Remembering Guangzhou in the late 1980s and early 1990s

For over two millennia, the Pearl River Delta, with watery tentacles reaching across much of southern and into central China, has acted as a natural gateway to the country. Guangzhou, at the apex, can trace its origins back to the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). By 200 AD Indian and Roman traders were arriving. Over the next 500 or more years trade grew along the Maritime Silk Road, bringing increasingly Middle Eastern contact, a reminder being the 7th century Huaisheng Mosque. As late as the 19th century its minaret was one of Guangzhou’s prominent landmarks.

European contact dated initially from the 16th century, with the Portuguese trading for silk and porcelain. In 1685, the Qing government opened Guangzhou to the West, with foreigners permitted to reside specifically on Shamian Island. Shamian has retained swathes of non-local architectural styles. Physically separated from the city, it felt a serene enclave, almost a time warp. In 1987, I regrettably stayed only one night but on return visits regularly spent leisure time there.

In 1987 my short stay included visiting the intricate Chen Family Temple and a duck farm just across Renmin Bridge - farming encroaching onto the urban area.

Traveling onwards to Hong Kong, a landscape of rice fields and traditional villages dramatically gave way to Shenzhen. It was a real eye-opener, as I realized I was looking at a sign of things to come - not just for the delta lands but increasingly for China. Shenzhen, chosen for its proximity to Hong Kong, was one of the four pioneering Special Economic Zones trying out new models of economic growth - a major reform policy from 1979 under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping.

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