Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall: Honoring the Founder of the Nation

In 1895, Sun Yat-sen entered Guangzhou with the intent of revolutionizing the Qing government which had been exposed as corrupt and incompetent. Although the uprising failed and Sun was sent into exile, his presence had been felt, and would continue to be felt well into the future. The man known as "Father of the Nation" and "forerunner of democratic revolution" was so revered that after his demise, his local and overseas supporters raised funds to erect a hall in Guangzhou for him. Designed by Chinese "starchitect" Lu Yanzhi, the octagonal building opened its doors in 1931. Lu infused western supporting structures and detailing into a traditional Chinese mausoleum design. The hall is focused around a central 71 meter space that is covered by a wide dome. The massive space is impressively supported entirely from its edges, awing many with its openness. A stage is at one end, and performances or concerts are occasionally held for audiences of over 4000 people. There is a small exhibit of photos and a few relics, detailing moments of Sun's life. Sun rejected his background in medicine for a life dedicated to transforming China. His life philosophy was encapsulated in what he called the Three Principles of the People: nationalism, democracy, and the people's livelihood. Pictures of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai accompany those of Sun, but all photo descriptions are in Chinese only. Periodic free tours are also given, but again, in Chinese only. Truthfully, if there is no performance taking place, there isn't a lot to keep one occupied there. For many people, the front garden is the highlight of the memorial hall experience, a pleasant and quiet respite, pleasantly decorated with flowers and carefully groomed trees. A stately statue of Sun himself stands before the hall, hand on cane, eyes focused on the future. Sun's life was undeniably fraught with conflict, struggle, and exile. But the Memorial Hall stands in sharp contrast to that. If he were to visit, he would probably enjoy it. Source: cri

Guangzhou launches 72-hour visa-free stays

South China's mega-city Guangzhou started offering international transit passengers 72-hour stays on Thursday.

Guangzhou is the third Chinese city to introduce the visa-free policy, following capital Beijing and commercial hub Shanghai.

An 85-year-old man from New Zealand, who gave his surname as Hepburn, and his wife were the first to enjoy the new policy as they arrived at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport at 5:50 a.m..

"We got to know about the visa-free policy from the Internet half a month ago," said Hepburn. "We wanted to take the chance for a visit."

Xiao Shuanggui, a local travel agency manager who received the Hepburns, said his agency had received orders from 30 international tourists in the past month.

The visa-free policy should bring 20 percent more customers to his travel agency, said Xiao.

The visa-free scheme covers travelers from 45 countries, including France, Germany, the United States and Japan.

Under the plan, transit travelers are allowed to freely visit Guangdong Province, where Guangzhou City is located.

The visa-free scheme is expected to bring five billion yuan (809 million U.S. dollars) in tourism revenue for the province, according to insiders' calculations.

Source: Xinhua via china.org.cn

Guangzhou set to allow 72-hr visa-free visits

Guangzhou is expected to become the third Chinese city to allow foreign visitors to transit for 72 hours without a visa, according to Tan Wangen, general manager of China Southern Airlines.

Tan said the policy will help boost tourism in Guangdong province and boost the local economy. "We are actively talking with the local airport and customs authorities to push the implementation of the visa-free transit policy as soon as possible," Tan said.

Since Jan 1, travelers from 45 countries have been benefiting from 72-hour visa-free stays in Beijing and Shanghai, a move that is expected to boost consumption.

Tourists holding third country visas and plane tickets are allowed to apply for a transit without visa at the Beijing Capital International Airport and Shanghai’s Hongqiao and Pudong airports.

Foreign visitors are not permitted to leave the cities to travel to other Chinese cities during the 72 hours, and have to depart from the two cities.

"If the negotiations go smoothly, the policy will be implemented in Guangzhou within this year," Tan was quoted as saying by Xinhua News Agency.

"Optimizing the transit service is a priority for us this year to attract more foreign passengers", said Tan, adding that tourists would be able to travel to sites around the Pearl River Delta region within those 72 hours.

Since the policy was introduced in January, Shanghai has registered more than 1,000 foreign passengers transiting from its Hongqiao and Pudong airports without visas, sources with the local immigration control authorities said.

The number of inbound tourists to Beijing is expected to increase to 10 million passengers within the next three years, as a result of the policy, said Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development.

