Although part of the CITIC Plaza, Backstreet is a curiously quirky corridor that stretches from one tower to the next and goes underneath the car park. It seems to be aimed at a more younger and cheaper audience, and contains about 20 or so shops and restaurants that range from a stationers to jewellery shops to a Japanese restaurant.
For expats Backstreet is of particular interest because of Corner's Deli, a large speciality food store that caters for Westerners and Japanese.
Located within Yuexiu Park, the Zhenhai Tower sits atop the last remaining piece of Guangzhou's city wall. The tower was originally built in 1380 during the Ming dynasty, and has been the focus of much upheaval, resulting in the tower being destroyed and rebuilt a total of five times. It was last occupied by both the British and French during the Opium war, and was chosen for its super view of the city, as well as (on those rare clear days) views of Baiyun Mountain.
The tower is now known as the Guangzhou Museum, and contains over 2000 years of Guangzhou history. The tower is one of the cities landmark sites, and certainly one of it's most popular tourist attractions.
As one of the oldest and largest parks in Guangzhou, Yuexiu Gonguan has the distinction of also containing some of the cities most important historic monuments. Spread over 212 acres it contains seven hills and three artificial lakes, as well as a swimming pool, boating & fishing lake, gymnasium, restaurants, Yuexiu Mountain Stadium, and the usual assortment of restaurants and cafes. Highlights of the park include:
Sweden's very own behemoth furniture store arrived in Guangzhou in 2005 and has become a firm favourite with both locals and expats alike. The store follows the standard Ikea design, and you are ushered upstairs into the 'showroom' area, before making your way back downstairs into the shop area (you can take a short cut to the shop by taking the first door on your left in the showroom).
The store contains a cafe, with some very basic foods, along with a food shop selling cheap ice cream, hot dogs, and assorted Swedish snacks.
Theme: Guangzhou