Guangzhou, also known as the city of goats, is renowned for its unique Lingnan culture, wide range of delicious foods and dynamic lifestyle. Today, as we continue our special series marking the 16^th Asian Games, Liu Yan will introduce you to the host city, Guangzhou.

Reporter:

Guangzhou, the capital city of south China's Guangdong Province, is located at the north of the Pearl River delta and lies adjacent to Hong Kong and Macau.

Covering some 7,500 square kilometers, it is the biggest city in south China and has a population of 10 million.

With a sub-tropical climate and an average year-round temperature of 22 degrees Celsius, Guangzhou is a beautiful city with ever-green scenery and flowers blooming all year round. The Pearl River, the country third largest, runs through the urban district of the city.

Guangzhou has a history dating back more than 2,200 years. There are a lot of interesting legends concerning its past.

One of the beautiful stories tells about five immortals riding on five goats which brought the first grain and good fortune to the city. So, Guangzhou is also known as the City of Goats.

The Five Goats Statue in Yuexiu Park in down town Guangzhou became the symbol of the city. It also helped create the image for the mascots of the 16^th Asiad, the five cute and sporty goats collectively known as Le Yangyang.

Guangzhou resident Gu Wei says the Five Goats Statue is his favourite.

"The statue is an historic and cultural relic and a hot tourist attraction. It is a symbol of the city and represents the spirit of advance and unity of the local people."

Guangzhou is also called the Flower City. The warm humid climate is ideal for plants to grow. Dominated with kapok trees, the kapok flower is the city flower of Guangzhou.

The Kapok is tall and its flower is red. When it blooms, there are no single leaves on the tree. After all the flowers drop, the bare branches begin to bud.

Guangzhou residents love flowers. Flower shows are a must during the Spring Festival, the Chinese lunar New Year. Visiting the shows and buying flowers to decorate their homes are an important part of local people's New Year celebration activities.

Sales person Deng Yumei from Guangzhou Museum says that historically, the city has developed in particular ways.

"The city centre has been kept intact in its two-thousand-year history. It has enjoyed sustained development. It is on a par only with Rome in Italy."

Guangzhou boasts a long history of foreign relations. A well known port for foreign trade since ancient times, Guangzhou was once the birth place of the maritime Silk Road.

Zeng Lingling from the Guangzhou Museum says the city was also an important place for cultural exchange between China and other countries.

"Different cultures were imported along with the prospering foreign trade. In addition to trading of goods, the maritime Silk Road served as an important means of communication and exchange between different countries. It was a bridge for cultural exchanges between the east and west."

Guangzhou is a famous city in China as the hometown of overseas Chinese and a metropolis with the largest number of overseas Chinese returning to live there.

According to statistics, there are 1.4 million compatriots and relatives abroad, spread over 120 countries and regions throughout the world.

There are 830,000 Hong Kong and Macao compatriots and over 1 million relatives of returned overseas Chinese, Hong Kong and Macao compatriots.

These people have contributed enormous efforts in the social and economic development of the city. Over the past three decades, a total of 3.6 billion yuan, or 530 million US dollars, has been donated to assist the development of the city.

Its long history has left Guangzhou with a number of scenic spots and historical sites. The Tomb of the Yuewang King, the Chen Clan Temple, the Six Banyan Temple and many others, each of which bares lively witness to the historic and cultural city of Guangzhou.

Discovered in Guangzhou, the traces of a shipyard from the Qin and Han period have shown that Guangzhou reached quite a high standard in ship-building technology and capability as early as 2,000 years ago.

Guangzhou enjoys a favorable geographical location, with a beautiful natural landscape and abundant tourism resources. Tourist attractions like Baiyun Mountain, the Conghua hot spring and the Lotus Hill have rich cultural connotations and a distinctive local flavour.

Guangzhou proper is dotted by numerous parks, such as Yuexiu Park, Liuhua Lake Park, the Orchid Garden, Guangzhou Zoo, and the recently-built Yuntai Garden and Sculpture Park. Each park or garden has its own specialties, with nice and tranquil surroundings, shades of green trees, being really a good place to go for a walk and leisure.

Recent years have found Guangzhou's tourist attractions springing up rapidly one after another. A batch of large-scale attractions, with distinctive specialties have come into being, hence scenic spots in the city are extremely varied. The construction of scenic spots in Guangzhou has never been so brilliant.

"Except for airplanes and tables, Guangzhou people are said to eat everything in the sky and on the earth." From this common saying, you can get some idea of the variety of Guangzhou's delicacies.

Guangzhou delicacies are the main representatives of Yue Cai, or Cantonese Cuisine, and enjoys great popularity all over the country. Guangzhou cuisine uses a wide range of ingredients from the sky, the earth and the water. They also use seasonings sparingly. Compared with other Chinese cuisines, Guangzhou dishes use few thick spicy dressings in order to keep from masking the original taste of the food.

Guangzhou resident Zhi Shaoqiang is an IT service provider.

"Guangzhou is famous for its gourmet food. Meanwhile, you can find all kinds of domestic and overseas delicacies in the city. Guangzhou is also a tourist city. It has done a lot in preparations for the Asian Games which will take place in the city. Many buildings and tourist attractions have been rebuilt and decorated to welcome participants and visitors."

As the business capital of the thriving Pearl River Delta, Guangzhou has become one of China's most important cities for international commerce and trade thanks to sustained economic growth and the social and cultural development it has enjoyed for the last few decades.

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