Guangzhou, China

Guangzhou invented dim sum, and the morning yum cha ritual — ordering steamer baskets of har gow, siu mai, char siu bao, and cheung fun from trolleys wheeled between crowded round tables — remains the city's defining cultural experience. Beyond the breakfast table, Guangzhou is a 2,200-year-old trading city that was China's primary point of contact with the outside world for centuries: the Maritime Silk Road began here, Arab traders settled in the Tang dynasty, and the Canton System (1757-1842) funnelled all Chinese foreign trade through the Thirteen Factories on the Pearl River bank. Today the Canton Fair (China Import and Export Fair), held each spring and autumn, is the world's largest trade fair by exhibition space and visitor numbers, attracting hundreds of thousands of international buyers. The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall (Chenjiaci), an ornate Qing-dynasty academy dripping with carved wood, brick reliefs, and ceramic ridge decorations, is the finest example of Cantonese decorative architecture. The Pearl River (Zhujiang) night cruise floats past the illuminated Canton Tower (600 metres, with an outdoor observation deck and the world's highest Ferris wheel-style ride), the Haixinsha Island stage, and the glittering Zhujiang New Town CBD. Shamian Island, the former British and French concession, preserves tree-lined avenues and colonial facades in a tranquil pocket. Guangzhou's subtropical climate means lush parks year-round — Baiyun Mountain, Yuexiu Park with its Five Rams sculpture (the city symbol), and the landscaped banks of the Liwan Lake offer green escapes from the urban intensity.