Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family

The best place to appreciate the historical beauty of Guangzhou is at the Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family, located in Liwan District.

Built between 1890 and 1894 in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the temple is the largest, best preserved, and best decorated ancient architecture existing in Guangdong Province.

It was built with donations from members of the Chen family who lived in the 72 counties of Guangdong. After its completion, the temple was used to provide lodgings for Chen family candidates who came from all over Guangdong to prepare for the imperial examinations to be held in Guangzhou. Hence it was also called the Chen Clan Academy.

Occupying an area of 15,000 square meters, the temple has a rectangular main building and comprises six courtyards, nine main halls and 19 buildings. With an architectural design of traditional Guangdong style, the temple is especially renowned for its beautiful decorations. In the temple, historical figures, legends, and scenes are represented in many art forms, including wood carving, brick carving, pottery carving, stone carving, lime carving, clay sculpture, ash sculpture, brass and cast iron and grotto. These artistic and historical attributes make the temple an important attraction in Guangzhou.

In 1986, it was designated as an important cultural relic by the State Council. The temple now is the site of the Museum of Guangdong Folk Arts and Crafts.

Daily 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Ticket price: 10 yuan per person (US$1.2)

Bright Filial Piety Temple

One of the oldest temples in Guangzhou, the Bright Filial Piety Temple located on Guangxiao Road was the mansion of Prince Zhao Jiande of the Nanyue Kingdom during the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- 24 A.D.). The temple was first built by an Indian monk during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317- 420) and the present building, occupying an area of 31,000 square meters, was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty.

The Sixth Ancestor Hall in the temple was built in memory of Huineng, who was widely regarded as the most influential monk in the history of Chinese Buddhism. There is also a pagoda where Huineng's hair buried. Other ancient structures in the temple include Sakyamuni Hall, Samgharama Hall, the King of Heaven Hall, and two iron towers.

Daily 6:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Ticket price: 4 yuan per person

Western Han's Nanyue King Tomb Museum

The Nanyue King Tomb Museum, located on Jiefang Road, stands on the site of the tomb of Emperor Wen, the second ruler during the Nanyue Kingdom dating back to 100 B.C.

The tomb was originally 20 meters under Elephant Hill and was discovered in 1983. More than 1,000 burial objects were excavated, among which were a chariot, a jade burial suit, gold and silver vessels, musical instruments, and sacrificial human remains. The tomb is 11 meters in length and 12 meters in the widest place, consisting of the front and rear chambers. It is the earliest large-scale painted stone-chamber tomb to be found in South China.

Daily 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Ticket price: 12 yuan per person The museum is ticket-free on International Museum Day, May 18.

***Visitors to Guangzhou are easily impressed by its modernity. Known as the first city in China where foreign influences seeped into the country, Guangzhou is the place to watch for the latest fashions and to see how Chinese people interpret alien styles. The sounds of techno, Canto-pop and punk fill the nightclubs here. Youths are fashionable, following the Japanese and Western style.

Guangzhou is also a dynamic city. Streets are bombarded with crowds; roads and flyovers are busy with traffic; local inhabitants turn the city's two famous obsessions - eating and business - into social occasions, filling streets, restaurants and buildings with the musical sounds of Cantonese language.

For visitors, however, an exploration into the traditional and quieter facet of the city is more interesting. The best way to get a grip on Guangzhou is to ditch its modern veneer by wandering into the depth of the city. Make your way around on foot and take every available back lane. It can be a real surprise after the main streets to come across old residential districts with their flagstones, tiny collectors' markets, laundry strung on lines between buildings, and homes screened away behind wooden doors with heavy swing gates.

With a history of more than 2,200 years, Guangzhou offers great historical and cultural significance. Here are some historical highlights of Guangzhou.

Temple of Six Banyan Trees

The Temple of Six Banyan Trees, situated on Liurong Road, is an ancient Buddhist temple. It was first built in 537 during the Southern Dynasty (386-581).

More than 1,460 years ago, a master priest called Tan Yu built Baozhuangyan Temple under the command of the emperor to store the Buddhist bones brought from Cambodia. The temple was later named "Liu Rong," meaning six Banyan trees. It was burned down and rebuilt in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).

The flowery Pagoda, built in 1097, is the major structure in this temple. Named for its colorful exterior, the pagoda stands 57 meters high in the center of the temple, having a bronze column with 1,000 Buddhist sculptures on its top. Viewed from outside, the pagoda has nine stories while in fact it has 17 stories inside.

To the west of the pagoda is the Grand Hall, a magnificent hall rebuilt in 1983 with an area of 300 square meters and a height of 14 meters. In this hall are enshrined three huge images: Sakyamuni in the middle, Amitabha left and Maitreya right. Elaborately made of brass in 1633, each is six meters high and weighs 10 tons. They are the largest existing ancient brass images in Guangdong Province. In the Banyan Garden, there is the Hall of Liuzu in which a copper image of Liuzu, the sixth generation of China's Buddhist master, is enshrined. This image, 1.8 meters in height and 1 ton in weight, was meticulously cast in 989. The image looks very vivid, sitting silently with its eyes closed in meditation.

Daily 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Ticket price: 1 yuan per person

Editor: Catherine