Our First Sunday Service, Guangzhou, China

Our First Sunday Service, Guangzhou, China

Wherever we travel, we always want to attend a Sunday Service at the local church on Sunday. A friend of mine gave me the name of a local church in Guangzhou. But for the life of me, I could not find it anywhere in our luggage.

The Sunday service was held in the Tianhe District

I went online to look for a church in Guangzhou but did not have much luck.

( Though we were having a great time on our trip in China, I was frustrated there as I could not access my gmail, my blog nor google anything. I wrote all these blogs but could not post them while we were in China. Only after we came back to Canada then I started posting them.)

The lobby of Hilton Hotel, Guangzhou

I searched a church closest to our hotel via Yahoo search and found the International  Fellowship, a church intended for expatriates.

Our first Sunday in Guangzhou, we took a taxi and went to the Sunday Service for English speakers. The International Fellowship Sunday Service was held at the Hilton Hotel in the Tianhe area, a popular place for tourists.

We attended a Sunday Service held at the Hilton Hotel 

The service started at 10a.m. with a reception desk set up outside of the meeting hall. Before we entered, we were asked where we came from as Chinese residents were not allowed to attend the expat's worship service. We brought our passports with us just in case we were asked to produce ID, but we didn't need to do so.

There was a lot of singing accompanied by guitars and drums

The Sunday worship was held in a huge meeting hall on the third floor of the Hilton Hotel. A gentleman was leading singing on the stage accompanied by a drummer and two people playing the guitar. 

Five or six huge screens were hung on the walls around the room so that people could see the words and images projected on them regardless of where they were sitting.

The hall started to fill up as the singing progressed

The hall started to fill up with Sunday worshipers as the singing progressed.

There were people from various parts of the world,  of all ages, families with small children, teenagers, but with the majority of them in their thirty’s and forty’s and a large proportion from the African countries.

The preacher gave a passionate sermon about sins and avoiding temptations from the Old Testament book of Nehemiah.

I and a few others took notes. It was an excellent and practical sermon. Really enjoyed it!

Soft drinks were served to the congregation after the Sunday Service

After the Sunday Service, there were refreshments set up in the lobby. 

People stayed around to socialize after the Sunday service

Many people stayed behind trying to socialize and talk to others.

We met and chatted with other churchgoers

We poured ourselves a cup of coffee and chatted with a fellow from Congo who was in China on business. He told us that he had been living in China for three years and his greatest gain was his spiritual life and knowing more about God.

I truly hope and pray that it would be the same for Jo in his adventure in China!

R.T.

Sunday Service

International Fellowship

Guangzhou, China

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Getting a SIM Card for My Cell Phone in China

Day 5, Saturday – Getting a SIM Card for Our Cell Phone in China

The shopping plaza was a very busy place on Saturday!

Since we are going to be in Guangzhou for two weeks, we would need a cell phone to communicate with the people we were visiting.

We asked around and were told that we could get a SIM card for our cell phone at the Rock Plaza close by.

A company put on a big promotional event on travel in the mall

It was a Saturday and the shopping mall was busy! There were shoppers, families with kids everywhere.

In the middle of the mall, there was a big stage set up with people talking and followed by a clown performing and entertaining kids.  This was a show put on by a travel company to attract potential customers.

Many more Chinese are travelling these days

There were big posters everywhere advertising different travel destinations within and outside of China.

This travel promotion attracted a lot of people

There were lots of tables set up with staff personnel trying to assist and answer people’s questions.

Many stores put on play stations for children to try their toys

This particular station was very popular and busy as there were large crowds showing interest and hovering around.

Trying to promote their business, many companies in Guangzhou put up different play stations to attract children and their parents trying to entice them to buy their products. 

We went to the cell phone store at the mall. Though eager to help us,  the staff  told us that they could not serve customers with foreign passports. They redirected us to China Mobile where foreigners could buy SIM cards for their cell phones.

China Mobile is where we went to get our SIM card

The China Mobile store  was not too far away. We walked for about ten minutes and arrived at the store.

Though there were only a few customers waiting, we had to wait for quite a while as some staff members were on lunch break.

I remembered J. who has been living in China for a while now, told me that people could not get much done in China until after 2p.m. as  workers take lunch and siesta breaks between
12- 2pm each day. We got there shortly after 1pm and everything was pretty slow. Good thing they had a a comfortable place for people to sit and wait and there was a T.V. for watching a movie. Surely, as the clock stroke at 2pm, the store seemed to come alive with people and activities. 

