When Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta visited Guangzhou in the 14th century, the city had already begun its transformation from ancient port to modern boomtown. The large ships he saw manufactured for sailing the South China Sea were just one of many exports that would earn this Pearl River Delta town the nickname the “world’s workshop.”

Caught up in a frenzy of capitalism, China’s third-largest city suffered many of the uglier effects of urbanization — ramshackle neighborhoods, slipshod concrete buildings and widespread pollution — in the past hundred years. But with high-profile events making Guangzhou more reliant on tourism, the host city began scrubbing up its act.

In preparation for the Asian Games in 2010, Guangzhou officials poured more than $1.7 billion into cleaning up the Pearl River and its tributaries, long polluted by lax regulations on manufacturing. The city instituted air pollution controls and created a green belt along the Jiaomen River, an estuary of the Pearl River, with 15 miles of pathways for walking and bicycling through the Nansha District.

The city’s makeover included banning motorcycles in urban areas, and Guangzhou now boasts the most LPG-fueled vehicles of any city in the world. An extension of the subway system brought the total number of subway lines up to eight, with plans to double the number of lines and tracks by the end of the decade. The year 2010 also saw the opening of the Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit System, which serves 800,000 passengers per day in this city of 13 million.

Visitors outside the entrance of the Canton Trade Fair, Pazhou Complex © Pindiyath100 | Dreamstime.com

Another major factor in Guangzhou’s amplified focus on tourism is the Canton Trade Fair, which draws more than half a million foreign business travelers to the city each year. Held in mid-April and mid-October at the new Pazhou Complex, the 57-year-old fair attracts buyers from hundreds of different companies and hosts 24,000 exhibitors (mostly China-based).

Guangzhou’s signature event is the largest trade fair in the country, offering the greatest assortment of products, the largest attendance and the highest number of business deals made at the fair. Fifty trading delegations, composed of thousands of China’s top foreign trade corporations, take part in the fair, which contributes nearly $5 billion annually to Guangzhou’s economy. Hotel occupancy in the city reaches 100 percent, and rates for rooms and services during the fair can skyrocket.

Boasting the largest comprehensive port in South China and the fifth-largest port in the world by volume, Guangzhou owes much of its status as a Beta World City to its booming trade. In addition to high-speed railways to nearby Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the city recently opened a high-speed link to Wuhan in resource-rich central China. Bullet trains to the Yangtze River town cover the 608 miles at an average speed of 200 mph.

Financial district © Liufu Yu | Dreamstime.com

Increasingly, the city is intent upon becoming a strategic player in world finance as well. The old bankers’ row, Changdi Road, received a new life in 2012 when city officials opened the Bund Financial Street, Guangzhou’s first private financial avenue. The half-mile of refurbished arcade architecture houses more than 30 financial firms dealing in securities, investment and venture capital. It’s an important step in the city’s plan to make finance account for 12 percent of Guangzhou’s total gross domestic product (currently about $248 billion) by 2020.

One of the city’s most ambitious developments for the coming decade is the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, or SSGKC, a joint project between provincial authorities and the government of Singapore. Covering about 47 square miles, the new city is taking shape in an undeveloped area of Guangzhou about 15 miles from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.

The project aims to help shift Guangdong Province’s economy from labor-intensive industry to knowledge-intensive industry, much the way Singapore did during the 1980s. With an initial investment of $640 million, the “knowledge city” will give priority to information and communication technologies, culture and creative industries, science and education services and biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

When fully completed in 2030, the SSGKC is expected to house a live-in population of 500,000 and serve more than 2 million people in the immediate vicinity. Developers hope to draw knowledge workers from China and abroad with advanced services including two new hospitals and a cancer research center established by Sun Yat-sen University. It’s just one of Guangzhou’s strategies for transforming itself from the “world’s workshop” of cheap toys and clothes to a center of high-value production.

Things to Do in Guangzhou

Once the only place in China where foreign merchants could do business, Shamian Island is one of the city’s most pleasant spots to stroll. Mandarin officials restricted British and French traders to the 44-acre sandbank after the First Opium War, but the Western “barbarians” turned their limited real estate into a leafy oasis of opulent mansions, parks and tennis courts. In recent years, many of the colonial buildings have been restored, and a walk on the island’s tree-lined lanes turns up teahouses, gardens and Gothic cathedrals.

A 19th-century Western-style building, Shamian Island © Jianhua Liang | Dreamstime.com

Another enclave on the Pearl River, Ersha Island, is home to the excellent Guangdong Museum of Art. Here the works of important Cantonese painters and sculptors are showcased in a dozen exhibition halls and a garden. Just north of Shamian Island, Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street is lined with hundreds of arcade-style stores built in the 1920s. Shop for souvenirs and boutique clothing, stopping for steamed dumplings along the way.

A market popular for antiques and knickknacks is Xiguan Antique Street, where you’ll find everything from jade bracelets and teapots to ceramic vases and furniture. The commericial hub of old Canton, the Xiguan area retains a bit of its century-old character, particularly around Bahe Academy. This guild hall for Cantonese opera troupes still serves as a gathering place for retired artists, librettists and acrobats.

One of the city’s best examples of traditional Lingnan architecture is the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, built in 1894 by the powerful Chen family. The wealthy merchant clan erected an enormous ancestral worship center on Enlong Lane featuring courtyards, stone carvings, ceramic sculptures and ornate scrollwork. Another historic treasure is the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King, accidentally uncovered during hotel construction in 1983. The intact tomb holds the 2,000-year-old remains of King Zhao Mo and 15 courtiers buried alive with him.

