Sights of Guangzhou, China

Our trip to China is coming to a close and wanted you to see a few sights of our final destination,, Guangzhou, China. It is a very Westernized city with a lot of influence from Hong Kong (based upon proximity of about 75 miles away.) Guangzhou is the third largest city in China with an approximate population of only 13 million people. The population of the province that Guangzhou is in is about 40 million people...all those people fit in an area about the size of the state of New Jersey...

A few pictures and short video clip for your entertainment:

Is is a restaurant or pet store video clip?

Alley Sigthseeing part 1

Alley Sightseeing part 2

The entire travel group for one final picture together.

One of the first areas that we visited was Shamian Island...it's not really an island per say, but a very nice section of town...about a 5 block by 5 block area. As Stacie and I walked through this area, it looks very much like Charleston, SC...it also is a little bit of a tourist trap...lots of little stores appealing to all the international families adopting from China.

One of the few churches that we have seen in China. This church is on Shamian Island.

Stacie and Kaylee down one of the side streets on Shamian Island.

What place would not be appropriate without a Starbuck's coffee.

Big Southern looking trees...

Inside the famous White Swan hotel on Shamian Island. We were told this is where foreign dignitaries, like the US president, stay when traveling to the Southern part of China. In years past, this is also where most families that were adopting would stay. However, the hotel is undergoing renovations, so we ended staying at the China Hotel (Marriott)...very nice hotel as well.

Another interesting tree on Shamian Island...you can notice the wonderful greenery that was immaculately kept.

Entrance into a park where they were holding the Chinese Latern festival. This festival culminates the end of the Chinese New Year. It is believed the latern festival is a celebration to cultivate relationships between people, families, nature, and higher beings that were responsible for bringing the light back each year. The day we went to the park was not the last day of the Chinese New Year celebration...that occurred on February 6, 2012. The park was pretty packed the day we went...we were told on the last day of the festival it would so packed it would be a little dangerous for us especially with Kaylee...we listened. Because this is the year of the Dragon, it was extra colorful.

Inside the park with all the colorful decorations.

One final stroll around Guangzhou revealed a few more interesting pictures. The epitome of air drying your clothes. I can't imagine doing this at our house with the amount of clothes we go through...there would not be enough space to hang everything.

A final picture to conclude this post...hmm, I sure am hungry...NOT...this was the local butcher just around the corner from our hotel...I like the display technique....iron folding table leveled by a few bricks on the front end...making the most of what you have. Oh yea, one thing this picture doesn't show are the chickens in the background waiting in line to be next.