When it was our turn, we presented our passports to the agent.  We received very good service and got our SIM card for two weeks in China for only 50 RMB ( about Can. $ 10.00!) Much cheaper than we had anticipated!

Tips - Yes, you must present your passport or a Government issued ID everywhere you go in China. Whether you want to buy long distance bus/ train tickets, conduct banking business or get a cell phone etc, you will need to present one of these documents.)

R.T.
Guangzhou
China

Shopping at IKEA in Guangzhou, China

D        Day 4 - Shopping at IKEA in Guangzhou, China      

       
      The Guangzhou Bus/ Train Station is a stone throw away from IKEA.

   
  Therefore we went there to buy some storage 
   shelving for J. after inquiring about our bus tickets.

  The Guangzhou IKEA is located in a tourist area 
   of the city.

IKEA looks the same in China as it does in Canada

We should not be surprised that IKEA looked pretty well the same as it does in Canada.

IKEA Guangzhou has a big candy section for customers

The only difference was that it was way more crowded and it had a big candy section.
I sold more food items at its food market.

IKEA in China serve food catering to local taste

The bistro also served more food than just hot dogs.  Catering to local taste, it served fish, chicken and beef balls and the plain ice cream was only sold at 1 RMB each which was like 25 cents in Canada!

Even kids like the store!

A wildly popular store in China, the IKEA store in Guangzhou was packed to the rafters!  Though the place was extremely crowded, people were well behaved. There was no pushing, shoving or jumping in front of queue.

IKEA is a popular store in Guangzhou, China

Everyone seemed to really enjoy the experience there.  There was no inappropriate behavior such as teens running around chasing each other, playing basket balls ( it happens often in Canada!), screaming or using profane language which could happen in Canada where there are large crowds of people.

Chinese shoppers trying out the IKEA furniture

There were lots of people relaxing and sitting on the sofas while enjoying the air-conditioning and talking on their cell phones.

Many people tried  the furniture while some kids jumping and having a good time in the kids bedroom section!

The unmistakable Swedish meatballs served in IKEA, China 

While waiting in line for dinner at IKEA, we met Robin – a Canadian teacher from British Columbia teaching in a private boarding school in a suburb of Guangzhou.  She taught in China for three years.

We had dinner at IKEA

Unfortunately,  she did not have a very positive experience in China,  therefore she decided to go back to Canada trying to find a job and settle down in Kitchener, Ontario. We hit it off and talked  for more than an hour while she was waiting for her friend.

After dinner, we looked around in the IKEA store and bought a shelving unit for J.  

The cashiers at IKEA Guangzhou were very efficient

Though there was a huge  number of customers waiting to pay for their purchases at the checkout  counters, the Chinese cashiers were extremely efficient and it did not take long at all when it was my turn to pay for mine. 

 Though it did not go through at other stores like Aeon,  my visa card was accepted at IKEA with no problem! That was a plus for us as we didn’t have to spend our cash for our merchandise.

Loaded down with our shelving and baskets, we tried to hail a taxi back to the hotel.

It was very difficult and we ended up taking the metro instead after waiting for more than 30 minutes. All the taxi seemed to be full or the taxi drivers were not willing to go further than a certain distance.

After getting  back to the hotel, we watched the TV programs on CCTV, the Chinese channels, and we slept like babies again.

 No problem of jet lag here, Amen!  My husband's other health issue seemed to have disappeared as well when he is in China. Praise God!

R.T.

IKEA

Guangzhou, China

You'll Need Your Passport to Buy a Ticket at the Guangzhou Bus/ Train Station

Day 4, Thursday -  Guangzhou Bus/ Train Station 

J.  told us he had a very busy schedule therefore would not be able to have dinner with us. To save him time, I suggested lunch instead of dinner and he agreed.

 We walked to the Rock Square to meet him for lunch at 12 p.m. While waiting at KFC, I looked around  in the mall. There was a big discount clothing sale going on, but with the limited time we had, I couldn't find anything I liked.

J. came to meet us, wearing a long sleeve jacket in this hot humid weather! He said he was not feeling well. I do hope he would be all right. I don’t think he is eating too well or sleeping much while working so hard!

He  took us to his favourite noodle place to eat. The restaurant was full as it was right at 12 noon. But we did find a place to sit. I was glad to hear him say that he agreed with me about focusing on one project first  before embarking on another one! Praise God! At least he is listening to my advice!

