Janvi Tours - Guangzhou Private Tour Guide

Festivals

• Chinese New Year/Spring Festival (春节 chūn-jié) occurs on first day of first lunar month, usually in January or February. This is a 15 day celebration and some districts can be quite deserted as many migrant workers return to their home provinces. The flower fair is popular during the days before New Year.

Flower Street in Tianhe during Chinese New Year

• Dragon Boat Festival (端午节 duān-wǔ-jié) on fifth day of fifth lunar month, usually in May or June. This festival commemorates the sacrifice of Qu Yuan (屈原), a famous poet who drowned himself in the river by way of making a statement against government corruption during the Warring States Period. The highlights are dragon boat racing along the Pearl River, and eating rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves (粽子).
  
  
• Mid-autumn Festival (中秋节 zhōng-qiū-jié) is on the 15th day of 8th lunar month, usually in September or October. Cantonese moon cakes are enjoyed during this holiday. Lian Xiang Lou and Taotao Ju's moon cakes are especially famous (see "Eat" section). Kids' favorites are paper lanterns. Many locals also enjoy riding ferries and watching the full moon on the Pearl River.
  
  
• Tomb Sweeping Day (清明节 qīng-míng-jié) is around the spring equinox, usually on April 5th. Involves visits to the family tombs for cleaning and making offerings.
  
  
• Double Ninth Festival (重阳节) is on the 9th day of 9th lunar month, usually in October. Cantonese has the tradition of hiking up Baiyun Mountain. This is also the fall version of the Tomb Sweeping Day in April.
  
  
• Qi Xi, or Chinese Valentine's Day (七夕 qī-xī) is on 7th day of 7th lunar month, usually in August or September. According to legend, a heavenly fairy Zhinu (织女) fell in love with a mortal farm boy Niulang (牛郎). This was forbidden; as punishment, they were only allowed to meet once a year on this day. There are usually parades and carnivals in the city celebrating the holiday. This is the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day, but it is steadily losing its appeal among the locals; many have adopted the Western Valentine’s Day on February 14th.
  
  
• Winter Solstice (冬至, 过冬 dōng-zhì), which literally means the Coming of Winter is on December 22nd. Traditionally, Cantonese people observe the day with a family feast, which often includes preserved duck and sausages. However, the highlight of the day's festive dishes is hot soup served with flour dumplings (汤丸).

Talk

The native language of locals in Guangzhou is Cantonese. As the Guangzhou dialect of Cantonese is considered by some to be the most prestigious, this is a good place, for anyone who is interested, to learn the language in its "purest" form. However, due to the large number of migrants in recent years, many of whom do not speak Cantonese, standard Mandarin is fast becoming the lingua franca in this city. As Mandarin is the medium of instruction in all mainland Chinese schools, most younger locals will be bilingual in Cantonese and Mandarin.

English is not widely spoken, but is still better understood here than in most places in mainland China. It is a good idea to carry your hotel's business card with you. To save yourself the hassle and agony when asking for directions, have names of your destinations clearly written down in Chinese by the hotel staff before venturing out. That being said, staff at the more expensive hotels, as well as bars and restaurants catering specifically to foreigners generally speak an acceptable level of English.