TRAVEL TO CHINA: Fourth day of Lunar New Year in Guangzhou

Hello everyone Today is the fourth day of Lunar New Year 2025 After spending a week in Vietnam celebrating Tet I've returned to Guangzhou today And on the first day back in Guangzhou naturally I went straight to filming a video to update everyone on how the people of Guangzhou are celebrating the Lunar New Year I'd like to briefly introduce to you the location where I'm currently at This is called Yongkang District one of the most central areas in Xiguan West Gate has been one of the most bustling and commercially vibrant areas in Guangzhou city for hundreds of years And to date it has become a nationally recognized scenic attraction drawing numerous tourists visiting Guangzhou They say if you want to learn about old Guangzhou you should go to Xiguan Because the Western Capital is home to numerous historical relics and famous scenic attractions Evidence of Guangzhou's serene past As you can see the scene in Guangzhou city is incredibly vibrant and lively This area is known as Viet Tu District the oldest and most historically established district in the city This is the area that always attracts a large crowd As you can see the framework here is entirely traditional As you can see during Lunar New Year the atmosphere is incredibly intense and lively The crowds are as thick as a packed marketplace Especially places like Guangzhou where tourists are everywhere The number of people is incredibly large As more and more people keep arriving in this area It's currently half past four in the afternoon Half past four yet the number of tourists arriving has already swelled to this crowded extent So when you're traveling to China I always advise everyone to avoid visiting during the Spring Festival holidays Guangzhou is one of China's top cities in terms of tourist numbers always This is because it serves as the country's southern gateway It is the largest logistics hub in southern China During festivals like Tết most people seen on the streets of this city are tourists That district of Viet Tu's more accurately put is a notoriously corrupt area Its architecture and construction style reflect a distinctive southern architectural tradition sharing many striking similarities with the architecture of our own region It's the largest bookstore in this area Let's take a quick look inside With China's explosive economic growth education has also become one of the areas they place great emphasis on The larger cities will increasingly have more bookstores like this Large cities are home to many famous bookstores In cities like Shenzhen Chengdu and Guangzhou there are numerous well-known bookstores And if you travelers here have the time you're welcome to take a tour It's almost one of the trendy spots young people frequently visit for check-ins Every bookstore has a design that's incredibly beautiful Talking about the history of Western Gate is a tale that could fill countless nights and days Numerous legends fascinating tales and untold stories abound about this region in Chinese history One could say the golden age of Western Quan's history occurred around the late 18th and early 19th centuries That means it falls within the era of King Cang Long and extends into the era of King Gia Khanh At that time Western District was the only area in China open to foreigners serving as the sole gateway foreign visitors All wealthy merchants engaged in foreign trade activities gathered in the Western Gate At that time it was the only port in China open to the world By the early years of the 19th century during the reign of Emperor Daoguang These areas especially the Xiguan district remain extremely bustling and affluent The most bustling areas such as Thập Tâm Hàng Thập Bát Phủ or Thượng A Kiểu remain extremely busy Money and gold flowed into this place in vast amounts It is said that even as late as 1856 the year the Second Opium War broke out The West Gate area was largely reduced to ashes and devastation with many mansions belonging to the wealthy entrepreneurs here destroyed The molten silver flowed down the path like a stream stretching for two kilometers This is Thuận Đức's renowned eatery Thuận Đức's flavor is one of the most renowned in Guangdong Province not only celebrated throughout Guangdong but also widely recognized nationwide Known as Yue Cai meaning the flavor of Guangdong Representing Guangdong's culinary style are the dishes from Shunde Thuận Đức is a district within Foshan City but due to its extremely developed economy it has become the industrial hub of the entire Guangdong Province So it's essentially treated as an autonomous district within this province In reality China doesn't particularly enjoy drinking coffee The longer I live here the more I can offer such an observation Here the Starbucks coffee chain remains the largest chain of stores in China Larkin is no longer the largest retail chain in China that title now belongs to a different chain Yet this is also a chain of stores located in trendy bustling areas of major cities This western area is full of canals You can see canals everywhere when you arrive here They also offer