Located on the Pearl River Delta, Guangzhou, also known as Canton or Kwangchow, is Capital of Guangdong Province in southern China, and best known for the biggest China trade show – Canton Fair (official named China Import and Export Fair). Other famous Guangzhou trade fairs include: China International Furniture Fair (CIFF), Guangdong International Beauty Expo, LED China, and many more.

Guangzhou is not only a business metropolis; it’s also a city of sightseeing, of food and of joy. It is a city with contrast of history and modernity, of culture and hi-tech, of leisure and business. A variety of trade fairs, scenic spots, delicacies, shopping centers, wholesale markets, local activities and bar streets… all are waiting for you.

Trading History of Guangzhou

In the 10th Century, Hindu and Arab merchants reached Guangzhou, and the city gradually became the first Chinese port which was regularly visited by European traders. In 1511, Portugal secured a trade monopoly in the city, but it was broken by the British in the late 17th Century; in the 18th, the French and the Dutch were also admitted. Trading, however, was restricted until the Treaty of Nanjing (1842) following the Opium War, which opened the city to foreign trade. Following a disturbance, French and British forces occupied Guangzhou in 1865. Later the Island of Shamian (Shameen) was ceded to them for business and residential purposes.

History in Today's Guangzhou

Nowadays you can still find lots of cultural sites of the city which have witnessed its history and development through centuries.

For example, the Mausoleum of Nanyue King is now a historical museum displaying Guangzhou's valuable relics and antiques from the early West Han Dynasty (207 B.C.-25 A.D.), and Chen Clan Academy, built from 1890 to 1894, epitomizes the folk art of decoration of the Lingnan Culture of Guangdong. Shamian Island (Shameen), once ceded to the French and British forces for business and residential purposes, is now a display of the history with ranks of buildings in various Western architectural styles.