Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, is a metropolis that dates back centuries. Often referred to as Canton, the provincial capital in south-east China has an estimated population of 12.6 million.Historians believe the area was first settled around 214 BC. According to an ancient tale the now-thriving area was once barren and famine-stricken.The 2000-year-old legend states that five celestial beings, riding five rams, descended from the skies. Each ram held a stalk of rice in its mouth. The rice was left for the inhabitants of the less-than-successful region, as were blessings from the heavenly visitors. They returned to their divine abodes and the rams turned to stone. After the visit the area became prosperous; some would argue the most prosperous in the Middle Kingdom.Guangzhou is nicknamed Wuyangcheng (City of Five Rams) and Yangcheng (City of Rams). A sculpture of the legendary five rams was erected in Yuexiu park in 1959, a giant 93 hecatre wooded area in the northern section of the city. It is one the most visited sites in sprawling city. Long lines of tour buses queue on the road next to the sculpture as the ever-growing Chinese middle-class discover tourism.
<
Obviously, I love this.
Great! I like history, regardless of which country is involved.
You are correct about the crowds at the Yuexiu park. I was there last year on a scorcher of a day and the crowds were streaming past me. I also liked the other artwork and sculptures that dotted the park. Highly recommedned!
I was born in Guangzhou in 1951. I went back to visit in 1982 with my then fiancé and now husband. It was his first trip to an Asian country. As you already know, he’s not Chinese.
The whole month we were in China he was desperate to find bacon and eggs for breakfast. The one time we did manage to get eggs over easy, it was swimming in a pool of unidentifiable oil. He gave up.
Vanni B’s last blog post..Trimmed