Best attractions to visit in Guangzhou, China

Designated as a special economic zone, Guangzhou was the first part of China to boom and the city continues to lead the country’s economic growth. Below are some of the best sights in Guangzhou.

Guangzhou Opera House

Recipient of a raft of international architecture awards and a blushing amount of critical praise the Guangzhou Opera House is a flagship construction projects and one of the most impressive Opera houses ever built. Accurately described as smooth pebbles floating on a river bed, the building is at once relentlessly urban but also subtle, fluid with easy contours and unpredictable turns. While it’s the architecture that’s the attraction the hall is also​ a regular host to world-class operas and theatre.

Shamian Island

Shamian Island was the site of the original foreign trading settlement – and foreigners from Britain, France and several other countries were confined to the island. Much of the colonial architecture they erected remains, from grand, veranda fronted buildings to the Protestant and Catholic churches that remain in service. It’s still possible to get an impression of a colonial time gone by. Read the full guide to Shamian Island.

Canton Tower

China has an almost addictive attraction of throwing up skyscrapers and nowhere is it more noticeable than Hong Kong and Guangzhou. The twisting, turning, gravity defying Canton Tower was once – albeit briefly – the tallest building in the world and still towers over the first of skyscrapers in the city. Nicknamed twisted firewood due to its sweeping braided appearance, visitors can take in the view from the 108th-floor observation deck or take a trip around the very top of the tower inside a cable car. As well as views over Guangzhou there are also a number of swanky restaurants in the tower.

Six Banyan Tree Temple

Guangzhou doesn’t really revel in its history as much as it should. Few cities can claim to have influenced the world as much as Guangzhou – from gunpowder and fireworks to its immigrants who can be found in every far-flung corner of the globe. One of the best historical sights in Guangzhou is the Six Banyan Tree Temple. Originally built back in 537, the current building dates from 1373 and was restored in the 1900s. The complex features a number of ornate temples and halls that you are free to visit as well as an impressive and – when climbed – exhausting – eight-storey pagoda.

Chime Long Circus

There is good news and there is bad news here. The Chime Long circus is one of the biggest and the best in the world, employing world class acrobats, clowns and dancers who perform in Broadway quality choreographed stunts and acts. The performances are on par with everything Cirque du Soleil can throw together – some would say better. The bad news is the animals. Despite a burgeoning international reputation the Chime Long Circus continues to involve animals – including tired looking elephants and grumpy looking bears – in their acts. They’re not entertaining and they’re not needed and until Chime Long does away with them you may feel like crossing them off your visit list.

See more: The worth-visiting cities in China

Source: Internet

Top 10 highest buildings in Asia up to October 2018

Asia owns some of the highest buildings in the world, in fact, the famous Taipei 101 used to be the highest building in the past. Here is the top 10 highest buildings in Asia up to October 2018 which are also the popular destinations in their respective countries.

10. Landmark 81

Landmark 81 is a super-tall skyscraper in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, that was designed by the British design, engineering and consulting firm Atkins. The investor and primary developer for the project is Vinhomes, a Vietnamese corporation that is also the country's largest real-estate company. Landmark 81 is the tallest building in Vietnam, the tallest completed building in Southeast Asia as of July, 2018 and the 14th tallest building in the world.

9. International Commerce Centre

The International Commerce Centre is a 118-storey, 484 m (1,588 ft) commercial skyscraper completed in 2010 in West Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was the 4th tallest building in the world (third in Asia) when its construction was completed in 2010. Now, it is the world's 11th tallest building by height, world's fifth tallest building by number of floors, as well as the tallest building in Hong Kong.

8. Shanghai World Financial Center

The Shanghai World Financial Center is a supertall skyscraper located in the Pudong district of Shanghai. It is a mixed-use skyscraper, consisting of offices, hotels, conference rooms, observation decks, and ground-floor shopping malls.

7. Taipei 101

The Taipei 101, formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center – is a landmark supertall skyscraper in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The building was officially classified as the world's tallest in 2004, and remained such until the completion of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010.

6. Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre

The Guangzhou Chow Tai Fook Finance Centre (also called East Tower) is a 1,739-foot (530 m) tall mixed-use skyscraper in Guangzhou, Guangdong, which was completed in October 2016. It is the tallest completed building in Guangzhou, the third-tallest in China, and the seventh-tallest in the world.

5. Lotte World Tower

Lotte World Tower is a 123-floor, 555-metre (1,821 ft) supertall skyscraper located in Seoul, South Korea. It opened to the public on April 3, 2017 and is currently the tallest building in South Korea, and is the 5th tallest building in the world.

4. Ping An Finance Center

Ping An International Finance Centre is a 115-storey megatall skyscraper in Shenzhen, Guangdong. The building was commissioned by Ping An Insurance and designed by the American architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates. It was completed in 2017, becoming the tallest building in Shenzhen, the 2nd tallest building in China and the 4th tallest building in the world.

3. Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel

The Abraj Al-Bait is a government-owned megatall complex of seven skyscraper hotels in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The central hotel tower, the Makkah Royal Clock Tower, A Fairmont Hotel, has the world's largest clock face and is the third-tallest building and fifth-tallest freestanding structure in the world.

2. Shanghai Tower

The Shanghai Tower is a 632-metre (2,073 ft), 128-story megatall skyscraper in Lujiazui, Pudong, Shanghai. It shares the record (along with the Ping An Finance Center) of having the world's highest observation deck within a building or structure at 562 m, and the world's fastest elevators at a top speed of 20.5 metres per second (74 km/h; 46 mph). It is the world's second-tallest building by height to architectural top.

1. Burj Khalifa

The Burj Khalifa, known as the Burj Dubai, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With a total height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft) and a roof height of 828 m (2,717 ft), the Burj Khalifa has been the tallest structure and building in the world since its topping out in late 2008.

See more: Dubai’s Burj Khalifa: Inside the world’s tallest building

Source: wikipedia