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Seven Star Cave Archway, Zhaoqing
Guangdong, China |
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Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street
Guangzhou, Guangdong, China |
Day 8 (Nov 2 2023) Travel itinerary: Hezhou > Zhaoqing (approx 275km)
Day 7 Hotel Accommodation (Zhaoqing): Gaoyao Regent Hotel, 8, Yanjiang 1st Road, Gaoyao District, Zhaoqing, Guangdong.
Roystar / Hong Thai Travel & Tours package tour brochure quotes " Day 2 - Transfer to Zhaoqing. Visit Seven Star Archway, Songcheng Ancient City Wall, an iconic building in Zhaoqing which was built in Song Dynasty & still can be preserved intact ".
Note: Our Day 2 visit to Zhaoqing was revised to Day 7 due to a change in our travel itinerary upon our arrival in Guangzhou. Hence our visit to Zhaoqing was accomplished on the following Day 8 morning together with an afternoon visit to Guangzhou !
Our group's visit to Zhaoqing was a straight forward one ie just a morning visit to Seven Star Cave Archway & the lakeside area before heading to Guangzhou for our final night stay (complimentary due to Batik Air flight delay, a big thank you to Roystar / Hong Thai for arranging this extra night stay + meals in Guangzhou !).
Gaoyao district was my father's ancestor & birthplace in the early 1900s, so both my brother & myself were extremely pleased to stay overnight in Gaoyao & took a morning stroll along the West River waterfront area which is within walking distance from our hotel ! There is a public bus servicing the Yan Jiang Yi Lu area.
These few pictures taken in Gaoyao were deemed to be precious & memorable as I am not sure whether I could make another visit to Gaoyao in the near future !
1) Day 8 (Nov 2 2023) My morning walkabout along the West River waterfront area, Gaoyao District, Guangzhou
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West River (225km long)
one of the main rivers of Pearl River |
2) Songcheng Ancient City Wall, Zhaoqing - as viewed from the tour bus's windows, not a meaningful visit as there was no on-site visit !
3) Star Lake & Waterfront, Zhaoqing, Guangdong
4) Seven Stars Cave Memorial Archway (1958) & Archway Square Zhaoqing, Guangdong - an iconic landmark in Zhaoqing.
Travel itinerary: Zhaoqing > Guangzhou (approx 100km via highway)
Roystar / Hong Thai Tours & Travel package tour brochure's quote " Day 8 itinerary: Hezhou > Guangzhou City > KL - Visit Huacheng Square + Haixinsha, Saikwan Mansion & view the Canton Tower, Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street, a bustling commercial street. Transfer to airport for your flight to Kuala Lumpur " -
Except a visit to Shangxiajiu Padestrian Street (given 3 hours from 15.30 > 18.30 to wander the place !), there was no guided tour given to our group to visit Huacheng Square, Haixinsha, Saikwan Mansion & Canton Tower in Guangzhou as stipulated in the tour brochure ! As all our tour members had fully paid up the package tour fees based on the tour brochure agenda to our KL travel agency 3-4 weeks in advance prior to the trip, the local tour guide in China should stick on to the travel brochure travel itinerary & manage the time wisely & not giving any excuses or reasons to skip the visit (unless there is a security lockdown or natural disaster ie severe flooding, earthquake or landslides in that particular area) ! Basically I perceived it was a time management issue ! In the case of compulsory tour in which our tour members had to pay CNY550 (Rm363) for 5 side visits direct to the China tour guide upon our Day 2 of the trip, this was well executed & complied with !
1) Hotel Accommodation (Guangzhou, Final night): complimentary stay due to a Batik Air flight delay): Knight International Chain Hotel, Renhe, Guangzhou, China
2) Shangxiajiu Square & Pedestrian Street, Guangzhou - a well known old street in Guangzhou, more than 800 metres long, you can see many Lingnan style balcony buildings here, this popular street literally means Up Down Nine Street, given 3 hours to wander this commercial street, so if you are a non-shopper just indulge in window shopping, keep walking Up Nine & Down Nine the street watching passerby, take some candid shots or have a bite of some snacks, local delicacies, fresh fruit juices, or ice cream in Gourmet street or nearby eatery stalls to make your day looked "tasty" & "less thirsty" ... there was ample time for me & my brother to wander beyond the Shanhxiajiu Padestrian Street & both of us visited the nearby Hualin Jade Street, Hualin Temple & Jinlun Huiguan !
3) Underground shopping centre, Shangxiaji Pedestrian Street, Guangzhou - also my 2 toilet runs using the washroom facilities easily available at the shopping centre instead of "hunting" for a nearby public toilet !
4) Gourmet Street, Shangxiajiu Street, Guangzhou - the gluttons or food lovers haven, plenty of choice of food for visitors ie dim sum, beef offal noodles, smelly tofu, hot plate tofu, boneless chicken legs, local provincial food delicacies, clay pot rice, steamed rice rolls (cheong fun), wan tan noodles, grilled oysters & steamed scallops, "crazy" barbecued meat sticks.
5) Inner ring roads (Dexin Lu, Hualin Street, LingNan Street & side alleys) & shops nearby Shangxiajiu Street, Guangzhou
6) Bought 3 packets of pastries (CNY46 = Rm30) from Liangxialou, an old established (since 1889) pastry / cake shop cum dim sum restaurant in Shangxiajiu Street, Guangzho.
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| Moon Cakes CNY13 = Rm8.50) |
7) Hualin Temple, Guangzhou - a thousand old Buddhist temple hidden in the alleys of Shanxiajiu Pedestrian Street, Liwan District.
7) Jinlun Huiguan, Guangzhou - built in 1723 & was restored recently & opened as a museum.
8) Hualin Jade Street, Guangzhou - the history of this street can be traced back to the early Qing Dynasty, hundreds of jade ware stores are operating here, best quality jades from Burma & Yunnan Province are made into jade bracelets, rings & other wares.
9) Yuting Hotel, Kangwang South Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou - our travel group's meet-up point at 18.30 after given a 3hr of walkabout & last minute shopping in Shangxiajiu Pedestrian street ! Shop till your last penny if you are seeking a real bargain for any fashion clothing or goodies actively promoted in most of the retail outlets here !
My Day 8 buffet breakfast in Gaoyao Regent Hotel, Yanjiang Road, Gaoyao District, Zhaoqing.
Our tour group's lunch in Xin Qing Sao Yu Gang restaurant in Zhaoqing, Guangzhou - Wow ! A dish of big head prawns & garlic glass noodle in scallop shells for today's lunch - yummy yummy taste & looked like our tour members were a well pampered lot !
Our tour group's dinner in a local restaurant in Guangzhou - Live to eat or Eat to live ? In Guangzhou or any city in Guangdong, if you love Cantonese-style food, you are in the right place as what foodies like to say, when coming to eat, comes to Guangzhou ! My favourite Cantonese food are dim sum (yum cha), cheong fun (steamed rice rolls), wan tan noodles, beef offal noodle, barbecued pork, slow cooked soup; as for pastries ie my liking is sesame balls, mochi, Sachima, walnut biscuits ...... this may sum up as a tourist, you can reap on both sightseeing & food in Guangzhou as soon as you land in Baiyun International Airport !
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