Saturday, February 23, 2013

Guangzhou: Day 1

We arrived safely last night in Guangzhou.


Lakey did well on her first flight.  


Today was her medical exam and visa photo.  No problem.


I thought the medical exam would include a TB test, but that is only if your child is 2 years or older.



The health center was a circus.  The inefficiency in China drives me crazy sometimes.


Miles held the fort down in the waiting room and I don't blame him.


My Grandpa Ernie told me that Guangzhou was formerly known as Canton, and he is right.  As you might guess, Cantonese is the language here.  Guangzhou is in Guangdong province and sits on the Pearl River.  It is more modern than Nanchang, though Shanghai is considered the most modern city in China.

Question.  Ever get wine out of a vending machine?



Guangzhou is the third largest city in China - around 13 million I think.  It is only 2 hours northwest of Hong Kong.  This city is a lot more diverse than Nanchang.  It is one of the major cities in China for trade affairs, so people come here from all over the world to buy in the wholesale markets.  This morning we went to an area of Guangzhou that had some of the most interesting architectural buildings and tallest skyscrapers in China.



This is the arena where the Asian Games of 2010 were played.


The tall one on the right is the Guangzhou International Finance Center.  It is the eighth tallest building in the world and the fourth tallest in China.


This is called the Canton Tower.  It is a TV tower and is the tallest structure in China, and the second tallest free-standing structure in the world.  I wish my pics weren't all cloudy and overcast.


And these few are just really cool we thought.



This one is where the symphony plays.



Wide open spaces.  The boy can't resist.








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