Guangzhou
became a part of China in the 3d cent. B.C. Hindu and Arab merchants
reached Guangzhou in the 10th cent., and the city became the first
Chinese port regularly visited by European traders. In 1511, Portugal
secured a trade monopoly, but it was broken by the British in
the late 17th cent.; in the 18th cent. the French and Dutch were
also admitted. Trading, however, was restricted until the Treaty
of Nanjing (1842) following the Opium War, which opened the city
to foreign trade. Following a disturbance, French and British
forces occupied Guangzhou in 1856. Later the island of Shameen
(Shamian) was ceded to them for business and residential purposes,
and this reclaimed sandbank with its broad avenues, gardens, and
fine buildings was known for its beauty; it was restored to China
in 1946.
Chen Clan Temple
One tagged place of Guangzhou history is Chen Clan temple. The ancestral temple for the whole clan of the Chen in Guangdong Province, also called Chen Clan Academy, was designed by Li Julin and built from 1890 to 1894, Qing Dynasty when Emperor Guangxu reigned over the country. The whole structure faces the south and covers 15,000 square meters with 6,400 square meters as principal section.
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Chen Clan Temple is known for its superb art of decoration for it epitomizes the folk decoration art of Guangdong. It is also famous for “three kinds of carving, three kinds of sculpture and one kind of iron casting”, including Stone carving, wood carving, Brick carving, Pottery Sculpture, plaster sculpture, painted sculpture and iron casting. |
Museum
of West Han Dynasty and Nanyue King
On
the Xianggang Hill beside the Jiefang Road stands the tomb
of Nanyue King who was the second generation of the King of
Nanyue Kingdom in early West Han Dynasty and also the grandson
of General Zhao Tuo of the Qin dynasty who unified areas south
to the five mountain ridges. The tomb, enjoying a history
of over 2000 years, was discovered in 1983. 20 meters deep
down behind the hill, it was made of 750 stone slabs with
7 rooms in 2 parts separated by two stone doors. Each room
was of its own function. After a few years of excavation,
over 1000 pieces or sets of valuable cultural relic and 15
buried-alive dead bodies had been unearthed.
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Up
to date, this tomb is the earliest, largest and richest ancient
tomb of early Han dynasty found in Guangdong and Guangxi areas.
It is also the only all-stone tomb with earliest color murals.
Of the unearthed cultural relics, bronze instruments, 36 large
cooking vessels, 36 bronze mirrors and 3 gold coins (up to
date, there have been only 4 gold coins in total of the time
discovered in the area) and 240 jade wares. The King wore
clothes with jade pieces threaded together. Besides, people
found a blue colored flat grass slab, a set of printing copper
moulds and African ivory and other rare treasures of significance. |
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