At least we could have lunch and saw J. for about 45 minutes. We are trying to see him everyday and making use of our time here.  After lunch, he went back to work and we went to the

1.     Guangzhou Railway Station to buy our tickets for our next outing. From where we were, going to that station took a few changes on the subway. 

      By the time we arrived at the railway station, we were exhausted. In addition, the station was a very crowded place, full of travellers from within the surrounding areas of Guangzhou. It is evident that China has invested heavily in the country's infrastructure and has been building roads and its subway system. This improvement in its transportation system enables the mobility of its citizens. It is obvious that many more Chinese are travelling now than it was when we were here in 2008! 

      

At the ticket booths, there was a foreigner’s booth for visitors holding non Chinese passports. It was less crowded. But we were told that we could not buy any bus tickets unless we could produce our Canadian passports or a government issued ID! We never thought of that. We are Canadians and we are not used to walk away carrying our passports with us on a daily basis. We did not have our passports with us as we didn't know we needed them to buy an out of town bus ticket. We wasted a trip and did not get our bus tickets. 

The Guangzhou Station was a very busy place.  I would like to avoid it if possible! 

R.T.

Guangzhou Bus/ Railway Station

Guangzhou

China

2.   

Our 1st Shopping Trip at the Rock Plaza, Guangzhou, China

Day 3, Wednesday - 1^st Shopping Trip at the Rock Square, Guangzhou,  China 

We had a good dinner last night  with J.  He told us a lot of what he has been doing in China and the goals he has set for himself.  We just hope that he would not overwork himself in pursuing his dreams.

I only brought two pairs of shoes with me to China. One of the straps on my favourite sandal came off and I ended up not having any decent shoes  to wear with my dresses. I went and asked the hotel concierge where I could have my sandals repaired. He was surprised and told me that there were no shoe repair shops anywhere near the hotel. The only thing he could think of was someone moving around with his tools to fix shoes or things for others.  He told us where to go to find this mobile repair person. 

We walked around the neighbourhood but could not find any shops or anyone who would repair shoes.  Wow! Things have really changed!  When we were in China in 2008, we could find repair shops and people with temporary stations to fix things easily on street corners. 

But today the situation is very different. With their country’s economy getting better every year, Chinese people are getting more affluent and their living standards have been improving. 

 It is evident that the lives of the average Chinese are better now than they were before. They are earning more, therefore can afford to spend and buy more.   Consequently, they are buying new shoes instead of repairing old ones.

We walked to the shopping plaza closest to our hotel - Rock Square, and did some shopping there.

There were many restaurants serving a variety of foods from different countries. We had lunch in an Italian restaurant . I had Pellea and S. ordered a drink as he ate the leftover from last night.

After lunch, we shopped in the mall and I bought two dresses from Aeon. The prices were very good!

There were many books in the Children's Section in the Mall.

As an educator, I am always interested in children’s books. We took a look at the children's section. There were quite a lot of  reading material available. 

A parent reading right there to his child

However, I  could not find any picture frames there at all. Construction paper, plastic book covers and were expensive compared to Canada, almost tripled the price back home.

We found a fine pastry corner in the shopping plaza

The weather has been hovering above 30-35 degree C and it was hot and humid.

We were drenched and felt tired after walking around for a little while. 

Coffee break time!

It felt good to find a half decent bakery corner in the shopping plaza!

We sat, enjoyed a coffee break with some fine pastries and the air conditioning!

J. furnished his place with IKEA furniture

After our first shopping trip, we went back to our hotel, refreshed ourselves and waited until  J. finished working. We took a taxi  to his place ( 11 RMB) but it wasn’t easy to find.

We saw J.'s place for the first time and we  were impressed by how much J. has done to his place to make it comfortable. He furnished his place with IKEA furniture, such as sets of tables and chairs, a bed bed and some book shelves, not bad at all.

J. looked so tired after working all day.  He took us to eat in a Muslim restaurant near his condo.  It was 9pm when we sat down and ate.  We were happy that we saw him two days in a row! The food was good!  J. offered to pay for our meal.  What a treat for us!

R.T.

Rock Plaza

Guangzhou

China

Visiting Shamian Island, Guangzhou, China

Day 2 - Shamian Island, Guangzhou, China

Going to places is easy using the Guangzhou Metro

We got up at around 10am and glad that we both were able to sleep the first night well in China!

