Travel to Guangzhou China (Short Trip)

[Boringchap]

Greetings!

 

Did a short getaway to Guangzhou, China with my wife a short while back.  We were looking for a short getaway, and at first we looked at the region, but finally decided that it would be more fun to go to China instead.  So we chose Guangzhou, which was a 4 hour flight (like flying to Hong Kong).

 

It was a free and easy trip.  We didn't cover very much, but hey, this was supposed to be for rest and relaxation. 

 

Before I jump into what we say, check out this new 'All Fours Movement' (coined by me).  Elderly crawling up hill on all fours?  This was at Yue Xiu Park, Guangzhou. Quite bizarre, but they seem to know what they were doing.  

 

 

Stay tuned for more.

[Boringchap]

Good evening on a Sunday.

 

Let me continue.  For our flights, we flew on Singapore Airlines. They fly twice a day to Guangzhou.  I will put up my flight review videos at the end of this sharing.

 

We arrived in Guangzhou in good time.  When we were researching on where to stay, we decided that since this was a short getaway, and prices in China were still relatively inexpensive (compared to hotel prices in Singapore), we decided on a nice hotel chain, and landed on the Marriott - A China Hotel.  This was a 5-star Marriott hotel, but it was one of the earliest (if not the earliest) 5-star hotel in Guangzhou.  Hence the property was a bit old.  Booking online, the rates for a Club Room was reasonable (about $210 SGD), so we decided to go with that.

 

Further research revealed that we could take the Guangzhou Metro from the airport, all the way to the hotel.   It looked very simple, and it turned out to be very easy indeed.  Of course, if you have large luggage to lug around, then it would be harder.  But since this was a short trip, our luggage was light and easy to push around.  So after landing, we got a China SIM card near the baggage carousel, and then made our way to our hotel via the Metro.

 

The video below shows you this experience, from collecting our luggage, to buying the SIM card, walking to the Metro station, buying a 3-day METRO ticket, and riding the Metro proper.  It really was very easy indeed.

 

When we arrived at the Yue Xiu Park metro station, (where the Hotel was located), we decided to go grab a bite at the nearby McDonalds first. We were hungry.  Here is the video of the snack we had at McDonalds.  We shared a Spicy Chicken Fillet Burger.

 

[Jord]

Camping for more...planning to go in Dec. 

[Boringchap]

We explored several 5-star hotels and finally decided on this one.  Why?  Primarily because of price, and also the fact that this hotel was located right next to a Metro station (Yue Xiu Garden), so that would make getting around easy. 

 

In this post, I will just show you the videos I made of our hotel experience.  We chose a standard Club room.  This is what it looked like.  Came with a King sized bed.  More than enough space for the two of us. 

 

Well, when we go to China, we find the 5-star chains still affordable, so spending on a Club room is part of the fun. We also use the Executive lounge a lot.  In fact, we had 3 dinners there.  This is the video of the food.   The Exec lounge doesn't claim to serve dinner, but we are easy-going and we find that eating in the lounge was very convenient, after a whole-day out.   You got to watch the hours though, because the serving hours are limited (like 5:30pm to 7:30pm or something along those lines)

 

We could have breakfast either downstairs (at the main cafe), or in the lounge.  My wife preferred the quiet of the lounge, even though the food selection was more extensive downstairs.  Here is a video of the food we had for breakfast.  Overall, we just enjoy the relative peace and quiet.

 

The hotel had a decent sized pool, but we didn't use it.

[Boringchap]

And here is the Guangzhou Metro map.  You can easily find this online.  The airport station is on Line 3, at the North of the map, called Airport South. (or was it Airport North, either way one of the airport stations isn't opened yet). 

 

Taking Line 3 southwards, we changed trains at JianHeWangGang to get onto the Blue Line, towards Yue Xiu Park. 

 

On our first day, after arriving and getting to the hotel, we set out using the MRT to get to Shamian Island.  To get there, we took the Metro to HuangSha station, which is on the western side of the map.  At the Huang Sha station, exit via Exit F, walk via an overpass to get to the island.  Here are two video clips on our experience.

