Panyu

Panyu sits where the Pearl River begins its final spread into the delta, a position that historically made it a staging point for the maritime trade routes that defined Guangdong's economy. The county of Panyu — now a district within Guangzhou's urban area — was the ancestral home district for a disproportionate share of the nineteenth-century emigration that created Cantonese-speaking communities from San Francisco to Singapore to Melbourne. The village ancestral halls scattered through the rural parts of the district often carry the donations of overseas descendants who have returned to restore them.

Shawan Ancient Town, in the western part of the district, preserves the layout and some of the architecture of a prosperous Cantonese market town from the Song dynasty onward. The He Clan Ancestral Hall — notable for its carved stone drums and ornate entrance screen — anchors the heritage area. The town is associated with the Cantonese music tradition and hosts occasional performances.

Lotus Hill, on the Pearl River's eastern bank in the district's north, contains a landscape of former quarry workings that have been rehabilitated into gardens and climbing areas. The site was worked from the Han dynasty for its high-quality red sandstone; the quarry faces, now vertical cliff walls covered in vegetation, create an unusual geological landscape.

Guangzhou University City, on Xiaogu'an Island in the district's northern section, houses nine universities in a planned campus development built from 2003. Its large student population gives the surrounding areas an active weekend food and retail scene at prices well below those of central Guangzhou.