1. Avoid July and August unless you love sweating buckets. The heat is sweltering, and locals stay indoors until 8 p.m. That’s also why late-night restaurants are a thing here!
2. Get a UV protection umbrella if you must visit in summer. My exchange student friends initially refused, thinking they could handle it like they did in Southern France. Spoiler: they couldn’t. Carrying an umbrella in the sun is practically the local uniform 😉
3. Useful APPs if you wanna truly immerse yourself in local experience:
- Alipay: It’s our Paypal. You’ll need a bank account linked, but it’s used everywhere.
- Didi: It’s our Uber. We also use Gaode Maps, which combines maps and ride services, but sadly there’s no English version now.
- Dazhong Dianping: It’s our Yelp. A lifesaver for scoring e-vouchers and discounted set meals. It’s also great for finding deals on spas and massages, often 30-50% off compared to the in-store price. Locals never pay directly without checking on this app first 🙂 I doubt if they have a English version, but you can check this if interested: https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2022/07/27/how-save-money-dianping-deals-and-vouchers
- Yang Cheng Tong: Not an app, but essential for metro and bus rides. You may also get a virtual card in Apple Wallet.
4. Food Recommendations
- Yum cha: Tao Tao Ju (陶陶居) – classic, tasty but a bit pricier; Yutang Chunnuan (玉堂春暖) – one of the best in town, but also the most expensive one; Dim Dou Duk (点都德) or Xia Jiao Mei (虾饺妹) – both are new chains, fair enough price with good quality dim sum.
- Wonton noodles: Shengyunlai (昇运来) – love their black truffle pork wonton; Enning Liu Fu Ji (恩宁刘福记) – a more traditional one.
- Chaoshan Beef Hot Pot: One of my fav types of hot pots! Make sure to try diao long (吊龙) and raw beef balls (生牛丸) and Shacha Sauce as dipping. Both Baheli (八合里) and Chao Fa (潮发) are popular chains in town.
- Ze 8（啫八）- for zhe zhe bao (啫啫煲), a traditional Cantonese clay pot dish, zhe zhe actually means ‘sizzling’, so the dish is served sizzling hot! You can basically zhe anything: chicken, beef, seafood, vegetables; but they’re famous for the rice eel ^^
- Cantonese Desserts (Tong Sui): also a must-try! Lots of options in town, but I often go to Xingfu Desserts (杏福甜品). I usually go for mango pomelo sago (杨枝甘露), iced mung bean dessert（绿豆沙）and shuang pi nai (双皮奶), but they have so much more to choose from.
- Cantonese BBQ: You can get char siu (BBQ Pork) or roast goose at most local dim sum places. I also like taking friends to Da Ge Fan (大鸽饭) to try their roasted pigeon – really crispy and yum!
These are just some random tips that I’ve had in mind and I might add some more later. Feel free to ask me anything you wanna know!
Hello there, thanks for putting this together, it is very helpful.
I am travelling to Guangzhou in October from the UK and have a couple of overnight layovers. I am looking to go to a 24 hour spa.
I have WeChat and Dianping but whenever I try to look at a venue on Dianping, it requires an account and fails when I try to create one. Do I need a local phone number to access Dianping?
Hi hi! As a fellow 20 yr olds who often travels with parents in their mid-fifties, I would recommend exploring the city through food tours — and that’s also what GZ is famous for!^^ November weather is usually great, with daytime temps usually around 79°F and not much rain. It’s mainly summer clothes weather, but you might want to bring a light jacket for the evenings.
For Pokémon cards and blind boxes, check out the Comic City (动漫星城)! It’s a hotspot for anime fans with tons of ACG shops. Inside there’s a store called PM TOYS that specializes in Pokémon products, but there might be more to explore. It’s located in Yuexiu District, right near the famous Beijing Road. So you may start with some morning dim sum on Beijing Road, then stroll over to People’s Park— and while your parents enjoy the park, you might go on a shopping spree at Comic City ^^