Guangzhou - Day 3 (Guangzhou Xiguan Yong Qing Fang Tourist Area - Chen Clan Ancestral Hall - Huacheng Square - Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street)

The Canton Fair's first phase ends today (April 19, 2024) and is only open for a half day. We made the decision to skip the event and instead spend the rest of the day exploring Guangzhou. We went out at 10am and took the metro from Guangzhou East Railway Station to Changshou Lu Station (¥ 4 per person). The journey took approximately 30 minutes. It started to rain, so we walked to Heng Bao Plaza and bought an umbrella from Miniso.

Heng Bao Plaza

Miniso - bought an umbrella (price - ¥ 29.90)

Street market

Baohua market

We were supposed to meet Jlo and his wife at Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street, but we got lost finding our way there. They finally found us, and we walked to the nearby Shangxiajiutaoju for brunch. We ordered Cajun cheese-baked sticky rice chicken, prawn dumplings, black caviar mushroom siew mai king, pork congee with preserved egg, pork rib rice roll, shrimp and crab meat dumplings, red rice sausage and shrimp roe with scallion oil noodles.

My favourite would be the Cajun cheese-baked sticky rice chicken. The sticky rice is very flavourful, soft and chewy. The combination with the Cajun cheese is perfect. Besides that, I also love their red rice sausage. The prawn is fresh, and I enjoy the crispiness of the "youtiau" also known as the Chinese cruller. However, they also include celery, which I don't particularly like.

Prawn dumplings, also known as har gow in Cantonese, are translucent skinned prawn dumplings, which are a very popular Cantonese dim sum dish. Even though the prawns are fresh, the har gow skin is on the thick side. The same goes for the shrimp and crab meat dumplings' skins. Besides that, the shrimp and crab meat are very soft and mushy. There's also celery in it, but there's not much soup inside the dumplings.

Our least favourite was the pork rib rice roll and shrimp roe with scallion oil noodles. The pork rib are flavourful but meatless, and the rice roll are thick and bland. The noodles on the other hand, are dry and tasteless. At the end of the meal, we were given a tiny box of tissue, which had lovely packaging.

(Total bill - ¥ 294 including tea charges of ¥ 8 per person )

Street towards Shangxiajiutaoju

Shangxiajiutaoju

Shangxiajiutaoju

Restaurant ambience

Tissue

Tea

Chili

Cajun cheese-baked sticky rice chicken - ¥ 36

Cajun cheese-baked sticky rice chicken

Prawn dumplings (3pcs) - ¥ 36

Black caviar mushroom siew mai king (4pcs) - ¥ 30

Pork congee with preserved egg - ¥ 28

Pork rib rice roll - ¥ 36

Shrimp and crab meat dumplings - ¥ 30

Red rice sausage - ¥ 36

Shrimp roe with scallion oil noodles - ¥ 30

Address:

Shangxiajiutaoju

No.20 Shishifu Road,

Liwan District, Guangzhou

We wander around the Guangzhou Xiguan Yong Qing Fang Tourist Area and Guangzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Area before getting a Didi to Chen Clan Ancestral Hall (Fare - ¥ 13.01).

Street photography

Street photography

Shoe shop

Spotted a road sweeping machine

Guangzhou Xiguan Yong Qing Fang Tourist Area

Guangzhou Xiguan Yong Qing Fang Tourist Area

Guangzhou Xiguan Yong Qing Fang Tourist Area

Pop Mart

Pop Mart

Guangzhou Xiguan Yong Qing Fang Tourist Area

Guangzhou Xiguan Yong Qing Fang Tourist Area

Guangzhou Xiguan Yong Qing Fang Tourist Area

Guangzhou Xiguan Yong Qing Fang Tourist Area

Guangzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Area

Guangzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Area

Cigarette store

The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall is the largest and most well-preserved traditional ancestral temple in Guangdong. The admission fee is ¥ 10, and you must have a passport to purchase the ticket. Aside from that, all bags must be inspected before entering the temple. We spent around an hour and twenty minutes at this temple.