Tan was speaking after an agreement was signed on Monday between the airline and a delegation led by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, who came to promote economic and trade ties between the two countries.

The Guangzhou-based airline is the only domestic carrier that flies to New Zealand, following the opening of a Guangzhou-Auckland route in April 2011. Two more routes are due to be launched soon, connecting the southern city with Christchurch and Wellington.

Under the agreement, China Southern passengers can get visas without showing proof of property or employment.

"The Guangzhou-Auckland daily flight has become a major route for the company and is in high demand by both Chinese and foreign travelers," said Tan, adding the service has boosted the number of Chinese tourists to New Zealand by almost 40 percent since it was launched.

Sources with Guangdong tourism authorities said the number of inbound tourists decreased by 2.6 percent year-on-year to reach 107 million in 2012.

But agencies in Guangzhou said they are already planning new services for foreign visitors staying for 72 hours.

Lu Yujing, a sales manager with GZL International Travel Service, said: "A growing number of foreign business travelers have canceled their trips due to the global economic downturn.

"The authorities should introduce some incentive measures, such as the visa-free transit policy, to attract more foreign visitors."

Source: By Qiu Quanlin in Guangzhou (China Daily)

Guangzhou, The Great South Gate of China

Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong Province in southern China. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 12.7 million, making it the third largest city in China after Shanghai and Beijing.

 Chen Clan Academy 

Located at Zhongshan 7th Road, the Chen Clan Academy is a symmetric complex consist of 19 buildings with nine halls and six courtyards. Facing south, the complex forms around a north-south axis. A large collection of southern China art pieces, for example, wood carvings and pottery, can be found in the structure. The Chen Clan Academy complex exemplifies traditional Chinese architecture and decoration style, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments worldwide.

Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street 

Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street is a commercial pedestrian street in Liwan District. Shangxiajiu is composed of the unique and historical architecture based on Tong Lau and teahouses, featuring the characteristics of European and Chinese styles. It has a group of old famous stores, such as the Guangzhou Garment Store, the Herring Shoes and Hats Store, and the Dalu Clock and Watch Store. It also has some well-known restaurants, including the Guangzhou Restaurant, the Taotaoju Restaurant, Wenchang Chicken, and Taotao Ginger and Onion Chicken.

Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall 

The Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall is an octagon-shaped building in Guangzhou. The hall was designed by Lu Yanzhi and was built with funds raised by local and overseas Chinese people in memory of Sun Yat-sen. Construction work commenced in 1929 and completed in 1931. The hall is a large octagonal structure with a span of 71 meters without pillars, housing a large stage and seats 3,240 people.

Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King 

The Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King is a museum in Jiefangbei Road, Yuexiu District. With an area of 1,4000 sq. m, the tomb is the witness of Guangzhou’s history of over 2,000 years. It is well known for its well-preserved tomb and funerary antiquity from the Han Dynasty, as well as elegant and grand architecture from the Lingnan (south of the Nanling Mountain) area.

 Sacred Heart Cathedral 

The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (耶穌聖心主教座堂) also known as Sacred Heart Cathedral (聖心堂) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Guangzhou. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guangzhou. The cathedral is located at 56 Yide Lu (or Yat Tak Road). It is on the north bank of the Pearl River and stands at the heart of the busy old town.

Guangxiao Temple 

The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (耶穌聖心主教座堂) also known as Sacred Heart Cathedral (聖心堂) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Guangzhou. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guangzhou. The cathedral is located at 56 Yide Lu (or Yat Tak Road). It is on the north bank of the Pearl River and stands at the heart of the busy old town.

Yuexiu Park 

Yuexiu Park is the largest urban park in China and is a lush green area that flows over acres of hills and includes several lakes. It includes the Ming Dynasty Zhenhai Tower, now home to the Guangzhou Museum.

Lantern Festival at Yuexiu Park

The Lantern Festival officially ends the Chinese New Year celebrations. In ancient times, the lanterns were fairly simple, and only the emperor and noblemen had large ornate ones; in modern times, lanterns have been being embellished with many complex designs. For example, lanterns are now often made in shapes of animals. The lanterns can symbolize the people letting go of their past selves and getting a new one, which they will let go of the next year.

