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Yuexiu Park, the largest park in the city, gets its name from Yuexiu Mountain, which is located in the park. Yuexiu Park is famous for its beautiful scenery and its large number of historical relics such as the Five-Ram Sculpture, Zhenhai Tower, the site of the Ming Dynasty City Wall, and the Square Cannon Site. You can get to the park by taking bus No. 2, 5, 6, 10, 58, or 101.
The Pearl River flows through Guangzhou City. At evening, taking a boat tour on the river to admire the breathtaking night view of the city is a great enjoyment. Stretching one's eyesight, visitors can see the gorgeousCanton Tower under dazzling lights abruping up to the sky .
Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family
Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family is famous for its exquisite craftsmanship including wood, stone, and brick carving, and metalwork using copper and iron. There are also wonderful murals. As for the carving techniques, both realistic and imaginative styles were employed to give the temple a magnificent yet solemn atmosphere.
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall is the most important relic in Guangdong Province. It was built for Dr. Sun Yat-sen after his death in 1925. It was completed in October of 1931.
White Cloud Mountain (Baiyun Shan) is easy to reach. Take the public bus, No. 199, 233, 24, 36, 285, or 540. Tourists can take a cable car to reach the top of the mountain. The entrance fee is CNY 5.
Bright Filial Piety Temple (Guangxiao Si) located at Guangxiao Lu, is the oldest and largest Buddhist temple in the Lingnan Area. The Bright Filial Piety Temple plays an important role in Chinese Buddhism history because many famous Buddhist monks came here to preach religious doctrines, bringing glory to this temple.
Get around
Public transportation system is comprehensive in Guangzhou like most other big Chinese cities. If you stay in Guangzhou for long time, purchase a multi-purpose Ling Nan Tong - Yang Cheng Tong (岭南通-羊城通) stored value card, which can be used to pay fares in metro, bus and ferries and used for many convenience stores, public phones and vending machines.
However, to return the card at the end of the trip, you need to go Gongyuanqian (Exit J) and Tiyu Xi Exit G, and East Railway Station. (Exit HJ). It may be worth simply keeping the card as a souvenir.
On foot
Despite the sheer size of the city, walking is a great way of exploring the traditional Liwan and Yuexiu districts. The easy tour is to walk through Zhongshan 6 Road (中山六路, Zhongshan Liulu) which covers most tourist attractions including Liurong Temple, Guangxiao Temple, Huaisheng Mosque and many huge markets. It also has the two most popular pedestrian streets , Beijing Lu and Shang-xia-jiu for shopping mania.
To give you some sense of direction whenever you get lost, figure out the location of two major horizontal lines, which are Zhongshan Road and the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang) , you will easily tell every direction. This area is also well connected by Metro Line 1 and Trolleybus 104, 107, 109 and 78(Night Bus) which is the only trackless tram system in South China.
By bicycle
Bicycles are promoted as low-carbon mode of transportation. Over 100 rental outlets are now available along many BRT lines and subway stations. The rental fee is by the hour and up to ¥30 a day. One popular bike route is along the Pearl River on the Haizhu District side. Other dedicated bike lanes are slowly appearing in the city center, including Tianhe District. Yangchengtong Card is accepted in many public rental outlets.
New bikes are available in major hypermarkets from ¥500 for a reasonable cheap single-speed to around ¥2000-3000 for a 21-speed mountain bike. Giant and Merida are the two most common international brands. High-end bicycles are also available to affluent customers in this rich city.
Folding bikes are permitted on the subway (sometimes not on buses) and tax, but non-folders are not permitted on any form of public transport other than the cross-river ferries. Bicycles are not permitted to cross the river via the Zhujiang Tunnel or Zhujiang suspension bridge, but are permitted to go on the public ferries for ¥1 (see below).
By subway
Opened in 1999, the ever-growing Guangzhou Metro system covers much of the city center. The fare ranges from ¥2 to ¥12. Most of the signs and announcements are in Chinese and English.
If you stay in Guangzhou for extended period, think of getting a Yang Cheng Tong transportation cards (see details above). Card holders can get 40% off on any rides since the 16th uses in every month.
There are currently 8 lines in operation:-
Central Lines
Line 1 is the most useful for tourists, horizontally cutting through the center of Guangzhou. Five major stations Huangsha, Changshuo Lu, Chen Clan's Academy, Ximenkou, Gongyuanqian cover up to 80% tourist sights.
Line 2 runs horizontally through Guangzhou South Station and Yuexiu Park.
Line 3 is a Y-shaped eastern Guangzhou. The 'main line' runs from Panyu Square to the Tianhe Intercity Coach Station, whilst the 'branch line' splits off at Tiyu Xilu and heads towards Airport South.
Line 5 runs east-west from Jiaokou (Liwan District) to Wenchong (Huangpu District) and follows the inner ring road through the city. Useful for reaching Guangzhou Railway Station, the Garden Hotel and Zhujiang New Town.
Others
Line 4 serves Guangzhou's eastern outer suburbs and runs from Huangcun in Huangpu District down to Jinzhou in Nansha. This line is most useful for reaching the Olympic Sport Centre and the University Town.
Line 8 was formed out of the remnants of Line 2 following it's southward extension and runs east-west through Haizhu District from Fenghuang Xincun to Wanshengwei. Useful for reaching Sun Yat-sen University and Pazhou Exhibition Centre.
Zhujiang New Town APM is an experimental autopilot metro system which takes you to the Canton Tower. You need a separate 2yuan ticket to get a ride.
