South China Botanical Garden was built in 1956, covering 4,500 mu, which is the national biggest botanical garden featuring south Asia tropical plant. It maintains academic exchange and seed exchange with 300 botanical gardens and tree gardens in 60 nations and regions. There are around 5,000 kinds of imported plants from home and abroad, which is the scientific research base for introduction, promotion and application of economic plants in tropical and semitropical zones as well as reservation of rare plants in severe danger. The great amount of plants here, together with Mountain Baiyun, provides fresh air for Guangzhou City. Green natural environment, beautiful gardens and rich botanical knowledge have made Botanical Garden an ideal place for public leisure and botanical knowledge popularization. In botanical garden, tourists can learn knowledge about plants. Moreover, they can realize protecting plant resources is as important as that protecting wild animals, to protect the plant world people depend on.

Because of the irreplaceable function of South China Botanical Garden in plant research and knowledge popularization, it has been awarded titles like “Nationwide Youth Science Popularization Education Base”, “Guangdong Environment Education Base” and “Guangzhou Environment Education Base”.

Since the opening to the public in 1980, South China Botanical Garden received visitors and scholars in and out of China; the number of visitors has reached 700,000 annual. The elegant and comely natural sceneries of the garden were reviewed as one of the “Eight New Sceneries Spots of Guangzhou” in 1986. It was called “Dragon Cave Kylin”.

The Garden includes two major parts—popular science exhibit and scientific research experiment zones. The popular science exhibition covers 1,000 mu, including 16 different gardens like palm zone, living fossil zone, tropical greenhouse, orchid garden and cycad garden according to natural laws and aesthetical principle, among which the collection categories in magnolia and ginger gardens are leading in the world also with advanced research results. There are also field operation club, fishing club, boat club, canteen and rest house in the exhibition zone, which is an ideal place for people to return to nature.

There are also multi-flower garden of 80,000 square meters, including tea garden, azalea garden and grand myrtle garden, which is specialized in sculpt of the plants. In the east of the park, there are fun stone garden, lava and metamorphic rock, with different styles and colors.

The Sanyuanli Anti-British Invasion Museum is based in the ancient Sanyuan Temple in Guangzhou, which was originally a Taoist temple with two courtyards and one hallway that worshipped the “North Emperor”. During the Opium War, Sanyuanli people held an anti-British rally in front of the temple, ushering in the successful spontaneous resistance by civilians against foreign invasion in China's early modern history. As a result, the ancient Sanyuan Temple has become a revolutionary site with historic significance. After the People's Republic was founded, the Guangzhou Municipal Government renovated the temple and restored it to its original condition. In 1961, the temple topped the list of the first group of national-level protected cultural heritage sites published by the State Council, and was subsequently converted into the Sanyuanli Anti-British Invasion Museum.

The museum showcases the history of Sanyuli people's resistance against British invasion. Exhibits on display include triple star flags, weapons, shell trumpets, cards, notices and posters used in the anti-British struggle, as well as British rifles, knives and uniforms captured by local people. The museum also features a vivid drawing that shows the scene of the rally of local peasants holding up triple star flags in front of the North Emperor statue before going into war with British troops. The feat of Sanyuanli people's resistance against British invasion will go down in history.

Admission fee: RMB ￥ 2 per person
Address: No.34 Guangyuanzhong Road, Guangzhou City
Traffic: Take Bus No.278, 187, 105, 103, 111, 818, 805, 284, 36, 185 or 60 or Metro Line 2 and get off at the Sanyuanli station.

Located on the north bank of the Pearl River's White Goose Pool, Shamian is an oval islet, covering a tiny area of 0.3 sq. meters. Thanks to the many buildings of Western classicism on the island, it has recently been designated as a key protected relic of the state, and is called the “Ninth Sight of Guangzhou”. Shamian used to be an alluvion made by the Pearl River, called Zhongliusha and Shicuizhou in the early stage.

