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Legacy of Guangzhou Ancient Port Cultural Tour

2019-01-12

Maritime Silk Road Society (MSRS) organized the Legacy of Guangzhou Ancient Port Cultural Tour from 12 to 13 January. The Tour was led by Mr Alex Wong, CEO of MSRS, and travelled through Foshan and Guangzhou in search of historical traces left from the glory days of the Maritime Silk Road in the Canton region.

In the morning of the first day, the tour group of around 30 participants experienced the new High Speed Rail from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, which took less than an hour on tracks. The majority of the group had never tried the Hong Kong section of express train service and joint checkpoint, and were pleasantly surprised by the efficiency.

The first stop upon arrival was the Bijiang Golden House, which is the origin of folklore “A golden house to keep one’s mistress”. The Golden House was built during the Ming Qing Dynasties, along with the walled courtyards and ancestral houses, displaying an extravagant flair of a bygone lifestyle. The group later visited a local culinary village for classic Shunde cuisine, including “freshwater fish in three cooking styles”.

In the afternoon, the group visited the Huangpu Ancient Port. The Port and the nearby village were central to maritime trade in the Southern Song Dynasty and had welcomed foreign freight vessels to disembark. One of the famous vessels was the Götheborg I, which had visited Guangzhou thrice for trade activities. The Götheborg I met her unfortunate end on the last leg carrying cargo from China to the Götheborg port in Sweden, and sank by the harbour. In the 2000s, Sweden rebuilt the ill-fated ship from scratch and named her Götheborg III. The ship was given a warm reception in Guangzhou in 2006 when she completed the historical voyage mimicking the ancient maritime trade route. The Yuehai Diyiguan Memorial Hall in the area kept historic records of Western cultural influence brought by the Maritime Silk Road.

The next stop was the Archaeological Site Museum of Nanyue Palace, which showcased the ancient sewage system, wells, and tiles in their original conditions. The Nanyue Palace is one of the critical sites of Maritime Silk Road and was included in China’s tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage. After enjoying the well-known Canton delicacy – roasted goose, a tea master in the group hosted a gathering of tea appreciation for everyone to share and relax well-into nightfall.

In the morning of the second day, the group passed by the Huaisheng Mosque. As the mosque did not allow non-Muslim visitors, the group could only view the Mosque from outside. The religious structure was built by Arabs who entered the country through Maritime Silk Road. The second stop was the Guangzhou Thirteen Hongs Museum, which was built upon the ruins of the original district. The “Thirteen Hongs” was a special region for European and US maritime trade in the Qing Dynasty, lined with diplomatic establishments of Western powers and populated by merchants of tea and silk among others. The Museum housed more than 1,700 items which authentically depicted the cultural fusion between the East and the West, such as pierced ivory round-shape fan, black lacquer chessboard with golden patterns, and wooden Canton embroidery screen. The third stop was Cantonese Opera Art Museum, a recently completed recreational culture park. In the main building, Cantonese Opera and Canton culture at large was introduced via interactive media accompanied by a collection of play scripts, costumes, and also a model of an Opera entertainment vessel. The park provides a couple of theatres for troupes’ performances, in which the grand theatre can accommodate more than 200 audience.

After a meal at a famous lakeside restaurant, the last stop of the Tour presented the contemporary side of Guangzhou. Huacheng Square is the latest hub of urban Guangzhou pinned with city-defining architectures in the vicinity, including the 600m-high Canton Tower nicknamed “Slim Waist”, Guangzhou Opera House, Guangdong Museum, Guangzhou Library, Guangzhou Chow Tai Fook Finance Centre, and Guangzhou International Finance Centre. The perfect harmony of culture and business painted a bright future for Guangzhou as the forerunner of the new Maritime Silk Road.

The Tour concluded with a High Speed Rail journey to Hong Kong in the evening.

 

1. Photo taken with Mrs Regina Ip, Co-Chair of MSRS, before Tour departure

2. Visit to the Huangpu Ancient Port

3. Guided tour in the Yuehai Diyiguan Memorial Hall of Huangpu Ancient Port

4. Night-time tea appreciation gathering

5. Visit to the Guangzhou Thirteen Hongs Museum

6. Folding fan in the Guangzhou Thirteen Hongs Museum

7. Visit to the Cantonese Opera Art Museum

8. Mr Alex Wong, CEO of MSRS, discussed Cantonese Opera with the group

9. The Lingnan style garden of the Cantonese Opera Art Museum

 

Highlights Video: