2Guangzhou

The Guangzhou Museum of Fine Art is conveniently located east of the Zhenhai Tower in Yuexiu Hill. The Art Museum is based on the Wenhua Hall in the Imperial Palace in Beijing, featuring grey bricks, green tiles, upturned eaves and a secluded chamber. The Guangzhou Museum of Fine Art specializes in exhibiting works by both unknown and well-known artists. Directly outside the exhibition hall, stands a circular stele corridor with 118 inscriptions by celebrated calligraphers from the Jing to the Qing dynasties. In 1998, the corridor had to be extended to the eastern side of the museum to showcase inscriptions from the Sea and Mountain Immortal hall of the Qing Dynasty.

Getting there: Bus number: 24, 63, 103, 104, 109, 110, 122 or 211 (get off at the Yuexiu Park Station); Bus number: 6, 10, 33, 36, 66, 184, 190, 191, 219 or 544 (get off at the Xiaobei Huaquan Station)visitors can also reach this area via tube. Take Metro Line 2 and get off at Yuexiu Park Station.

Guangzhou Museum is located inside Zhenhai Tower in Yuexiu Mountain. The museum specializes in the history of the area. Zhenhai Tower dates back to the 13th century, when it was constructed under the reign of Emperor Hong Wu of the Ming Dynasty.  Like many towers in China, the tower has been destroyed and rebuilt several times. Originally, it was made out of brick and wood, but each time it was rebuilt, it was rebuilt using the popular material of the time. Today, it has been reinforced with a concrete structure in order to assist the preservation of this important edifice. The tower commands a wonderful bird's eye view of Guangzhou.

The museum specializes in displaying and collecting political, economic and cultural artifacts of the area. Currently, it has over 50,000 artifacts in its possession.

Getting there: Bus number:24, 63, 103, 104, 109, 110, 122 or 211 (get off at the Yuexiu Park Station); Bus number:6, 10, 33, 36, 66, 184, 190, 191, 219 or 544 (get off at the Xiaobei Huaquan station) Alternate route: Metro Line 2 (get off at The Yuexiu Park Station. Take metro line 2 to Yuexiu Park Station.

Nanyue King Mausoleum is located at the western part of Xiyue Park on Xianggang Hill. Discovered in 1883, the mausoleum dates back to the Western Han Dynasty.  It is believed to have been built by the self-proclaimed king, Wen Di of the Nanyue Kingdom. It is said that Wen Di unified and brought much political stability to the Lingnan Region. The 2,000 year-old structure is the earliest large-scale stone painted tomb chamber found south of the Five Ridges, and is the earliest and largest early Han-dynasty mausoleum ever discovered. The mausoleum features rich burial objects including a painted coffin chamber with painted murals. The coffin chamber was built entirely of stone and is considered unique for its time. Discovered artifacts include brassware and pottery that are typical of the Yue ethnic group that resides in southern China.

The owner of the mausoleum was buried with a "jin lü yu yi" – literally a "gold thread jade garment" – which was a garment of jade plaques joined with gold thread which adorned the bodies of Han dynasty emperors. It is believed that this is the earliest such burial garment ever found in China. A number of invaluable rare objects, including African elephant tusks, a blue plate glass panel and the world's first set of color print copperplate moulds have also been unearthed from the mausoleum.

Visitors coming to the museum will not be disappointed since much of the detail information is also provided in English.

Getting there: Bus number:5, 6, 10, 21, 24, 30, 33, 58, 63, 101, 122
Metro line 2

The Guangdong Museum of Art, established in September 2000, is a major modern cultural institution which aims at collecting recent and contemporary works of art by artists living in China, with a focus on Guangdong Province, as well as abroad. Located at 13 Luhu Road, right next to the Luhu Lake, you can get to this museum by taking the 191 bus to Xiao Bei Road and walking the short distance from Lujing Road to Luhu.
This museum was built 40 years ago and focuses on traditional Chinese art rather than modern exhibitions. It has an extensive collection of ceramic works and pieces of Chinese calligraphy that were written by well known Chinese masters such as Lai Shaoqi, Zhao Shao’ang, and Lao Binxiong. The collection of traditional oil and water color paintings is a particular treat for anyone who enjoys Chinese history or traditional Chinese art. As an additional treat, the museum has a fairly extensive garden that is a nice break from the city that surrounds it. Visiting hours are 9am-5pm, and entry is 20RMB.

Ceramics, calligraphy and paintings from various dynasties make up the present day collection of Guangdong Provincial Museum. There are 300 first class artifacts in the collection, including a few national treasures, such as the Ink Dragon Drawing by Chen Long in the Song Dynasty, a Monkey King ink slab from the Qing Dynasty, and a white glaze Sakyamuni figurine dating back to the first year of the reign of Emperor Xi Ning of the Northern Song Dynasty(1068 AD).

Established in 1959, the 29,000 square meter area displays over 130,000 relics with 25,000 geological relics from the Guangdong area. In addition, the Bell Tower, the site of the First National Congress of the KMT, the Revolution Square, the Sun Yat-Sen University astronomical observatory and Lu Xun Memorial Hall are key historic locations within the museum. Permanent exhibitions include Chaozhou woodcarving, Guangdong history, sea trade artifacts, and natural resources.

The museum is scheduled to move to new premises in Zhujiang New Town in Guangzhou at the end of 2007.

Getting there: Bus number: 11, 12, 40, 50, 54, 65, 80, 101, 104, 106, 183, 184, 215, 227, 236, 541, 543, and Metro Line 1