Guangzhou, China

After crossing China's Border over land from Hong Kong I stayed in China's southern Largest City Guangzhou. Historically known as Canton, locals people speak Cantonese, a dialect of Chinese distinct from Mandarin.

I wanted to make a stop in this area because Southern China Coast is China's most industrious region, and the city of Guangzhou is growing rapidly. The town itself seems to be one large construction zone , I never thought I would see brand new high rise buildings completed on roads that had even been paved yet. Though hard to maneuver, there are several standout projects underway that I wanted to visit.

one is a Skyscraper named the "Pearl River Tower." this design by SOM was published to be the worlds first "Carbon neutral Skyscraper", that is, it would produce more energy than it would consume thus offsetting carbon emissions. This would be achieved by shaping the facade of the building to force prevailing winds into concentrated locations, passing through turbines to power the building. The design also employs geothermal heat sinks,waterless urinals, integrated photovoltaic and daylight responsive controls. Unfortunately the building is planned for completion in October, and I did not see this energy marvel in action.

Another project that has just finished, though not yet open, is the Guangzhou Opera house designed by London based Zaha Hadid. This space age post modern building creates interesting spacial experiences and contrast the vertical buildings that surround it. But when up close to the building, the trained eye can quickly establish this building was "made in China." I would imagine that this is due to the general lack of vital communication between the designer and the builder, for various reasons.

China Is Massive and complex. It rightfully makes up the biggest chunk of my itinerary, and there is Much more to see.