Guangfo Line is China's first intercity railway, connecting downtown Foshan with Xilang, where you can transfer to Line 1. Central Foshan can be reached in approximately 45-60 minutes from central Guangzhou. Transfers from GZ metro lines and Yangchengtong cards are accepted.
By bus
Guangzhou bus network is comprehensive. Bus fares are ¥2 for adults and ¥1 for children, disables and senior citizens. However, information at bus stops is mostly written in Chinese characters. A current stop's name may be displayed in pinyin or English on a LED display panel as long as it is available. On-board announcements are made in Mandarin, Cantonese and mostly English as well.
Buses are only handy for traveling within one district or for reaching suburban districts that are not served by the subway. Heavy traffic can lead to a slow, uncomfortable journey although they can be handy for a cheap but slow sightseeing tour. Trolley bus lines (Routes 101-109) are handy for exploring Liwan and Yuexiu districts.
Most bus routes run from around 6am to 10 or 11pm, after which there are night buses with the prefix 'Ye’ (夜, night). Night route numbers are not related to the normal route numbers. The fare is usually ¥3 - ¥4. There are more than 100 night routes, but most of them stop running in between 12:00 to 1:30am, and some start again around 5am. In most cases, taking a taxi after midnight and before the sunrise is a better idea.
Guangzhou has over 30 commuter express bus lines (高峰快线) run mostly during peak hours from major bus and subway interchanges to congested areas and outlying districts. Fares are from ¥1-4. There are also four special lines for University Town (大学城专线). You can find these in most major stations in the city that would take you to University Town. Fares are from ¥2-4. There are also 2 tourist bus lines (旅游专线) passing through many scenic spots in the city. Other special lines are: Lines to some commercial districts, shuttle buses for many different residential complexes such as Favourview Palace and Star River, and even complementary shuttle buses for some shopping center. The driver of a shuttle bus may ask for your receipts.
By BRT
The Bus Rapid Transit system went into service in early 2010. It is essentially a long segregated bus lane (not an elevated busway like in Xiamen) running along the Tianhe Road and Zhongshan Avenue corridor towards the eastern suburbs. Some intersections are traversed by bridges and tunnels, which cuts journey times considerably, but other intersections have traffic lights and therefore traffic jams, and crowds can be as dense as in Metro stations but with fewer doors and a narrower standing area compared to Metro trains.
All buses that use the BRT start with a B prefix (B1, B22 etc.), though some without the "B" stop nearby. When reading a bus route (in Chinese) you can see the BRT logo above each BRT station name, like the GZ Metro logo above bus stops that are near Metro stations. The B1 stops at every BRT station, but other B routes use any number of BRT stations (sometimes just one) and use normal roads the rest of the time.
If boarding a BRT bus at a normal (non BRT) bus stop, the normal fare of ¥2 applies, however you can transfer to other BRT routes for free, provided you transfer at a BRT stop. If boarding at a BRT stop, insert ¥2 (coins only) into the entry turnstile to enter the platform area; no payment is required when boarding the bus, and you can board at the rear.
As with normal bus routes, there is almost no English at BRT stations, and only the current station name is in pinyin. Overall it isn't much use to tourists.
By taxi and Uber
This is the most popular way for foreigners to get around, and it is very affordable. The starting charge is ¥10 for the first 2.6 kilometres, and after that ¥2.6 for each kilometre. No fuel surcharge is added, but a 50% surcharge is automatically added when the trip reaches 35 kilometres. A few of them also accepts Yang Cheng Tong as payment, but it is not preferred by the drivers. The taxi hotline is 96900. This comes in handy if you forget your valuables in a taxi. Save your receipt because it contains the taxi's identification number.
Most taxi drivers do not speak English or any other foreign languages, so have the name and address of your destination written in Chinese to show the driver. Many are from the poorer northern provinces and do not even speak Cantonese. If your destination is not well known, have a nearby landmark included in the address, e.g. "across from the Garden Hotel."
Whilst the majority of taxis are the regular VWs and Hyundais found in almost all Chinese cities, there are an increasing number of 'London taxis' on the streets of Guangzhou (which comes as no surprise as the latest generation of London black cabs are built by Geely Motors in China). In Guangzhou they are known as "old-fashioned" cabs (老爷车，lao ye che) They are wheelchair accessible and can carry up to 6 passengers. Many people recommend using the yellow taxis as that company only employs local Guangzhou drivers who know the city well - other taxi companies usually hire migrant workers from other provinces who may not know where they are going.
Beware of taxi driver as sometimes, in addition to going around the block one too many times, they will also try to pass counterfeit notes. Pay close attention as to what they pay when passing toll booths. Good drivers will show you the toll receipts. Only add the toll amount to what is displayed in the meter. A trip between the airport to the East Railway Station cost around ¥120-130.
Most people find taxi drivers in Guangzhou to be honest. However, during the Canton Fair near the Pazhou Complex, it is common to see drivers violate rules, such as refusal of service and pre-negotiating a price rather than using the meter. It is also difficult to find a taxi available elsewhere in the city.
Most taxi shift changes take place between 15:00-17:00. During this time, it is hard to find a taxi as many drivers stop working by displaying the "out of service (暂停服务)" sign before the end of the shift, unless you are going in their direction. Taxi can be also hard to come by during commuter peak hours of 19:30-09:00 and 17:00-19:00. Finding a taxi at night is usually not a problem.
Uber has large presence in Guangzhou. The price is usually half of a taxi and can be safer. As in elsewhere, Uber is relatively scam-free. However, some drivers do take an unusually long route. Be sure to make sure the route is right by using the maps and GPS on your own phone.
