We made it a goal this year to take more weekend trips in south China. With places like Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou (just to name a few), we would be fools not to take advantage of their amazing scenery, rich history, and endless shopping. To walk the talk, we spent two recent weekends venturing out to Hong Kong for a one day trip and Guangzhou for an overnighter. Both excursions provided us with great diversions from school.
Hong Kong in a Hurry
Back a few weekends ago we made a quick day trip to Hong Kong to take care of some paperwork. Since that meant we needed to cross the border, Pazi suggested we do a bit of western grocery shopping while we were there. Adan had no problems with this and checked out a couple of guide books to see if there was anything interesting nearby to visit. He stumbled upon Wong Tain Sin, Hong Kong's most frequented religious temple. It happened to be just a couple metro stops beyond the stores Pazi wanted to visit.
That Saturday morning we left our apartment after 9:00am and caught a 9:30 bus to the Luo Hu Border Crossing. It took us just over one hour to reach our destination and another thirty minutes to exit China and cross over into Hong Kong. The first thing we did when we reached Hong Kong was buy dan ta, egg tarts, a Chinese traditional sweet. In Hong Kong or Macau the egg tarts are incredible. The combination of better ovens and use of quality ingredients such as butter, make the dan ta in these locations unbelievable. Some place in China can make good tarts but not many.
After we had our treat we set off on a forty-five minute short rail ride through the New Territories of Hong Kong. Many people forget that Hong Kong is not just "the island," but rather land tied to Guangdong province of mainland China and various other islands. The train ride through much of the New Territories provides a view of Hong Kong that not too many visitors are able to see. Lots of lush green scenery. Some developed with parks and walkways for locals, while others are in a natural state with very small populations by China's standards.
Just before noon we arrived at Wong Tai Sin. The temple is not nearly as big as the ones we have seen in China, but still it was evident that this temple has an important significance to the Hong Kong people. This place of taoist worship was built in the early 20th century and has many features. The areas that impressed us the most were the Nine Dragon Wall and the Good Wish Garden. A few areas were closed for renovation, like the Main Hall, so we did not get the full experience.
Overall, the temple is a nice tranquil place even with several other visitors praying and worshipping. The day we visited was reminiscent of a beautiful spring afternoon (and it's still winter!). Since some of the larger attractions were under refurbishment, we will go back for another visit to this historical site.
Going Guangzhou with the Grants
The last weekend of January, Warren and Terese invited us to Guangzhou. They are big fans of the city and thought it would be fun to visit Shamian Island. In the heart of Guangzhou, this sandbank island is littered with several historical buildings from both the French and British Concessions. Additionally the U.S. Consulate is located here. Needless to say, many foreigners frequent this site.
This trip was short and sweet. It started on Saturday morning when we all met at the bus station. We took a 9:30am bus and within one hour we were in Guangzhou. From the bus terminal, we used the metro line to get us to the island. The subway in Guangzhou is very user friendly and it did not take us long to reach our destination.
Once we reached Shamian Island, we noticed scaffolding covering a huge portion of the architecture. We found out very quickly that a major restoration project is taking place to improve the building fronts. For us this was only a minor setback. We made our way to the Victory Hotel to check into our rooms. This hotel is a mature facility but the rooms are clean and the location is great. After dropping off our things we needed food.
For lunch we decided on eating at Lucy's Bar and Grill. The pub-like atmosphere here was nice, especially when it is situated just meters away from the Pearl River. For lunch we went American and ate grilled pineapple chicken and club sandwiches. The food was alright and we ended up eating here again for dinner. It helped that they had ice at the restaurant, something that you don't see everyday in China.
From Lucy's we let Warren and Terese take us to Xiaozhou Village. Located just outside of Guangzhou, this small town has a nice feel to it. It is protected under state orders, and is considered a "national ecological village." Having a history of over 600 years, this area is a great location to see locals going about their business. The streets are formed of bluestone and neat stone bridges fill the village due to the many streams all around. We took several pictures and just wandered around for several hours. The whole experience was quite relaxing and entertaining at the same time.
From this point on shopping became the focal point. Sunday morning involved a lot of bargaining and negotiating. Pazi bought some great gifts for family and friends. The Grants needed to buy several presents so their bags were pretty full heading back to Dongguan.
Overall, both weekends provided us with some great time to relax and explore new areas in south China. We will continue to share our weekend trips for we expect to take many more this school year.
