Guangdong’s Disappearing Attractions: See Them Before They’re Gone

Guangdong’s Disappearing Attractions: See Them Before They’re Gone

Because of man’s impact on the world, in 20 year’s Australia’s Great Barrier Reef will be gone, in 40 years Venice will be submerged, and in 80 the Maldives will be entirely under water.

Guangdong is no different. The following is a sad, but important list of Guangdong’s disappearing attractions. If you don’t see them soon they may not be around in a couple of years. Now is the time to see the world’s beauty…before it’s all gone.

1) Xiaozhou Arts Village View In Map
In the southeast of Haizhu District lies Xiaozhou Arts Village (小洲艺术村). It once displayed Guangzhou’s best examples of traditional village art, and was a popular attraction amongst art students and teachers. At the beginning a few artists would rent out houses as studios, but then more and more houses were being rented out. From 2010 large scale illegal construction began in the village and hundreds of years of history were destroyed. Xiaoshou Arts Village is slowly being turned into a construction site.

Add: Xiaozhou Arts Village, Haizhu District, Guangzhou (Opposite the Yingshou Shengtai Park)
地址:广州市海珠区小洲艺术村(瀛洲生态公园对面)
Opening hours: Every day all day
Price: free entry
Getting there: Take bus 5 to Wuyang estate station, from exit D walk to Nanfang Baoshe station and then get the 252 bus to Xiaozhou Arts Village (小洲村站)

2) Qilouqun, Zhongshan 6 Rd, GuangzhouView In Map
The buildings of Qilouqun (骑楼群) on Zhongshan 6 Rd are also disappearing. Walking around, the only sounds you hear are those of demolition. Unlike Enning Rd, Qilouqun has no official backing to protect it. The four lanes of traffic that come barreling past cause unbearable pressure as well as security problems: in April 2013, a group of buildings in Qilouqun caught fire. From a safety point of view, construction may be necessary. We are not optimistic about this part of Qilouqun.

Add: Zhongshan 6 Lu, Zhongshan 5 Lu, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
地址:广州市越秀区中山五路至中山六路
Getting there: Takes buses 1 or 2 to Gongyuan Qian station (公园前站)

3) Dawan Dwellings in Pingshan New DistrictView In Map
As one the country’s largest Hakka areas, Shenzhen’s Pingshan New District is a very interesting place. It holds more than 220 years of human history, and is celebrated for its collection of Hakka houses, the most famous being the Dawan Dwellings. In 2011, Shenzhen International Cultural Expo took place in Pingshan New District, and the area blossomed, but when the Expo ended the area went back to being a cold and cheerless place. If it is not protected, its character will slowly be destroyed. 

Where: Southwest Pinghuan Community, 33 Dawan Lu, Pingshan Jiedao, Longgang District, Shenzhen
地址:深圳市龙岗区坪山街道大万路33号,坪坏社区西南
Getting there: Takes buses 812, 833, 935, 941, b678, b824, e22, m220, m294, m295, m325 or the fast bus 15 to Dongfang Weinisi (东方威尼斯站).

4) Techeng Island’s Mangrove forestView In Map
On Techeng Island there are 50 hectares of an ancient Mangrove forest. This is China’s oldest and most beautiful example of a mangrove forest and with more than 500 trees this long-standing forest is both rare and precious. But in recent years, a chain reaction has meant the mangrove has been in decline. Because people have engaging in illegal fishing in the area, birds are struggling to find food and many are abandoning the area, leaving pests to thrive. This is accompanied by reclamation as well as other construction which are drying up the mangrove. This is a worrying time.

Where: Techeng Island, Xiashan District, Zhanjiang City, Guangdong
地址:广东省湛江市霞山区特呈岛上
Getting there: In Zhanjiang City you can take a bus or hail a cab to Xiashanfen Station (霞山分站) walk about 200 meters to the pier then take the ferry to Techeng Island

5) Dongguan’s Ancient Nanshe VillageView In Map
Not far from Guangzhou you can find Dongguan’s Chashan town and within in it you’ll find Nanshe village, which has slowly been constructed along the water’s edge. Facing the water there is a memorial temple, and in the centre there are some shops. Just down a little alley you can find the residents. There are no tourists, no restaurants, and no hotels. Under such conditions it is hard to attract tourists, as such income from tourism is not very high and the ancient buildings are not being protected. Most of the young people have left to find work, leaving many of the flats empty. The future for this little village is bleak; it will probably be destroyed in the next few years.

Where: Nanshe village, Chashan, Dongguan, Guangdong
地址:广东省东莞市茶山镇南社村
Getting there: From Dongguan you can take a car to Chashan, and then take a motorbike onto Nanshe

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Keywords: Xiaozhou arts village Guangdong’s disappearing attractions

2 Comments

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moka83

i confirm about the xiao zhou cun in GZ , i was living there as one of the lone foreigner living in the village , was beautiful and really charming , this village could begun the small Venice of GZ , small streets , channels , so nice old guangdong people and young art students , many artist and art gallery and coffee shops , full of tourist from GZ and hongKong , that s was before but today most of the old houses are destroy , streets are so dirt and so nosily by the construction of hugely houses , xiao zhou vilage had loose his future and now looks the same as every chinese village every where , so a pity , they had gold in their hands this village could be one of the most touristic and cultural attraction of south of China but they made sh.t with the gold they had

Oct 07, 2013 16:22 Report Abuse

Vyborg

The Chinese will not rest before 95% of the country is covered with an inadequate layer of either asphalt or concrete. Hey, where else should I park my car? The sunsets are more beautiful than ever though, thanks to some artificial additions to the atmosphere. But it's not only China. In Brazil, some 800 dams in the Amazon and its tributaries have been planned and construction is on its way. Anyone with a deathwish, don't worry. You'll be taken care of.

Sep 29, 2013 21:48 Report Abuse