Time
1-1.5hours
Ticket
None
Attribute
Architecture / Tradition / Modern / Technology / Gastronomy
Litchi Bay Cruise
4.7
Introduction
The former site of the Canton Customs stands at the start of Connaught Road, with its red brick walls and clock tower serving as a witness to century of foreign trade in Guangzhou and overseeing much of southern China’s maritime trade. Today, it remains a landmark on the riverbank.
Full-day tour
8-10 hours
Lowest price
160¥ / per
Guangzhou urban culture one-day tour
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Litchi Bay Cruise
The history of the Yue Customs can be traced back to the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty (1685), making one of the earliest ports established in China. In the mid-19th century, it became the core hub of foreign trade in Guangzhou, overseeing much of Chinas southern maritime trade, especially in silk, tea, and porcelain exports.
The existing Yue Customs Building was constructed in 1916, and its clock once served as a temporal landmark of old Guangzhou. It witnessed the transformation of Guangzhou from an ancient port city to a modern treaty port, and recorded the rise and of Sino-Western trade and cultural collisions. It is an important material witness for the study of modern Chinese foreign trade history.
The building of the Customs House of Guangzhou is a fine example of the fusion of Western classical and eclectic styles. The red brick exterior walls are complemented white columns, with a towering clock tower on top, featuring delicate domes and arched windows, and adorned with carved ironwork balustrades, exuding the soity and grandeur of a foreign trade hub a century ago.
Buildings along the river road
Along the riverbank, the arcade buildings on both sides of Renjin Road are connected to form a street, with the Art Deco style of the Aiq Building contrasting with the classical facade of Nanfang Building, once a symbol of the bustling “Guangzhou Bund”.
The Nanhai Building
is a representative example of modern Guangzhou architecture, integrating eclecticism style. The facade uses classical columns and arched windows, a tower is set at the top, with simple and clear lines. It was once the largest department store in the Far East, showing both the practicality of commercial architecture and theacy of European decoration, witnessing the prosperity of old Guangzhou.
Aikun Mansion was the pinnacle of Art Deco style in Guangzhou, and was the tallest building in South China when it was completed in 1937. The facade is stepped and angular, with geometric patterns and reliefs combined, delicate metal window grilles, and a towering spire at the top, exuding a sense of modernity and strength, which is the memory of “skyscrapers” in old Guangzhou.
South China
Starting the Canton Customs House, the spire of the red-brick clock tower pierces the sky, and the bell chimes from a century ago seem to still echo. you walk along the street, the Art Deco lines of the Aiqun Building are sharp, and the stepped facade plays with light and shadow under the sun, with the “tallest building in South China” in old photos still exuding its aura. The arch windows and columns of the Nanfang Building hide the past prosperity of the Far East Store, and under the arcade, the sweet fragrance of the old-fashioned dessert shop mixes with the river breeze.
The river railing is worn smooth, old people shake fans and tell stories, young people hold their cameras to capture the light and shadow. Cargo ships on the Pearl River slowly pass by, and the modern buildings across the river have dialogue with the old buildings in front of them. At dusk, the setting sun turns the river surface into a golden red, the street lights gradually light up, and the outlines the old buildings are more gentle in the twilight.
Take a City Walk along the Riverside Road in Guangzhou, and it’s like stepping into a flowing urban epic.
On this journey, every brick and stone are soaked in stories, and every gust of river wind carries the taste of, allowing you to understand the past and present of Guangzhou in your footsteps.