As it turns out, the hotel in Guangzhou was about as nice as I experienced while in China. It was very comfortable and provided us with a luxurious and massive breakfast spread every morning. There were no problems accessing various internet sites which were often blocked in other parts of the country.
We had our luxurious breakfast buffet at the hotel before heading out to try Guangzhou’s metro subway system. There appeared to be lots of good designs ideas copied from the Hong Kong and Singapore subway systems, which made it very easy to navigate. We easily made it to The Museum of the Nanyue King of Western Han Dynasty – a tomb that was only discovered in 1983 and contains 2000+ year old artefacts and burial remains. The archaeological site was preserved as found (minus the relics) and you could walk around in the different rooms they discovered. The artefacts were on display in the accompanying museum – including the sarcophagus and coffins of the king.
While in there, we had our first taste of monsoon rains, but it soon let up long enough for us to hop the subway to the beautiful Chen Clan Ancestral Hall and its modern art installations. The buildings were over 100 years old and beautifully designed with many courtyards and interlocking walkways. Although mostly more modern creations, the exhibitions were designed and crafted using traditional Chinese techniques. It was definitely one of the highlights of Guangzhou.
After returning to the hotel, we tried out the pool, visited my travelling companions in the luxurious hotel suite the were upgraded to, and then headed out for another local Chinese dinner. Unfortunately, this dinner was not nearly as tasty as yesterdays.
