Old Buildings on Shamian Island

Shamian, previous Zhongliusha or Shicuizhou, is an elliptic sandbar in the Liwan District of Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. The name of the islandliterally means "sandy surface" in Chinese. Surrounded by water, Shamian is just like a giant ship mooring alongside the wharf. Get further and one will find that the island is carefully planned. Three east-west avenues, Shamian North Avenue, Shamian Avenue and Shamian South Avenue, and five north-south streets, Shamian Street 1 to Shamian Street 5 divide the whole area into 12 parts, with various buildings, namely White Swan Hotel, Shamian Hotel, and Poland Consulate in Guangzhou, scattered around.

Shamian Island has great historic significance. From the Song and the Qing Dynasty, Shamian Island served as an important port for Guangzhou's foreign trade. Shamian became a strategic point for city defense during the second Opium Wars (1856-1860). In 1859, the territory was divided into two concessions, given to France and United Kingdom (of which 4/5 belonged t the British and 1/5 belonged to the French). It was then embanked and provided with streets, drainage, and imposing buildings and became home to a prosperous foreign enclave. From the late 1800s to the early 1900s, most of the public facilities were finished, including political buildings like consulates, cultural buildings like churches and schools, as well as commercial buildings like banks and firms. After 1949, the mansions of Shamian became government offices or apartment houses and the churches were turned into factories. But later they were restored, in many cases to their former splendor, with each building labeled as to its former purpose. One may start to imagine the stories staged in the building while seeing the plaque writing about its previous function, like "No.7 North Shamian Avenue" (Built during the Republican period, formerly the Administration Bureau of Broadcasting of the Nationalist Government). The mansions in Shamian form the best preserved Western Europe style building complex in China. Forty-two out of 150 buildings are counted as the most exotic ones, Gothic, Baroque, and Neoclassical, in Guangzhou.

Shamian, Guangzhou

Since the early 2000s, Shamian Island has become well known for many Western couples who reside there, seeking to adopt Chinese babies and young children, most of whom are orphaned and female. The White Swan Hotel, adjacent to the Consulate of United States in Guangzhou and convenient to file paperwork and handle bureaucratic matters, is usually the hotel of choice for these couples.

Shamian is good place for stroll. As it is just 900m long from east to west and 300m from south to north, one will not feel tired even after walking around the island twice. Dues to traffic control on the island, Shamian showcase a different atmosphere and living pace. No such problems as traffic jam and exhaust gas pollution exist here. Now partly pedestrianized, its broad boulevards are like long thin gardens with a lot of topiary. A line of bars and cafes on the southwest side with views over the Pearl River serves modern expats.

Transport:
1. By Metro: Take subway line no.1 to Huangsha station. Get off and walk about 370m, you will get to Shamian Island.
2. By bus: Walk about 90m from Guangzhou Railway Station to Guangzhou Railway Station Bus Terminal, take bus no. 823 to City Hospital of Traditional Medicine, and then walk about 110m, you will get to Shamian Island.
3. By taxi: Take taxi from Guangzhou Railway Station to Shamian Island. Estimated fare: CNY18 (excludes bridge toll).

 Guangzhou Bus / Subway Search