boat tours around the city At a sidewalk tea shop This is a Chinese iced tea shop The crowd is so thick on the other side—can anyone call out Look what are those women and girls drinking So many kinds of pastries Looks so delicious It kind of reminds me of something What do you think it looks like This one looks even more like it I don't want to talk What kind of thing are you calling it A wall of flame trees Let me introduce you to the flame tree the iconic flower of this city Come to Guangzhou in April or May and you'll see the city overflowing with flame trees blooming everywhere The flamboyant trees are stunning with several beautiful streets lined with them in the Viet Tu district This area is packed with many famous food stalls The symbolic heart of Guangzhou city This is the tea stall the breakfast counter you know It's very famous This is a roast duck restaurant A Cantonese-style roast duck restaurant It is also a well-known restaurant It's the top-rated dining spot on my Ta Zhong ranking list— one of the most trusted review apps in China This is a culinary street packed with renowned food stalls some of which have been around for decades They're like old-fashioned food stalls In China they 're categorized into eight famous culinary traditions And among them Guangdong cuisine is one of the most renowned culinary traditions Along with Sichuan cuisine Hunan cuisine is also considered a hallmark of the nation's culinary tradition What are they taking a photo of guys A lot of people are standing here taking photos Oh look at that Guangzhou The character for Guangzhou This is the character for Guang On this side it's the character "Zhou " That's right These two characters are combined to form Guangzhou Trung Chinh Phuong Ward Vinh Khang Guangzhou is one of the cities where flowers are grown in great abundance These are magnolia flowers It is also one of the flowers widely cultivated throughout the city of Guangzhou If you're visiting Guangzhou for tourism at the beginning of the year you can head to places with flowering apricot trees to take photos There are countless beautiful cherry blossom paths throughout this city This is known as the Guangdong Opera House Now I'll go inside to take a look Guangdong Musical Theatre Museum It's likely they couldn't register you The number of tourists today is so large that they went straight in Or if the safety check is bypassed they go straight in That's what I've just finished telling you That is the kapok flower is the symbolic flower of this city Here you can see it right here Inside this museum there is a very large banyan tree It has already begun to bloom The blossoming is somewhat early It looks like this is a rainflower This is the exhibition area showcasing costumes worn by Guangdong opera performers It kind of looks like Beijing Opera you know the Peking Opera These are the famous actors from old-time Cantonese opera At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries along with the prosperity of Guangzhou's economy Cantonese opera is also one of the most vibrant spiritual delights warmly embraced by audiences At that time numerous Guangdong opera stages had been organized and built in the city Hey there's a lovely young lady here This is indeed an outdoor grandstand where they sit to watch the musical performances across the way That's the stage inside this building look over there It's the stage And here three performances are held every day All performances in this area are free of charge You won't have to pay a single cent It also serves as a way to develop and preserve the city's traditional cultural characteristics Catering to the growing desire for artistic appreciation it reflects the spiritual life of the city's wealthy merchant class That was precisely the period when Western opera gained popularity coinciding with the flourishing and vibrant development of Cantonese opera culture That was also the time when many renowned Guangdong opera performers rose to prominence within the city's artistic community You can't go up anymore Probably because it was too crowded with people and visitors they blocked it off Normally this path would still be accessible to the upper floor And on the upper level the viewing area is wider than below allowing a full view of the entire museum But if they've blocked it there's nothing we can do but accept it Here you can see that from this spot the entire museum is visible built in the style of ancient Chinese architecture This architectural style is known as Lingnan style at is the region of Guangdong and Guangxi located south of Vietnam It's becoming increasingly common in China for young women to wear traditional costumes and take photos at historic sites It's not just about taking photos for the sake of taking photos even in the midst of their everyday lives They also frequently wear traditional costumes when going out I think this is really great because it's creating a trend among young people contributing to the richness of attire Preserving the cultural essence of the past This is a prayer card These prayer cards like countless tourist cities such as the Festival of Lights