早茶
Dim sum
Har gow, siu mai, rice rolls, egg tarts, before early afternoon. Many serious rooms are a different restaurant at night.
广州 · 2 to 3 days
Guangzhou
Guangzhou is where Cantonese food is ordinary life, not a special menu. Come hungry in the morning. The city is better at lunch than at monuments, which is a compliment.
Stay near
A central metro stop, not the airport
Give it
Two or three days
Book first
Canton Tower, if you want to go up
Watch for
Eating late. The good rooms start early.
Baiyun Airport is a long way north. Use the metro. Set the alarm for dim sum, walk Shamian when you want shade, and leave the tower for late afternoon if the haze has lifted.
High-speed trains continue to Shenzhen and, with the right ticket and a border stop, toward Hong Kong. Guangzhou is also the sensible door to Guilin. Treat it as a place to eat for two days, then leave on purpose.
People will offer wholesale markets and bar streets you did not ask for. The city’s specialty is an early table and a pot of tea.
Eat this, not a poster of it
What Guangzhou actually tastes like
烧鹅
Roast goose
A simple shop with birds in the window and a short queue will teach you more than a banquet room with a fountain.
煲仔饭
Claypot rice
Crisp rice at the bottom, often with cured meat. The greens with oyster sauce are not a consolation prize.
The sights
Where to go, and whether you can just show up.
Passport reservation
Canton Tower
The slim tower on the Pearl River. Real-name tickets if you want to go up.
Free, just walk
Shamian Island
A shaded island of old consulates. Free, and good for an hour.
Museum ticket
Chen Clan Ancestral Hall
Wood, brick, and ceramic figures on every ridge. The folk-art museum.
Pier or official cruise
Pearl River
An evening boat under the lights. Buy a marked sailing, not a whisper at the railing.