Destination review: Guangzhou

Past meets present

The rapidly-expanding former city of Canton continues to attract commercial visitors in droves, says Gary Noakes - but then, business has always been Guangzhou's business.

As China's third city and a major trading centre, Guangzhou is always going to be the less glamorous sister of Beijing and Shanghai, and, being less than two hours by train from Hong Kong, also loses badly by comparison with its former-colonial neighbour.

This, however, is of little consequence to Guangzhou's inhabitants, who regard themselves as being in one of China's commercial, trading and manufacturing powerhouses.

There has been a city on the site of Guangzhou, on the Pearl River, for more than 2,000 years. To get a fair picture of the metropolis today, however, think in terms of a giant, sub-tropical, polluted Birmingham with the construction frenzy of Dubai and the population of London.

The city's claim to fame and major draw for business travellers is its twice-yearly Canton Fair, known officially as the China Import and Export Fair. Regarded as the barometer for China's economic fortunes, the fair takes place in April and October, with two six-day sessions in each period.

The fair's vital statistics are staggering. First staged 51 years ago, it attracts 500,000 buyers and exhibitors from 213 countries to 32,000 booths producing deals worth £19 million (US$37.5 million).

The venue is the China Import and Export Fair (Pazhou) Complex, the world's second-biggest exhibition venue, but even this is not enough - until a third phase of development that will make Pazhou into the world's largest exhibition centre, there is an overspill into Guangzhou's Liuhua Complex.

Guangzhou lives up to its first impression - it is all about commerce. The clues come well before you even arrive in the city. Industrial units border the railway tracks and roads for miles. They are busy producing mobile phones, plastics, textiles, washing machines, toys and all manner of other goods that will find their way into UK shops.

"People in Guangzhou are probably the best business people in China - they are very eager to make money," says Jean-Francois Gouvrit, manager of the newly opened Ritz-Carlton hotel.

A look at this year's diverse list of other trade fairs in Guangzhou underlines this - on it is everything from coffee and security products to shoes, textiles and lighting.

Until a few years ago, visitors arriving for these fairs had to stay in government-run hotels of varying standards. One 1960s mega-block in the city centre has a plaque by the door boasting that it is a "hip European-style boutique hotel". It clearly isn't. Fortunately, the city's officials have now relented and the rash of brands now present include the aforementioned Ritz-Carlton, plus Shangri-la, Westin and, soon, W Hotels.

"The standard up to last year was pretty low before Shangri-la and Westin came - the city had pretty much stagnated for many years," says Gouvrit.

He believes that the new arrivals will make the Chinese-owned properties raise their game. "There wasn't a shortage of capacity, but there are big aspirations for the future of this city and they understand that more needs to be done," he says.

New hotels are only part of Guangzhou's construction boom. The city's central business district (CBD) is spreading east along the Pearl River to the new district of Pearl River New City, where the Ritz-Carlton stands and the W is being built.

Gouvrit believes it will take two to three years before the area is established. Here, there are some attempts underway to slant Guangzhou away from such an intense commercial focus. Through the haze of pollution and construction dust in Pearl River New City, you can make out the beginnings of the new Guangdong Museum of Art, plus a massive library, TV tower and opera house. They are among dozens of buildings springing up, including those for the Asian Games, which Guangzhou hosts in 2010.

The city will undoubtedly be a better place by then, but time off spent in Guangzhou at the moment does still offer some interesting diversions, despite its generally grim appearance. A drive through the metalworking district takes you to the haven of Baomo Gardens, where you can stroll and feed koi carp. Within the city, a good spot to head for is the old Li Wan district, whose narrow streets are more interesting than the main shopping areas of Pedestrian Street and Beijing Road.

Guangzhou is most attractive at night, when the city, especially around the river, becomes a blaze of neon. Cruising the Pearl River on one of the many tourist boats makes for a pleasant evening, as does sitting on the terrace of some of the riverside bars and restaurants.