After examining Guangzhou’s ancient history, make a great leap forward with an ascent of Canton Tower. The 108-story television tower — one of the tallest in the world — becomes a kaleidoscope of color at night and is topped with a Ferris wheel offering eye-popping views of the cityscape. Across the river, the skyscraper forest of Zhujiang New Town houses the surreal new Guangzhou Opera House, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid.

Directly across the square from the opera house, the five-story Guangdong Provincial Museum merits a stop for its 166,000 exhibits telling a comprehensive story of Guangdong Province’s history through art, geology and archaeology. Finish the day with a sunset dinner cruise on the Pearl River, taking in the nightly light show that illuminates Guangzhou’s skyline before boating back to the city center at a leisurely pace.

Checking in with Grace Lau

General Manager, Hilton Guangzhou Tianhe

What advantages does the Hilton Guangzhou Tianhe offer business travelers?
The Hilton Guangzhou Tianhe is conveniently located in the Central Business District of Guangzhou. The hotel is a modern, contemporary-designed space; and with friendly service and quality restaurants and bars, it has become the primary choice of accommodations for business and leisure travelers as well as an ideal venue for mid- and small-sized meetings and social events.

What do you recommend visitors see and do in Guangzhou?
Although I have become a hotelier, when I was a little girl one of my dreams was to be a gourmet chef. Fortunately, my job allows me to taste great foods wherever I am. Guangzhou is famous for its food, and I’m delighted to introduce you to the most popular dining habit here in Guangzhou: yum cha and dim sum.

Cantonese like to enjoy yum cha, which literally means “drinking tea,” especially referring to morning tea. When people meet in the morning, they greet each other with, “You’ve yum cha yet?” This is a social activity and a distinct characteristic of Lingnan culture. Dim sum, roughly translated as “a little bit of heart” or “a little delicacy,” is a part of yum cha. Given the long history of yum cha and dim sum, it is not surprising that there are some 2,000 items that make up the dim sum recipe menus. From this vast repertoire, larger traditional yum cha restaurants often make as many as 100 different dishes a day.

How do you expect Guangzhou to grow and change in the next few years?
There are three major industry sectors in Guangzhou: electronic manufacturing, automobile manufacturing and the petroleum and chemical industry. By 2015, there will be extensive transport infrastructure development between Guangzhou-Foshan-Zhaoqing, creating a large integrated Economic Zone, while modernization of the three cities will be brought into fruition.

In speaking about the tourism and hospitality industry, in the past few years many international airline companies have entered the Chinese market, and Guangzhou has become a significant international terminal. In the coming months, one of the biggest airlines in China, China Southern Airlines, will increase its international flights — from Guangzhou to Frankfurt beginning in June, and from Guangzhou to New York starting in August. Demand is obviously reflecting the increasing number of inbound and outbound travelers for both business and leisure activities.

Guangzhou Opera House © Li Wenzheng | Dreamstime.com

Guangzhou: Just the Facts

Time Zone: GMT + 8
Phone Code: Country code: 86 City code: 20
Currency: Renminbi yuan
Entry/Exit Requirements: U.S. citizens must obtain a visa to enter China. Purchase one-month tourist or business visas (both $130) before departing the United States.
Official Language: Mandarin. Cantonese dialect is also widely spoken.
Key Industries: Automobiles, computers, electronics, finance, garments, international trade, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, textiles and shipping

Info to Go Guangzhou

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is located 17 miles from the city center. A taxi to downtown Guangzhou costs about $20; look for the clearly marked taxi line and insist the driver use the meter. Metro Line 3 connects the airport to downtown Guangzhou in 50 minutes and costs $2. In addition, Airport Express buses No. 1 and No. 2 serve most of the major tourist hotels and cost $2.50. High-speed trains to Shenzhen (one hour) and Hong Kong (90 minutes) depart several times a day from Guangzhou East Station.

Where to stay in Guangzhou

Hilton Guangzhou Tianhe Ample workspace and floor-to-ceiling city views make this Central Business District hotel a favorite among executives. 215 Linhe Xi Heng Lu, Tianhe District $$$

The Ritz-Carlton, Guangzhou Located across from the Guangzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center, The Ritz-Carlton features 5-star luxury and a sumptuous spa. 3 Xing’an Lu, Pearl River New City, Tianhe District $$$$

The Westin Guangzhou The business-savvy Westin, adjacent to CITIC Plaza, offers contemporary guestrooms equipped with rain showers and Bose Wave radios. 6 Lin He Zhong Lu, Tianhe District $$$

Restaurants in Guangzhou

Panxi Perched on the edge of Liwan Lake, this famous restaurant features beautifully presented dim sum overlooking landscaped gardens. 151 Longjin Xi Lu, Liwan District $$–$$$$

Il Ponte Italian comfort food and excellent wines are served at this warm and stylish restaurant with an open kitchen. Hilton Guangzhou Tianhe, 215 Linhe Xi Heng Lu, Tianhe District $$$–$$$$

Summer Palace Savor dim sum and other Cantonese cuisine at Summer Palace, where the elegant surroundings include 18 private dining rooms. Shangri-La Hotel Guangzhou, 1 Hui Zhan Dong Lu, Hai Zhu District $$$–$$$$

Read more about Cantonese cuisine.