It had been a tourist attraction as well as an important port for Guangzhou's foreign trade from Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. It became a strategic point for city defense during the opium war period, after which the Qing Administration was forced to agree to “lease” Shamian to the British and French imperialist powers, thus Shamian was reduced to the British and French concessions and changed to the present name. When digging the waterway during 1859 to 1862, Shamian was separated from the north bank of the Pearl River and a stone bridge was built only in the east to connect the north bank. Now Shamian embraces eight major roads and streets, of which three are from east to west: Shamian North Street, Shamian Street and Shamian South Street, and five from south to north: Shamian No.1 to 5 Streets. And in the east, north and west there are respectively East Bridge, West Bridge and New West Bridge to connect Liuersan Road.

The island boasts many trees and pleasant environment, together with such buildings, organizations, sports and entertainment facilities as the Victory Hotel, Shamian Hotel, White Swan Hotel, Guangzhou International Seamen's Club, the Polish Consulate-General in Guangzhou, the Representation of the Export and Import Corporations of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Guangzhou Office of China-Poland Shipping Ltd., Shamian Tennis Court, Shamian Swimming Pool and so on.

What is worth mentioning on Shamian is its restricted planning area, namely the area protected by the state as key historical relics, including the architectural complex built during the concession period in Shamian's modern times. The area became concession in 1859, and afterwards the British, French, American, German, Japanese, Italian, Netherlands and Portuguese set up consulates, banks and trade offices, one after another. The Kuomintang (KMT) government took over Shamian after winning the Anti-Japanese War in 1945. Quite a few of the old buildings are of Western classic layout.

When visiting Shamian in 1959, late Premiere Zhou Enlai gave directives to carefully handng looks of these buildings, taking them as historical witness to the semi-colonial place, and possibly opening up to visitors as a tourist spot. Attractions on Shamian and nearby also include: Renmin Bridge, Jiefang Bridge, Nanfang Mansion, “Night Moon over the Goose Pool” (one of the Eight Sights of Guangzhou), the Swan Club, Pedestrian Street for Business and Trade at Xiguan, Qingpin Market, Huangsha Metro Station, the Pearl River Tunnel, etc.

Traffic: Buses No.1, 5, 9, 25, 57, 64A, 69, 75, 81, 181, 206, 208, 222, 227, 233, 236, 250 can take you there.

Many people view Guangzhou as a tolerant city, where people can freely bring their habits, lifestyles and skills to the best play, the essence of which will eventually be assimilated into the city's style. This is how Qilou buildings, or arcade-houses, took root in Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong province, eventually becoming landmarks there.

The history of commercial arcade building can be dated back to ancient Greece some 2,000 years ago; it then became popular in Europe and was introduced to the world only in recent times.

Guangzhou is among the first coastal cities to embrace foreign culture and begin modernization. During the Ming and Dynasties, it was the only commercial port. The commercial buildings of “the thirteen hong” are considered the earliest model of the later Qilou buildings. At the beginning of the twentieth century, when the city government began to widen the roads, this 18th century western architectural style was blended with the traditional Cantonese construction features, thus giving birth to the unique Qilou buildings.

Most of the Qilou buildings in Guangzhou are three or four storied, with a protruding structure, or arcade, stretching above from the second storey over the sidewalk. These arcades are linked together by the side of the street, forming a shaded corridor, which keeps the shops along the sidewalk as well as the pedestrians safe from the scorching sun and rain. Some arcades last for as long as several hundreds or even hundreds of dozens meters. The weather of Guangzhou is always changing and there is a saying going that “Guangzhou's weather in May is like the expressions of a young baby, which can change in a second.” Therefore, Qilou buildings, which are suitable for the unpredictable sub-tropical climate in Lingnan areas, and which also provides great convenience for the local people, once was the main form of architectural style in Guangzhou.

The Panyu Museum, located at the eastern foot of the Turtle Hillock on Yinping Road in Panyu District, is a well-equipped district government affiliated museum, ranking among Panyu's top eight tourist attractions. Sitting on a site of 16 hectares, the museum consists of three parts, including a multi-functional main building for exhibit displaying purposes and the site of the Eastern Han Dynasty tombs. The multi-functional main building is Panyu's landmark building. The museum provides nine general exhibitions and thematic exhibitions.

Address: No.121 Yinping Road, Shatou Street, Panyu District, Guangzhou City