Interesting, Nico, your first impressions of Guangzhou as someone from a cold, rainy climate. Completely different to my first impressions, as someone who grew up in the humid subtropics. (in Australia). I well recall the many busy, noisy, outdoor eateries of Guangzhou and regional Guangdong - in the tropics, we eat outside. Equally, your impression of mosquito nets brought a smile to my face. "as if to protect me from the unseen" - nah, mate, nothing so magical - the nets are simply to protect you from the mossies. Another thing I grew up with in the Australian subtropics, where we all had mosquito nets over our beds so we weren't bitten alive in the night!!
Yeah it was a steep learning curve getting used to the subtropics. I remember the nightly ritual of loading up on DEET before heading out for dinner, the panic of hearing the whine of a mosquito inside the apartment, condensation on the OUTSIDE of the windows! I also have vivid memories of warm rainstorms - I'd never experienced warm rain before.
must have been very different from britain! yep once you get one in, hard to find it in the middle of the night, hence the mossie nets! I remember in Guangzhou every afternoon at 3pm, a huge thunderstorm would pelt down, just as we were taking the kids up to the bus. Coming from the tropics I just took my shoes off. Others looked bemused until they went through copious pairs of shoes then followed suit :)
I've only ever spent about a week in Beijing so maybe my judgement is unfair, but I much prefer Guangzhou. These days GZ has its own monumental architecture in Zhujiang new Town and the north shore of Haizhu along the Pearl River, but it is still more spacious and restrained than Beijing. All of this post-dates your time here but there are still plenty of areas that feel exactly as you described, particularly around Liwan and Yuexiu. I'm looking forward to reading more of your impressions of GZ.
My time there coincided with the rapid growth of Tian He, which felt like a constant hive of cranes and towers going up weekly. I was based in San Yuan Li but much preferred the quiet neighbourhoods of Shamian Dao and just north of there - leafy streets with old crumbling colonial architecture.
This paints an amazing picture of Guangzhou! I found it to be one of the most unique cities I visited in China. At that point in my life Guangzhou was probably the furthest south I'd ever been, so the humidity felt almost otherwordly.
Great memories and first impressions. I didn’t get to Guangzhou for a long time though I was in Dongguan where our offices and factories were. Your teaching experiences and my buying experiences are both similar and very very different. 🙏
Interesting, Nico, your first impressions of Guangzhou as someone from a cold, rainy climate. Completely different to my first impressions, as someone who grew up in the humid subtropics. (in Australia). I well recall the many busy, noisy, outdoor eateries of Guangzhou and regional Guangdong - in the tropics, we eat outside. Equally, your impression of mosquito nets brought a smile to my face. "as if to protect me from the unseen" - nah, mate, nothing so magical - the nets are simply to protect you from the mossies. Another thing I grew up with in the Australian subtropics, where we all had mosquito nets over our beds so we weren't bitten alive in the night!!
Yeah it was a steep learning curve getting used to the subtropics. I remember the nightly ritual of loading up on DEET before heading out for dinner, the panic of hearing the whine of a mosquito inside the apartment, condensation on the OUTSIDE of the windows! I also have vivid memories of warm rainstorms - I'd never experienced warm rain before.
must have been very different from britain! yep once you get one in, hard to find it in the middle of the night, hence the mossie nets! I remember in Guangzhou every afternoon at 3pm, a huge thunderstorm would pelt down, just as we were taking the kids up to the bus. Coming from the tropics I just took my shoes off. Others looked bemused until they went through copious pairs of shoes then followed suit :)
very similar climates :)
Love the photography!
I've only ever spent about a week in Beijing so maybe my judgement is unfair, but I much prefer Guangzhou. These days GZ has its own monumental architecture in Zhujiang new Town and the north shore of Haizhu along the Pearl River, but it is still more spacious and restrained than Beijing. All of this post-dates your time here but there are still plenty of areas that feel exactly as you described, particularly around Liwan and Yuexiu. I'm looking forward to reading more of your impressions of GZ.
My time there coincided with the rapid growth of Tian He, which felt like a constant hive of cranes and towers going up weekly. I was based in San Yuan Li but much preferred the quiet neighbourhoods of Shamian Dao and just north of there - leafy streets with old crumbling colonial architecture.
This paints an amazing picture of Guangzhou! I found it to be one of the most unique cities I visited in China. At that point in my life Guangzhou was probably the furthest south I'd ever been, so the humidity felt almost otherwordly.
Great memories and first impressions. I didn’t get to Guangzhou for a long time though I was in Dongguan where our offices and factories were. Your teaching experiences and my buying experiences are both similar and very very different. 🙏