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Tourist
Guides for China |
Kaiping Tourist
Guide (October 2008) |
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General Comments:
Kaiping is a major city lying 3 hours drive Southwest
of Guangzhou, and on the banks of an important river.
Inter-City coaches are the usual means of visiting Kaiping,
whilst local transportation is frequent and cheap. Use
taxi's and buses, or hire a private driver to get around.
Kaiping and Tai Shan are neighbouring and similar cities
each controlling adjoining Districts. They are natural
twin cities. The people here speak a local language
called 'Hoipenghua', which is a little similar to Cantonese.
They also learn Cantonese and Mandarin, and most will
also know some English!
An ancient city steeped in history and heritage, Kaiping
is famous for it's uniqueness and individuality. The
modern city hides many treasures of older buildings
and ancient wars. Outside Kaiping you can visit some
truly wondrous architectural homes, in the form of the
famous 'Watch Towers'. These are buildings for a larger
family, its provisions and livestock, and could be considered
an Oriental equivalent to an English Fort. Several are
renovated and open for public viewing, and I have never
seen anything quite like them before
The main industry is Taps (Faucets), and there are literally
thousands of tap factories in this area. Exporters looking
for taps, conventional showers, and all related accessories
should come to this city. There is a small container
base here, and companies are used to exporting goods
The city lies on a major river and is famed for it quality
and vast selection of seafood, especially shellfish.
Most locals choose to dine along the embankment and
enjoy locally caught fish. This is quite entertaining,
especially as tables are set on the embankment pavement,
whilst the restaurants themselves are situated across
the road. Towards the city centre there are numerous
other eateries, and many options for shopping
Kaiping is also very famous in one other respect, it's
people are adventurers. Previously I mentioned the Cantonese
were the only Chinese people to leave China for the
world at large. I did not specify which cities, so now
I will, for there are only three: Hong Kong (More recently),
Guangzhou/Foshan and Kaiping/Taishan. I guarantee -
if you ask the owner of your local Chinese restaurant
or take-away, where his family roots are; he will name
one of these three places. Try it and see? Special people
A century ago many left here to seek work in USA. These
are the real Chinese people who physically build the
American railroads. Many later began new lives in The
New World, and so now many locals have relatives living
in the USA
Those that have travelled and returned brought with
them experiences of other cultures. One of the most
remarkable being architectural designs of a quasi latin
/ colonial type. Both Kaiping and Taishan are very famous
for this style of housing, which is only found here
throughout all of China
Summary:
Kaiping is very well worth visiting if you want to see
a different style of life in Guangdong Province, as
epitomised by their local architecture. The people are
open plus very warm and friendly. They will be very
pleased to meet you and make you welcome
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This information is as supplied by the Chinese Embassy
in UK, as dated 20th June 2008, and/or other reliable
sources. Please check this information yourself as it
may alter without notice, and whilst we try our best
to ensure it is correct, please do not hold us responsible
for any errors - this is intended as a simple guide
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