 

Part 1.

 

Part 2

 

Notice from the videos that the visitors were all locals.  Plenty of local folks out for a walk today.  We also spotted people taking wedding photographs on the island. 

 

About Shamian Island (https://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/guangdong/guangzhou/shamian-island.htm)

Shamian Island, previous known as Zhongliusha or Shicuizhou, is an elliptic sandbar in the Liwan District of Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. The island's name literally means "sandy surface" in Chinese. Surrounded by water, it is just like a giant ship mooring alongside the wharf. Get further and one will find that the island is carefully planned. Three east-west avenues, Shamian Avenue, Shamian North Avenue and the South Avenue, and five north-south streets, Shamian Street 1 to the Street 5 divide the whole area into 12 parts, with various buildings, namely White Swan Hotel, Shamian Hotel, and Poland Consulate in Guangzhou, scattered around.

 

After roaming the island a bit, we headed off (using Bai Du maps) to walk around.  I think we made it all the way to the up-down 9 street - ShangXiaJiu street or 上下九步行街.   

 

Here is a video. It was quite busy indeed.

 

We didn't really shop here.  Walked around to enjoy the atmosphere. 

Edited November 25, 2017 by Boringchap

[Thaiyotakamli]

Just take taxi in china its very cheap

[Boringchap]

Just take taxi in china its very cheap

 

I read that Taxis in Guangzhou were a rip off, or at least the drivers tried to rip you off.  The taxis looked very old and dirty.  So we didn't take any taxis.

 

The public taxis in Beijing were ok.  We took the a few times when we were in Beijing.

[Thaiyotakamli]

I read that Taxis in Guangzhou were a rip off, or at least the drivers tried to rip you off. The taxis looked very old and dirty. So we didn't take any taxis.

 

The public taxis in Beijing were ok. We took the a few times when we were in Beijing.

The taxi is old indeed but i find the fare are reasonable. Most of times i take taxi since its cheap.

 

Even if taxi driver trying to detour or take longer route i also dont mind can see more cityscape haha

[Boringchap]

The taxi is old indeed but i find the fare are reasonable. Most of times i take taxi since its cheap.

 

Even if taxi driver trying to detour or take longer route i also dont mind can see more cityscape haha

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. Maybe next time we would try the taxis then.  I guess with Baidu maps, we can challenge the taxi driver if he tries to take us on a big roundabout.

[Boringchap]

Next morning, where we had a full day, we decided that we should do the Bai Yun mountain as early as we could.  Bai Yun (White Cloud) mountain is actually just a hill.  Highest point is 382M.  After doing our research, we decided to try taking the public bus #24 from Yue Xiu Garden (which is near where we stayed) to the foot of the mountain.  It took a while for us to find the correct bus stop, but we found it.

 

While waiting for the bus to arrive, I spotted this vehicle going past. Was it cleaning the road?  I wasn't sure.  The video was taken at the bus stop where we were waiting for #24.  In the distance, you can see the Marriott Hotel. 

 

First bus was too full.  We managed to get on the second bus #24 that came along. Fare was 2RM per person and the driver doesn't give change.  Since I didn't have small notes, I used 10RM for the both of us. It was a fairly tight squeeze along the way, but the bus was air-conditioned and it was a fairly comfortable ride, even though we were standing.  When we reached the terminus station, we got off, followed the crowds to cross a road, and walked up to the ticketing area.  This video shows you snippets of the journey.  The ride from Yue Xiu Garden to the bus terminus was about 20 minutes. 

Edited November 25, 2017 by Boringchap

[Boringchap]

We got to the ticket line for cable car tickets.  Pleasantly surprised that the line wasn't too long.  After all, this was the Golden Week in China. We had done our travel research and decided that we should take the cable car up, and then look for the electric cart to take us up to the summit.  

 

Buying the tickets was very straightforward.  I asked about the return ticket, and the counter staff said that return ticket could only be purchased up the mountain.  Ok, then.  We go up first.  The next video shows the cable car ride upwards. As there was already a small crowd, they squeezed 8 pax to a car.  The ride was fairly long.