Jiefang Bridge

The Bridge connects the Haizhu District with the Yuexiu District, and is one of nine bridges connecting Haizhu with downtown Guangzhou and the business districts. Guangzhou’s annual Dragon Boat Race takes place between Jiefang Bridge and Renmin Bridge.

Dragon Boat Festival 

Duanwu Festival, also known as Dragon Boat Festival and the Double Fifth, is a traditional and statutory holiday originating in China and associated with a number of East Asian and Southeast Asian societies. Three of the most widespread activities for Duanwu Festival are eating (and preparing) zongzi, drinking realgar wine, and racing dragon boats.

Shamian Island 

Shamian Island is a sandbank island in the Liwan District of Guangzhou city. The territory was divided into two concessions given to France and the United Kingdom by the Qing government in the 19th century. The island is a gazetted historical area that serves as a tranquil reminder of the colonial European period, with quiet pedestrian avenues flanked by trees and lined by historical buildings in various states of upkeep.

Temple of the Six Banyan Trees 

The Temple of the Six Banyan Trees is an ancient Buddhist temple originally built in 537 in the Liang Dynasty in Guangzhou. The temple's proximity to foreign consulates in Guangzhou has made it a regular destination for families participating in the international adoption of children from China. Typically families receive blessings for their newly adopted children at this temple in front of the statue of Kuan Yin.

Source: Fotopedia

Six wounded in knife attack at southern China rail station

(Reuters) - At least two, and as many as four, assailants wielding long knives wounded six people in an attack on Tuesday at a railway station in China's southern city of Guangzhou, police and state media said, in the latest of a series of assaults to raise jitters around the country.

Police gave no reason for the attack, but China's nervousness about Islamic militancy has grown since a car burst into flames on the edge of Beijing's Tiananmen Square in October and 29 people were stabbed to death in March in the southwestern city of Kunming.

The government blamed militants from the restive far western region of Xinjiang for both those attacks. 

Resource-rich and strategically located Xinjiang, on the borders of central Asia, has for years been beset by violence blamed by the Chinese government on Islamist militants.

Guangzhou police "arrived quickly on the scene" on Tuesday and shot one of the attackers. The official Nanfang Daily said another suspect had been caught by police after fleeing the scene.

"After verbal warnings were ineffective, police fired, hitting one male suspect holding a knife, and subdued him," Guangzhou police said on an official microblog.

They did not identify the attackers.

Provincial television showed pictures of what it said was an apparently injured suspect being pressed to the ground by police and plainclothes security officials, as they removed a bloodied white t-shirt.

It was not possible to see the person's face.

The attackers carried half-meter (20-inch) knives, wore white clothes, including white hats, and launched their assault as passengers were leaving the station, city newspaper the Guangzhou Journal wrote on its microblog.

There were a total of four attackers, some other Chinese media microblogs said in their reports.

The official Guangzhou Daily, citing a store owner who witnessed the violence, said the suspects squatted on the ground next to his shop for about two hours, covering their baggage with clothing.

They suddenly let out a shout, pulled knives from their bags, and began attacking people, the daily said on its microblog. Police were on the scene within minutes and began firing warning shots, it added.

Photos circulated online in state media showed police cordoning off an empty plaza, with an ambulance parked nearby and bloodspots on the ground.

Speaking while on a visit to Hong Kong, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel expressed "horror, outrage and sympathy" at the Guangzhou attack.

"We oppose terrorism in all forms, and in those instances where the available information or the information shared by the Chinese authorities pointed to terrorism by a group or individual, we have condemned it as terrorism," he said.

China last week reacted angrily to U.S. criticism of the level of cooperation from Beijing on fighting terrorism.

China blamed religious extremists for a bomb and knife attack last Wednesday at a train station in Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, that killed one bystander and wounded 79.

The government called the attackers "terrorists", a term it uses to describe Islamist militants and separatists in Xinjiang who have waged a sometimes violent campaign for an independent East Turkestan state.

Exiles and many rights groups say the real cause of the unrest in Xinjiang is China's heavy-handed policies, including curbs on Islam and the culture and language of the Muslim Uighur people.

Beijing is unhappy at the U.S. State Department's 2013 country reports on terrorism, published last month, which said China's cooperation on fighting terrorism "remained marginal" and that the Chinese provided scarce evidence to prove terrorist involvement in incidents in Xinjiang.

Source: Reuters by Ben Blanchard