Guangzhou, the China I saw

By Brian Kazungu (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2014-08-21 10:03

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Gliding through the Chinese airspace, higher up in the skies the plane hovers upon a gigantic and a vast piece of land that is home to over a billion people while smoothly heading towards Guangzhou, China’s southern capital.

The plane suddenly takes a dive and consequently reveals a stretch of land that showcases the Pearl River’s beautiful meandering through a maze of tall buildings thus giving a magnificent view which seemed to wave us an expression of welcome.

Brian Kazungu [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

By this time the land, the river and the buildings were slowly coming into decipherable view and the real Chinese experience was beckoning as we approached the Guangzhou airport.

The Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is a structure so fluent in the modern infrastructural language that makes a good report about its authors in so legible a manner that you just need to be human to read it.

The experience with China in the skies and China at the majestic airport was done and it was now time for me to discover Guangzhou, the China I had come to see.

The time is around 5pm and the taxi driver weaves his way through the traffic congested tarred roads but sometimes the traffic jam would get us to a momentary stop as if to allow me to take a photo or just to see the high-rise buildings which seem to tuck in the world’s biggest population.

After more than an hour’s journey I finally got beckoned to disembark and make way to my new temporary home, the 7DaysInn, from where permanent impressions were to be made since the place had a wonderful staff compliment who were to make my stay in Guangzhou memorable.

After taking some overnight rest at the hotel, walk the following day in the streets of Guangzhou could reveal that the people are very enterprising, engaged in one business or the other from one end to another in order for them to earn a living.

I discovered that this entrepreneurial spirit is the most contributing factor to their hospitality since when you are in business almost everyone is a potential customer and therefore good behaviour and good relations are indispensable business tools.

This wonderful city, Guangzhou, is home to a fusion of multi-corporations with the world’s biggest banks, hotels, fast foods companies and coffee shops being found rubbing shoulders and making commercial footprints on this majestic business terrain.

In all my exploration of Guangzhou, I had to remind myself that food was very essential for me to have the energy to work and move around and so from time to time I would take a moment to relax and feast on the Chinese cuisine.

There is a wide range of unique dishes to choose from when it comes to food and thus the take-aways, fast food companies and hotels quickly and efficiently rise up to their mandate to satisfy the taste buds of both the young and the old, locals and foreigners as well as the rich and poor in Guangzhou.

As adventurous as I could be in patrolling the streets of Guangzhou, I had to contend with the weather which seemed to continually blow hot air like a breathe of fury.

The temperature in China for the month of August can sometimes be very unforgiving going as high 40 degrees Celsius but thank God most of the buildings are equipped with air conditioners that will make you forget the temperatures outside.

Besides the air conditioners the people have their own way of taming the temperatures and that is the ‘dress code’!!!.

This very hot weather presents the time for men and women of Guangzhou not to be outdone in the ‘dress to beat the weather contest’ since they all get to put on some clothes which can at least allow their skin to breathe and show God’s artwork in designing a human being.

Guangzhou is a beautiful place inhabited by a beautiful people who are so liberal in their dressing. The ladies would brighten the streets in their very short skirts, dresses or shorts while the men can sometimes patrol the streets without putting on their shirts.

The native Chinese are a very hospitable and romantic folk who always display an aura of love in the air among themselves since quite often I would see couples walking hand-in-hand in the streets and thus adding some human touch to the beauty of the land.

This atmosphere of love was yet to be enhanced by the Qishi festival, which I was told is the Chinese equivalent of Valentine’s Day celebrations.

The Qishi festival made China to be covered in a love smog that enhanced the romantic mood of the people in China especially those from Guangzhou.

The beauty and the romantic aura of Guangzhou is further spiced by its state of the art infrastructure whose sight can be a marvel both to the visitors and the locals who flock to the malls and other places of their choice to enjoy themselves with their spouses, family and friends.

As big as the place was, I definitely saw a lot in the same way that I missed a lot as well.

When places have been visited, the people have been met and the business have been done it was time to wave China a good-bye and keep the wonderful memories to my heart and mind as well as to share them with the world.