Shamian Island - part 1

This is a long overdue post. My apologies.

During the first half of this year, I made 2 visits to Guangzhou, China.  The last trip was in early April and wow it was 4 months ago! One of the itinerary that was on my top list was visiting Shamian Island and it turned out to be the highlight of my Guangzhou trip.

Guangzhou is the third largest Chinese city and  southern China’s largest city. The city is strategically situated at the delta of Pearl river which has made Guangzhou as one of the leading industrial city in China. Guangzhou is a typical metropolitan city. It has many sky scrapper buildings for office or residential and they keep expanding the building vertically.  The city always looks busy and people walk in fast pace. 

Surprisingly I found this area in the middle of the city which is uniquely different and so tranquil. This is Shamian Island. A small island located in the middle of Pearl River delta and connected to the mainland by two bridges. So no need to take a boat to cross the river to reach the island.

Historically during 19th century the island/territory was divided into two concessions given to France and the United Kingdom by the ruling government at that period.  The two nations since then built the area by adopting the European style architecture. Therefore Colonial style buildings are the main theme of the island. In the whole island covering 0.3 square km, it is very unlikely that we can spot a typical Chinese-styled buildings. So when I was in the island I would not feel like I was in China. The surrounding and atmoshpere is truly like we are in one of European cities!

Since the views around the island are truly amazing hence they are worth sharing in my blog. Enjoy!

The grand Colonial buildings due to French and British influences. Seeing these photos, who would imagine that they are in China!

 

Beautiful lush garden with giant trees in the middle of the island

 

 

 

 

While I was strolling around the island, I spotted 5 pre-wedding photo sessions that took place at the same time. It turned out that the island is a popular spot for pre-wedding photo shoots.

 

 

 

 

So, anyone who will visit Guangzhou for business or shopping or medical purpose, please have Shamian Island in your must-visit list.