Huangpu: Ancient Port of Guangzhou

Huangpu (黄埔) is a historic port village in Canton (now Guangzhou) that can be easily reached as a daytrip from the city. It’s a nice scenic spot worth checking out if you are into history or just want to get away from the city bustle.


Old Li clan temple in Huangpu

Prior to 1842 Canton was the only Chinese port open for foreign trade. With its ‘Middle Kingdom’ self-sufficiency concept imperial China thought it had no need in foreign goods thus opening just one port as a favor to foreign nations. The trade was only open for four month a year.
After Nanking treaty was signed four more ports were open to the trade, but Canton didn’t lose its significance.
Huangpu was the place where the warehouses stood and the customs was stationed. Silk, spices and tea were traded, ships loaded, Chinese merchants made fortunes, and foreign sailors took rest in opium dens with dark-eyed beauties by their sides. Numerous temples were erected to pay homage to the gods for growing prosperity.


Traditional cantonese door

Now it’s just a quite suburb in monstrous Guangzhou urban area, with some eclectic architecture - a mix of nice traditional houses and morden grey boxes, decaying temples, muddy waters and vast vegetable gardens worked by the locals.



It still has a nice atmosphere of a real thing – you can wander around, feel the age of the place, see people playing mahjong in old ansestral halls and relish upon fresh chicken and farm vegetables in local eateries.




Mahjong players