancy dishware and high quality dishware enable the guests to experience the resplendent Chinese food culture. It has been attracted Lots of gastronomists both from home and abroad, and they have deep impression towards this banquet. Some gastronomists fly here to taste this banquet designedly. After dining they are full of praise to it. 

 

Guangshi Shao La
Guangshi Sha La means the Cantonese Shao La. Shao La refers to grilled meat, pickled meat and preserved meat. Shao La is a general designation of roast suckling pig, carbonado, barbecued pork, roasted duck, baked goose, braised food and so on. Cantonese Shao La with beautiful appearance and unique flavor was created early in Tang Dynasty on the basic of Beijng preserved food. In Tang and Song Dynasty, Arab and Indian brought the skills of stuffing meat into pork intestine to Guangzhou. So chefs of Guangzhou created Cantonese Shao La by introjecting the skills from abroad and local methods of marinating meat. Cantonese Shao La can be divided into three large categories: the grilled, the pickled and the preserved. The grilled has more than 20 breeds such as roasted sucking pig, roasted duck, roasted goose and so on. The marinated is about 30 breeds like marinated duck, marinated goose, etc. The preserved has above 50 kinds: preserved meat, preserved chicken, preserved duck...
 

Golden Medal Roasted Sucking Pig
Roasted Sucking Pig is well known for having been awarded the "Golden Medal". It is a famous Cantonese dish in dinner. Guangzhou has the workmanship of roasting sucking pig for more than 1400 years. The ancients had given it high praise: colored as amber and also gold; melted entering mouth; shaped as if the snow; tasted uncommon. Roasted sucking pig is the most representational traditional food in Guangzhou and usually served for special occasions. When the Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was in Guangzhou the White Swan Hotel entertained her roasted sucking pig. The flesh of the sucking pig is pale and tender and the skin is crispy and highly valued as pork rinds. The texture of the meat is somewhat gelatinous. 

 

what to buy

Jade Carvings of Guangzhou
Jade Carving skill came into being in mid and later period of Tang Dynasty with more than 1000 years history. Jade Carvings mainly compose of jade ornaments and jade furnishings. Guangzhou people like jade articles very much and they believe jade articles are auspicious matters and also treat them as treasure. They also believe that jade can prevent people from disaster and illness. The jade article industry and selling were numerous in Qing Dynasty. Jade ornaments are made by rare emerald jade from Burma. Jade carving furnishings are characters, flowers, birds, bottles, jade balls, pagodas, stoves and so on. Especially the jade balls are very unique. Small balls inside big balls and each of them can run freely. Besides, these balls are carved with mountains, water, flowers, human beings, fishes and birds, etc. They jade ball carving is now having 20 layers (20 balls inside balls).

Colored Glazed Pottery of Guangzhou
Colored Glazed Pottery of Guangzhou in Chinese is "Guangzhou Cai Ci" and called "Guang Cai" for short. It is colored drawing in all kinds of white potteries and then fired into craftworks full of oriental features. Cuang Cai usually adopted Chinese brocade design is famous for flowery colors and is a unique genus of Chinese colored glazed pottery.
Zhi Jin Cai Ci is a noblest pottery. It is colored drawing golden pictures in white potteries and bake over a slow fire (fired in low temperature). Enamel potteries are the products in initial stages of Guang Cai. They featuring dignity and colourful was listed as the tributes for Qing Dynasty. Besides, some royal and noble from other countries sent officers to purchase these products specially.

Guangdong Embroidery
Guangdong Embroidery also named "Yue Embroidery". Yue Embroidery is one the famous four Chinese embroideries- Su Embroidery, Xiang Embroidery, Yue Embroidery and Shu Embroidery. Yue Embroidery is a general designation of folk embroidery of Guangzhou and its near by areas such as Nan Hai, Fanyu, Shun De and so on. Yue embroidery has a manufacture history of about 2000 years. Yue Embroideries are dresses, commodities, ornaments,

what to see in the evening

Cantonese Opera (Yue Ju)
This style of opera is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong and Macau. It is sung and read in Cantonese. The vocals rise and fall in ever changing rhymes, and the melodies are harmonious and graceful.

Night Cruise on Pearl River
Pearl River brings people a totally different look which is so fascinating that a night cruise on it would be quite an unforgettable experience. The highlights of cruise section are from the White Goose Pool to Guangzhou Bridge. The jade-colored water and colored lights on shore are creating a wonderful picture of a modern metropolis.
Place to start the cruise: Da Shatou Dock, Yanjiang Road, Guangzhou

weather

Guangzhou is located in humid subtropical climate zone, with sufficient sunshine and rainfall, and little frost and snow. Summers are long, humid and scorching, and winters are short, mild and sunny. The yearly average temperature in Guangzhou is 22 C (72 F). The lowest temperature is 0 C (32 F) in August, and the highest temperature reaches 39 C (102 F) in July. The annual precipitation is 1982 millimeters (78 inches).

April till June is the rainy season, while August till September is the hottest period with frequent typhoons. The best time to visit Guangzhou is autumn and winter, from October till February of the next year. Also in January, unlike cities in North China, Guangzhou becomes a world of flowers, with blossoms and flower markets almost everywhere. Summer is not quite recommended, because the wet and sizzling weather makes it easy to suffer from heat exhaustion. Please see our Guangzhou Tours and choose your time of travel.

The 107th Canton Fair will be held in Guangzhou from April 15 till May 5, 2010. Please have a look and book hotels at Canton Fair Hotels.