Took the cat to China whilst she was here to experience some of the differences between China & Hk... she said what I have heard a lot out here, that there was a very noticeable difference between HK and china despite them bordering one another. Confession time is that I have never really favoured China as much as Hk for many reasons but recent trips to Beijing and Guangzhou have really started to change my opinion, and have made me want to travel and explore more of crazy china land!

We took a wee day trip to Guangzhou which is about an hour from Shenzhen. Very old style Chinese yet quite developed, but not in a skyscraper soulless way, much like Sz (!). Its very strange as the city is very Chinese with traditional buildings and beautiful temples, and yet just around the corner is a wee island bordering it that was colonized during the Opium wars by the English & French so there is all these very French & English style buildings and bronze statues! The island seemed to be fairly uninhabited, except for tourists, random chinese celebrities having photoshoots and wedding photos (everywhere). Think I explained before that before getting married Chinese often have elaborate photo shoots... amusing!

Here is some useful info for you on GZ:

Guangzhou is the capital and a sub-provincial city of Guangdong Province in the southern part of China. The city is also known by an alternative English name, Canton. It is a port on the Pearl River, navigable to the South China Sea, and is located about 120 km (75 miles) northwest of Hong Kong.

Shamian Island is a sandbank island in Guangzhou city. The territory was originally divided in two concessions given to France and the United Kingdom by the Qing Dynasty government in the 19th century. The island's name literally means "sandy surface" in Chinese.


ON THE TRAIN





CHINESE PAPARAZZI




SHAMIAN ISLAND










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