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

Ticketing counter

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

Address:

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

No.34, En Long Li,

Zhongshan 7 Road,

Liwan District,

Guangzhou City

Opening hours: 9am to 5.30pm

Time of selling ticket: 9am to 5pm

We left Chen Clan Ancestral Hall around 4.10pm and took a Didi to Huacheng Square. The Didi driver dropped us off at one of the Mall of the World entrances. We took the escalator down and the mall is quite empty, with only a few restaurants. I was a bit puzzled because it is claimed to be the longest underground shopping mall with a lot of food and shops. So we took the escalator up again and asked for directions to Huacheng Square. The guard told us we were actually standing on Huacheng Square. Since there's nothing much to see around us, Jlo suggested we go back to Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street.

While we waited for our Didi driver, it started to rain so heavily. Luckily, we had our umbrella and the rain was brief. The journey back to Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street takes around 40 minutes from the Mall of the World (Fare - ¥ 42.90). Sadly, we didn't get to see the Canton Tower from Huacheng Square. Since it's a very large square, most probably the Didi driver dropped us at the far end of the mall, or we have chosen a different drop-off place since we are not familiar with the app.

Our Didi driver

Mall of the World

Huacheng Square

Mall of the World

Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street is a famous shopping and food street located in Liwan District. My partner bought a street sausage (¥ 10), which was quite tasty and flavourful. It's slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Jlo's wife bought a box of takoyaki, which is soft and moist but doesn't seem particularly tasty. We also bought a bottle of mineral water from a convenience shop.

While wandering along Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street, I came upon a shop selling shrimp paste and decided to give it a try. We bought a cup of shrimp paste with seaweed and meat floss. They have this promotion in which the second bowl of their signature shrimp paste with vermicelli only costs ¥ 9.90. It's quite spicy, but flavourful. I still prefer the shrimp paste with seaweed and meat floss. It's best eaten when it's hot. Along the street, we saw a few young people selling shoe polish spray. They will attempt to spray on your shoes and ask you to purchase the spray.

Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street

Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street

Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street

Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street

Street food stall

Sausage - ¥ 10

Takoyaki

Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street

Tianfu convenient store

Mineral water - ¥ 3.50

Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street

Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street

Shrimp shop

Condiments for the shrimp paste

Signature shrimp paste with vermicelli - ¥ 9.90

Shrimp paste with seaweed and meat floss - ¥ 22

Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street

We randomly walked into this restaurant for dinner. It is located on the second floor. We ordered their steamed chicken (half), stir fried lotus root with vegetables, supreme black BBQ pork, lychee and roasted goose and steamed sea bass. I was a bit clumsy that day, and when trying to pour the chrysanthemum tea, I unintentionally spilled the tea and drenched my camera. Luckily, my camera still worked after that.

Overall, the food here is not superb. Their signature lychee and roasted goose skin taste rubbery, and the meat is tough and chewy. Apart from that, the steamed fish lacks of flavour.

(Total bill - ¥ 311.80 including tea charges of ¥ 8 per person )

Guangfu Seafood Restaurant

Rice

Steamed chicken (half) - ¥ 68

Stir fried lotus root with vegetables - ¥ 35

Supreme black BBQ pork - ¥ 29.80

Lychee and roasted goose - ¥ 75

Plum sauce

Steamed sea bass (1.5kg) - ¥ 72

Address:

Guangfu Seafood Restaurant

2nd Floor, No. 158, 128 Shishifu Road,

Liwan District, Guangzhou

After dinner, we took Didi back to our hotel. We were unfamiliar with the area, so we entered the wrong location for pickup. We had to cancel the ride and were charged a penalty of ¥ 4. Finally, we reached our hotel (Fare - ¥ 36.53) and they went for a foot massage at No. 9 Spa Club. They chose the 90-minute classic foot massage (Price - ¥ 279 per person). Since I don't enjoy massages, I spent the night relaxing in our hotel room.

No. 9 Spa Club

No. 9 Spa Club