Sunday 02/20/2009
Well after having my trip extended due to the many issues facing the users in China we were obligated to spend another week to get them up to speed. Unfortunately that meant spending another weekend in China. And while normally that would be a good thing… work was taking its toll. We were tired and hadn’t really planned for anything. Saturday was spent playing war games with our colleagues, which is a story in and of itself. Sunday we were going to spend seeing another city in Guangdong Providence. Guangzhou (also know as Canton) has a population for about 9.7 million people.
1888 German map of Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangzhou
The city’s official name is Panyu and is the provincial capital. In 226 AD, the city however became the seat of the Guang Prefecture. It was during this time that people started calling the city Guangzhou.
Our first stop was to Shamian Island (沙面島) or literally Sand Face Island. The ‘island’ sits on the bank of the Pearl River that runs through the heart of Guangzhou. Separating it from the mainland is a canal.
Upon walking into the park one can’t help but notice the brides and groom that line the more picturesque locations. At first it was the odd couple here and there. I turned the corner and the street was lined with couples waiting to capture the start of their lives together on film.
The park is filled with activity for such a gloomy day. The rain had started to fall but that did not put a damper on the martial arts masters teaching a young group of students or couple dancing under the overpass.
In the trees, lanterns still hang, left over from the Chinese New Year.
After leaving Shamian Island, we headed over to the mall. It’s a wide open space that is filled with street vendors.
Vendor preparing sugar cane for a hungry little boy.
This gentleman was a walking ad for a local chicken restaurant.
A woman was feeding the Koa from a baby’s bottle.
The crowd was massive… there were people everywhere. Guangzhou is the fourth largest city in China.
This poor man is cripple and writes his tragic life story in perfectly formed Chinese characters.
