Beijing Road Pedestrian Street

北京路

Guangzhou’s thousand-year-old commercial axis, where glass panels in the street reveal ancient road surfaces from the Tang to the Ming and Qing dynasties, with heritage shops and shopping centres side by side.

Beijing Road has been the central axis of Guangzhou for over 2,200 years. Since the Qin and Han dynasties it has been an official road and commercial street, and today it is a pedestrian district about 1.5 km long. Highlights include the ancient road remains in the middle of the street. Through the glass floor you can see eleven layers of road surface laid down during the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, along with the foundations of the Song-era Gongbei Tower, a unique way to shop while seeing archaeology. Nearby are the Qing-dynasty Great Buddha Temple, the Museum of the Nanyue Palace Site (free with advance booking, displaying the stone-built garden pool and winding stone channel of the Nanyue royal palace), the City God Temple and old arcade buildings. Heritage brands include Lin Heung Lau, Chan Lei Chai and Tai Ping Koon Western restaurant, and there are also large shopping malls beyond Tianhe City. In the evening the lights come on along Beijing Road, and light projections on the arcades make it a good time for night photography and shopping. The best plan is to visit in the late afternoon, seeing the Nanyue Palace Site first (last entry at 17:00), then shopping and dinner. The Huifu East Road food street, with Wu Zhanji porridge and Dayang double-boiled soups, is a five-minute walk away. Getting there: take Metro Line 1 or 2 to Park Front station, exits D or E, a three-minute walk, or Line 6 to Beijing Road station. Note that the area is extremely crowded on public holidays, so keep your wallet and phone safe. To the north of Beijing Road, Zhongshan Fifth Road leads on foot to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.

Beijing Road Pedestrian Street

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Places to eat nearby