Guangzhou — historic Canton — is the sprawling capital of Guangdong and the beating commercial heart of southern China. A trading port for over a thousand years, this subtropical megacity on the Pearl River blends gleaming skyscrapers and the futuristic Canton Tower with old colonial islands, ancestral halls and, above all, a food culture so revered that locals only half-joke that the Cantonese will eat anything with four legs except a table.
Guangzhou has a humid subtropical climate, with long, hot, wet summers, short, mild winters and lush greenery year-round. It is home to one of China's largest and most international communities, a legacy of centuries of trade, with English used in business and international schools. Mandarin and the local Cantonese are both spoken, while a low cost of living, an enormous metro and high-speed rail links across the delta make this welcoming, food-obsessed city an easy place to settle in.
Location Info
- Large, long-established international community and a world-famous food culture
- Very safe, with low street crime even late at night
- One of the world's biggest metro systems, plus high-speed trains across the delta
Top Experiences
Canton Tower
Southern China's tallest structure twists 600m into the sky above the Pearl River. Ride to the top for dizzying views, a sky-high observation deck and even a vertigo-inducing bubble ride around the rim.
Yum Cha & Cantonese Food
Guangzhou is the home of dim sum. Spend a morning at a bustling teahouse working through baskets of har gow, char siu bao and chicken feet — eating well here is a way of life.
Shamian Island
A tranquil, leafy island of grand European colonial mansions, churches and tree-lined avenues — a beautiful, photogenic step back into Canton's trading past.
Chen Clan Ancestral Hall
A breathtaking 19th-century academy crammed with intricate wood, stone and ceramic carvings — now a folk-art museum and one of the finest traditional buildings in southern China.
Yuexiu Park & the Five Rams
Wander the city's largest park to find the famous Five Rams statue — the symbol of Guangzhou — along with ancient city walls, lakes and the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall nearby.
Pearl River Night Cruise
Sail the river after dark as the bridges, towers and Canton Tower blaze with colour — the most spectacular way to watch this glittering city light up.
Getting Around
Guangzhou is enormous but superbly connected. Its vast metro is modern, cheap and signed in English, reaching almost everywhere, backed by buses and shared bikes, while Didi (China's ride-hailing app) and metered taxis are inexpensive. High-speed and intercity trains link Shenzhen, Hong Kong and the rest of the delta in well under an hour. Almost everything is paid for by phone with WeChat Pay or Alipay, so it's worth setting these up soon after you arrive.
When to Go
Autumn (October to December) is by far the best season — warm, dry and comfortable. Spring is mild but humid and grey, summers (May to September) are long, hot, sticky and rainy with the odd typhoon, and winters are short and mild rather than cold.
Good to Know
- The Chinese yuan (CNY/RMB) is the currency, and Guangzhou is very affordable to live in.
- Mandarin and Cantonese are both spoken, and everyday English is limited, so a translation app helps.
- Almost all payments are by phone — set up WeChat Pay or Alipay early.
- A VPN is needed for many Western sites and apps, so arrange one before you arrive.
- Guangzhou is extremely safe, with very low rates of street crime.
- The whole country runs on China Standard Time (GMT+8).
