Foshan travel and tourism guide

Foshan vs Guangzhou

Guangzhou seem’s so great, how can Foshan be as…. good? Many locals say they prefer Foshan after having lived in Guangzhou. Guangzhou is great, there’s lots to do, many tourist sights to see, there’s a strong expat community and many foreigners live there.

That’s great if you’re looking for just another city. There are many westerners in Guangzhou and many have settled there. Guangzhou is riddled with western franchises in their masses including: Starbucks, McDonalds, Subway, KFC and even Tesco. You’ll find prices in these places are on a par with England and if take to shopping you’ll find prices on designer goods are more expensive than in England.

Guangzhou is very expensive, comparable to Hong Kong or cities such as Manchester or Southampton in England and teachers’ salaries are relative in comparison. You’ll actually find you have less disposable income working in Guangzhou on a 10,000RMB salary than working in Foshan on a 6,000RMB salary due to much higher living costs in Guangzhou city center.

As a result of such a globalised and international economy focussed on international profit through goods manufacture you’ll find Guangzhou has little interest in maintaining it’s heritage and is far more focussed on the future. As a foreigner visiting such a fantastic country as China it’s quite unlikely you’ll want to see a repeat of your home city.  It would be great to live in a city surrounded by chinese culture and architechture, where only a handful of westerners live and work. It is also warming to feel a more relaxed environment, people aren’t moving at 100 miles an hour and there aren’t so many millions of people living in the city centre.

As Foshan is so close to Guangzhou it’s such an easy commute you’ll be able to enjoy Guangzhou’s treasures at arms length. It’ll take just 30 minutes to reach Guangzhou on the bus from Foshan and you’ll have the luxury of not having to live in the heart of one of the most industrial cities in the world.

Theme Parks

Foshan is within reach of the best theme parks in the Guangdong province, Just 45 minutes from Foshan. The Chime Long theme and water parks are famously known and each park will take at least 1 full day to visit. You can find information about these theme parks on their website, http://en.chimelong.com/Main.aspx

Zhong Shan Park theme park area is within the city of Foshan and located on the South East side. You’ll find a number of mini-rollercoasters, Dodgem cars, Log Flume, Mini Zoo area and Tea Cups amongst many other rides for the younger children too.

There is also a big water theme park in the Centre of the City, you’ll find it between Tong Ji Road and Ti Yu Road. It’s called, Jin Yin Dao Shui Cheng. The name is below in Chinese included in the Front page of the flyer.

What is there to enjoy in Fo Shan, China?

Foshan has a beautiful selection of parks and gardens in the city and it’s surrounding areas. The biggest of these parks in the heart of the city is known as Zhong Shan Park and is just a couple of blocks away from the main Shopping area.

The park is home to a large number of tropical trees and flowers, old Chinese architechture, a number of lakes linked to islands by Chinese bridges and a theme park area.
There is plenty to do in Zhong Shan park including pedal and power boats, badminton, basketball and visiting the theme park. Although in the middle of the City Zhong Shan park covers a large area and will take at least 30 minutes to walk the perimeter path so it’s a great way to enjoy a good couple of hours with or without friends.

 Entertainment in Foshan

Foshan city hosts a wealth of entertainment including Ice Skating, Outdoor Swimming pools, Shopping, Theme parks, Bars, Clubs, Street Dancing, Cafe’s, Stadiums, Cultural centers and Museums.

You’ll find plenty to do in the warm evenings where it’s great to dine Al Fresco in the numerous outdoor barbecue’s and restaurants with outdoor seating all over the City. A personal favourite is to take a swim as the sun is going down, it’ll cost you no more than £1 (10 Yuan) at numerous clean modern outdoor swimming pools surrounded by palm trees, and you won’t feel cold when you get out either!

Ice Skating in Fo Shan

If you like Ice Skating there is a large indoor permenant Ice Rink on Wai Guo Lu in the Centre of the City.