If time is limited, Guangzhou's one must-see is the Nanyue King Mausoleum Museum, which shows finds from the Tutankhamun-style tomb of Zhao Mo, who died in 122BC. More than 1,000 relics were discovered when the tomb was found in 1983 as developers were in the process of flattening a hill to make way for a new hotel - Guangzhou's ancient past and dynamic future meeting head on.

Airlines
Guangzhou is poised to get its first direct link with the UK by the end of the year when China Southern begins services. The airline, which has its main hub at Guangzhou, is a SkyTeam member and will fly from Heathrow's Terminal 4. The airline, which is one of the world's top 10 in terms of passengers carried, will use Boeing 777s on the London route.

Other options are all indirect. Air France was the first European carrier to fly to Guangzhou in 2004. It has since been joined by Lufthansa, which flies five times a week from Frankfurt. Other carriers offer one-stop options. Qatar Airways began five flights a week from Doha in April, offering excellent connections from London and Manchester, and Emirates has been offering fours flights a week since June 2008. Other connections are possible with Finnair via Helsinki or Transaero through Moscow.

Another possibility is to fly to Hong Kong. From the airport, the A21 bus or a 30-minute taxi ride takes you to Hung Hom station, where immigration formalities are completed and large bags are handled airport-style by English-speaking staff. The one-hour 45-minute journey on a fast train costs £14. You will be met by representatives from all the major hotels at Guangzhou railway station's arrivals area.

Accommodation
Those wanting to be closest to the Pazhou exhibition centre should consider the adjacent Shangri-La property, although this is a fair way from the city centre. A good location in the city itself is the old commercial district of Li Wan, where the Holiday Inn Shifu (not to be confused with the Holiday Inn City Centre) is located. Those wanting a luxurious home-from-home or planning an extended stay could consider the new Ritz-Carlton, which, in addition to the hotel itself, has 91 serviced apartments from £1,800 per month. Be aware that during the Canton Fair hotel and apartment rates will rocket.

Airport
Until a railway extension is completed in 2010, the best way to reach Guangzhou's Baiyun airport is a taxi costing 100 yuan (around £7.50). Make sure you allow around an hour for the journey as Guangzhou airport is 17 miles from the city and the third biggest in China as well as the major hub for China Southern. A total of 110 destinations, including many of the world's major hubs, can be reached from Baiyun.

Opened in 2004, the airport rivals anything in Europe, although there can be a long wait for security and immigration queues on departure during the evening peak. Baiyun is already being doubled in size with a new international arrivals terminal under construction in time for the Asian Games. The airport offers the usual premium lounge facilities from all the major carriers, although most are shared between several airlines.

Entertaining
Guangzhou is the birthplace of Cantonese cuisine, which boasts that it has the most delicacies and uses the most expensive ingredients in China. The city has the biggest seafood market in Asia and its produce finds its way into Guangzhou's restaurants. Travellers should be prepared for some restaurants resembling aquariums and for some intriguing menu translations, with dishes such as "scalded hibernate with carrot". Dress standards tend to be more casual than in other Asian countries, and gala dinners held during trade fairs will not produce the same flamboyant display of silk dresses and fine suits as elsewhere. As one local put it: "You have to remember that only a few years ago, these people were wearing uniforms."

A good entertainment and general city guide can be found at www.lifeofguangzhou.com.

Dos and don'ts

• Use the subway during the Canton Fair, as the traffic can be gridlocked. There are four air-conditioned lines, and station names, local information and maps are in English.
  
  


• Get hotels to translate addresses into Cantonese, as taxi-drivers often have little idea of where you want to go. Generally, taxi rides are a bargain and the meter is always used.
  
  


• Always carry your passport with you as the police are entitled to carry out spot checks.

Dangers and annoyances

• Motorcycles have been banned in the city in a bid to halt bag-snatches, but a more common occurrence is the passing of forged banknotes. Hotels' bureaux de change will offer notes passed through machines that check for forgeries.
  
  


• Those with asthma or other respiratory ailments should take care during the summer months, when pollution can sit above the city for days.