We made arrangement to meet and had dinner with J. later tonight. Though I could not access google in China,  I could search via Yahoo and found a few places where we could visit.

A map to help visitors to get around on the Shamian Island, Guangzhou

We decided that the main reason for our visit was to see J. therefore we did not go crazy trying to see all the main attractions in the city of Guangzhou.

The French and British dug a river and created an island at Shamian in the 1800's

Taking it easy this time, we only planned to visit one place each day.

There are two bridges to cross over to Shamian Island

Though we were in this city about three decades ago, I really did not see much of the city as we signed up for a three day tour with a tour company to visit a couple of cities in the province.

Revisiting the White Swam hotel after twenty six years! 

I remembered staying at the White Swam Hotel on Shamian Island, however, I could not remember much of the island.

It was easy taking the Guangzhou Metro from our hotel to the island. the concierge was very helpful and we took the subway for the first time in Guangzhou.

The Guangzhou Metro is modern, clean, efficient and very affordable indeed.

Some of these buildings were consulate offices of European countries

From our hotel to the Shamian Island, it cost us 3 RMB  which was 60 cents Canadian!

Shamian was an important trading and defence point during the 1800's.

This building is currently used as a clinic.

China gave Shamian Island to  Britain and France as a concession after the Opium War.

The river separated Shamian Island from the city of Guangzhou

The British and French dug a man made  river creating an island and a piece of Europe in Guangzhou for themselves.

Shamian Chapel - Sunday Services are still held here 

It was interesting to see all those European style buildings in a Chinese city!

However, it also reminded us of the ugly past of colonialism and how the European countries ganged up and bullied China and other weaker nations at the time.

The best part of visiting Shamian Island was discovering the Shamian Park.

Shamian Park - located right next to the Pearl River 

From the park we could see Pearl River and the buildings in the city of Guangzhou.

It is an absolutely beautiful park for the people, enjoyed by the people!

Shamian Park - a beautiful park by the Pearl River!

 Strolling through the park, we came across numerous beautiful gardens and tropical plants.

We admired the spectacular majestic trees!

We were awed by the many majestic old trees in the park.

Many old trees are seen in the park.

Evidently, these trees are treasured and protected!

Many of these old majestic trees are well over two to three hundred years old!

Old trees labelled and tracked by the city

Many have been tracked and labelled with detail information by the city of Guangzhou.

Grandfather and Child with a Bird Cage

Another feature we loved about the Shamian Park was the sculptures placed throughout the park!

Two Actresses 

 These sculptures were created by local artists of Guangzhou.

Grandfather and Child

Many of these sculptures depict the lives and cultures of the people in the city.

Two blind musicians

They included a diversity of ages and abilities of the Chinese people.

A Woman  Enjoying the Sun While Walking a Dog

A street performer singing for his audience under the city highway

                                                 
                                                                             













 One thing I appreciate a lot in China is how well Chinese people use the space underneath their city highways.

The highway above providing shade to both performers and audience in the park

While some space under the highway has been used as parking lots in this park, on the day of our visit, some space was used as a performing stage providing shade to the street performers and audience from the hot scorching sun!

A lady dancing to the music blasting from the loudspeaker behind her.

There was a group of three men taking turn to sing with a microphone in their hands while on  the other side of the park a   lady was dancing to the music blasting from a loudspeaker close by .

A couple of elder men were immersed in their chess games

There were people sitting under the trees while a couple groups of retired men playing chess.

Children riding their bikes while their parents watching close by

We also saw happy children riding freely on their two and three wheel bikes.

Spectacular old trees abound on Shamian Island

J. came and met us at our hotel. It was good to see him again after more than a year. He looked better than I thought though skinnier than when he was in Canada. We ate at the hotel restaurant on the 4^th floor.

A restaurant on Shamian Island near the Park

He was enthusiastic and talked a lot about what he was up to and about how committed he was to his work. We have not had such a good chat for a long time!

It was a nice dinner. We did take some pictures but I had taken the card out and left it on the computer therefore, did not get any pictures of our first dinner together in China, darn it!

After dinner, he came up to our room and was happy when I showed him the pictures and picture album I brought him. He sat and talked with us for a little while and then left for home as he needed to be at work at 8:30 am! He showed us his schedule for the month and I could see he has been busy!

R.T.
Shamian Island
Guangzhou, China