Old Guangzhou City Wall
Guangzhou was once famed for its city walls, the version mostly seen today built during the Ming Dynasty in 1380. While many Chinese cities developed fortified walls during this period (such as Chaozhou), the importance and wealth of Guangzhou meant that it was among the earliest described by foreigners, who marveled at the massive fortified city then closed to outsiders. The walls of Guangzhou were mostly torn down in the 1910s and 1920s as the city expanded, the only section remaining located here on Yuexiu Hill. Much of it was heavily remodeled in 2008.
It is believed the Portuguese gave the city the name it is traditionally known to the West, "Canton" after a corruption of a local translation of Guangzhou. Still despite its linguistic separation, the description of the Guangzhou as a canton- a relatively large administrative region-seems an apt description of the city.
Yuexiu Park, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
Old Guangzhou City Wall
Guangzhou was once famed for its city walls, the version mostly seen today built during the Ming Dynasty in 1380. While many Chinese cities developed fortified walls during this period (such as Chaozhou), the importance and wealth of Guangzhou meant that it was among the earliest described by foreigners, who marveled at the massive fortified city then closed to outsiders. The walls of Guangzhou were mostly torn down in the 1910s and 1920s as the city expanded, the only section remaining located here on Yuexiu Hill. Much of it was heavily remodeled in 2008.
It is believed the Portuguese gave the city the name it is traditionally known to the West, "Canton" after a corruption of a local translation of Guangzhou. Still despite its linguistic separation, the description of the Guangzhou as a canton- a relatively large administrative region-seems an apt description of the city.
Yuexiu Park, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.