are endless There are plenty of cards without messages so feel free to use a pen to write your own wishes or prayers on them Among these prayer cards Wait over these past few days in Guangzhou it's been so tempting that I just don't have the time or energy for anything else Thinking about your girlfriend Leaving the Guangdong Cantonese opera museum we'll now head to the new area a spot where young people gather in large numbers since this area is for food and drinks and also sells souvenirs related to the city Chinese sausages those are stuffed buns finger-sized fried buns and those are squid dumplings Inside it is that octopus meat which is actually squid sausage—squid sausage is delicious and many Vietnamese people who come here want to try it Twenty-eight point eight yuan per painting is quite steep so keep that in mind everyone only 28.8 yuan which is about 110 000 more than 100 000 for fried and grilled dishes Wow this fried and grilled food place looks amazing check this out guys—doesn't it What is this dish Something that seems really special Oh Binh Chi Lin examine Binh Chi Lin grilled cream this is really great Roast away everyone Guangzhou always has a unique blend of old-world charm and modernity and this area of Viet Tu is no exception Many ancient features old architectural structures while Tianhe District boasts numerous modern architectural developments Now I'll enter this area and continue my tour—it's the former residence of Bruce Lee Many people wear Guangdong opera costumes to take photos this is indeed Guangdong opera Just like in our Vietnam during Chinese New Year everywhere you look is reminiscent of Vietnam with flags hung up everywhere—so strikingly similar it' s almost identical—the area is completely like that e ancient architecture yet they maintain it exceptionally well as you can see—the streets are prominent not overly wide but neatly organized It was neatly arranged with them always keeping a very wide corridor for pedestrians on the inside and the stalls and shops aren't chaotic because they're not sprawling out everywhere— completely flat just like that This area has numerous souvenir stalls Lý Sẻo Lúng Master Chuy refers to the former private residence of the biological father of Bruce Lee whose biological father was Li Haiquan This is Li Haiquan's residence not the former private home of Bruce Lee as in fact Bruce Lee never lived in Guangzhou When he was young he was truly an official and the whole family benefited—thanks to his father's residence yet— It has now become a famous landmark associated with Bruce Lee in Guangzhou city guys I'd like to introduce you to this the old family home of Bruce Lee's father where he once lived This room displays photographs of Bruce Lee's childhood these are images from when he was a young boy just born during his early years so adorable In 1940 he was born he came into the world And this must be when he was thirteen years old — yes exactly thirteen — the time when he began studying Wing Chun Kung Fu of Ip Man from Ip Man that when he was young began as by this stage it was when he had already achieved success He was thirteen years old when he first went to America working studying and settling down the That's right once he became famous he rose to fame in America starred in numerous films there and married a foreign wife There's still the second floor to go Head up to the second floor He starred in numerous films in Hollywood such as The Great Shaolin Temple and The Forbidden City Hồ Đấu are all very famous movies one of the top te An outstanding martial arts master of the world It could be said that Bruce Lee was the one who transformed Westerners' perceptions and understanding of Chinese martial arts making him one of the most influential figures in that regard Asian masters are recognized and revered by the Western world There are two phases: the first is when he was in Hong Kong China which corresponds to his teenage years and the second phase In the 1970s he returned to Hong Kong for the second time to make films and that marked the rest of his life and career His contributions to martial arts took place in San Francisco USA where his family lineage traces back to the Li Xiaolong family These are surely photos of the members of Bruce Lee 's extended family Bruce Lee as you all know the passing of Bruce Lee has been surrounded by numerous legends and various conspiracy theories but according to the information from Trinh Dong he died from an accident— specifically acute brain swelling—and he was still very young when he passed away He was only 32 back then—truly a great loss for such a talented individual It was beginning to grow dark starting at nightfall gourd-shaped figures are everywhere Now it's truly dark outside And the sight of squirrels at night is also incredibly beautiful isn't it The dangling lights shimmer appearing far more vid and striking than ever before Well it's probably too late now so maybe we'll wrap up the video here and see you in the next one On our journey exploring the vast land of China it's been wonderful having you always by our side and following the channel —goodbye for now