Prosperious Guangzhou

Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong Province in southern China. According to a recent census, it has a population of 12.7 million, making it the third largest city in China after Shanghai and Beijing. If you consider the Pearl River Delta as a triangle (it isn't exactly), Guangzhou is the inland corner and Hong Kong and Macau the two on the sea.

In the era of tea clippers, Guangzhou was known in the West as "Canton". The food and the language of the area are still known as "Cantonese" and it is perfectly acceptable to use either the western or Chinese term interchangeably. The Cantonese are proud and hardworking people known throughout China and the world over for their famous cuisine and tack for business. One thing you will notice in Downtown Guangzhou is that there is none of the horn honking that is typical in other Chinese cities. Apparently there is a local ordinance prohibiting it. Guangzhou drivers seem to follow the rules of the road a bit more than in other cities where it is generally a free-for-all.

The city is famous for foreign trade and business doings, and holds China's largest trade fair, the Canton Fair. However, in between the seemingly endless skyscrapers, shopping malls and building sites there is a lot of culture and history. While Guangzhou is not usually high on the list of Asian tourist destinations, it is amazing how much the city actually has to offer.