 

After we alighted from the cable car, we walked around a bit (this wasn't the summit yet) and found our way to the electric cart station.  You could walk to the summit from here, but it would be an uphill 2km walk.  I highly recommend taking the electric cart, at 10rmb per person.  You will see from the video that there were many people walking up, so the walk is do-able but I think quite tiring.

 

The electric cart ride was about 10 - 15 minutes.  Uphill.  Imagine walking that distance.  

 

Even after we reach the Moxing Summit station (where we get off the electric cart), it was still a good 5 minutes uphill climb to the summit proper.  Therefore, unless you feel like walking many steps uphill, I would strongly recommend taking the cable car followed by the electric cart.

 

Edited November 25, 2017 by Boringchap

[Boringchap]

Finally, we were on the brink of reaching the summit.  

 

 To recap, first we took the public bus #24 (2rmb) from Yue Xiu garden to the mountain bus interchange.   Next, we bought the cable car tickets (25rmb) which brought us up to a large, busy area.  Then we found the electric cart station, and took the electric cart (10rmb) to the Moxing Summit.  The final leg, we have to walk.  But first, another 4rmb entrance fees.  And we are finally here!  (Prices correct as at Oct 2017)

 

This is probably the fastest way to get up.  I realised that while many locals took the cable car up, they didn't take the electric cart.  You could do that too, but check out my earlier video to get a sense of how far you would need to walk (uphill).  I think the 10rmb was well worth the money. 

 

Here is the final ascent.

 

 

[Boringchap]

We spent around 30 minutes at the Mo Xing summit.  It was rather warm.  Soon, it was time to make our way back down.  Recall we took the electric cart here.  This time round, we decided to take a walk back to the cable car station.  Walking downslope wasn't difficult.  On the way, we saw many people walking up, including young and old. 

 

We had to buy tickets to do down via cable car, which we did.  The whole place was getting more crowded as we approached mid-day, with more and more local tourists coming up.  But we were done with the visit and on the way down.  The next video shows you the cable car ride down.  Check out the crowds at the base station! 

 

We decided to take the same public bus #24 to head back to where we started.   Here is the walk from the cable car station back to the bus station, and some snippets of the bus ride.  

[pChou]

Thank you for the guide! They are very useful! @boringchap

[Boringchap]

Glad you found it useful.

[Boringchap]

Am re-visiting this thread because I realise that I didn't complete it!  LOL. 

 

Ok, here is some more video footage from my Guangzhou trip back from 2017.

 

We must have been randomly walking the streets of Guangzhou and for some reason, we strayed from the main roads and were walking through some back streets. Probably following Baidu maps for a short cut to some place.

 

Briefly walked through Qingping market.  Apparently famous for medicinal stuff.

 

Walked past a bus station. First time I saw such large QR codes printed on the wall.  Later, I realised that their people were buying bus tickets to various destinations using their mobile phone.

 

We found our way to Li Wan Plaza Guangzhou, which was a wholesale center.  This place was huge!  All the shops were opened, but we hardly saw any customers. 

 

And we had some food at this place called Dian Du De.

 

That's about it.  And I finally wrap up the thread with the flight review videos I made for this flight.  We flew on SQ economy, and I recall we got a pretty good deal on the return flight.

 

Singapore to Guangzhou in the Airbus A330

 

Before our flight back, we had some McDonalds at the airport.  Took some chicken cutlet.  I had wanted a Big Mac, but they didn't sell any!

 

And here is the flight review video for Guangzhou to Singapore.

Edited June 15, 2019 by Boringchap

[Kezg1]

...thanks for sharing, makes me wanted to go for a short trip too..hehe

[Galantspeedz]

i usually get my china sim card from qoo, seller based in HK. Reason: cheaper, plug and play and no firewall

 

Usually take not more than 7 days to reach

 

guangzhou i prefer stay near guangzhou east railway station or grandview golden palace (2 story 1 bedroom apartment)

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Hotel_Review-g298555-d4194568-Reviews-Guangzhou_Grand_View_Wan_Hao_Golden_Palace_Apartment-Guangzhou_Guangdong.html