I came back from Guangzhou early this March and I have not stopped missing it. Never expected to miss it even after so long but I really do because everything about the trip was nice, the weather, food, places we visited. The only thing I hoped for was more time! I literally told everyone that Guangzhou is really, really nice & I would want to go again.
This trip was a learning class trip to visit & I wasn't very keen to go to China because my first trip to China (Beijing to be exact) wasn't a great one. Even though it was 10 years ago, the memory seems to stick so freshly in my mind as I instantly stereotyped China to have polluted air, dirty streets & rude people. Thankfully, I had the nicest mainland Chinese classmates who changed my perception and made me believe that maybe, the country with one of the biggest economies in the world has changed over the decade.
DAY 1:
We landed in the middle of the night & not sure what I was thinking to not wear a jacket because it was pretty chilly but lucky I brought face masks & it did help keep my face warm. All of us only got to check in & finally sleep at around 4-5 am & we had to head out again at 11 for the factory visit.
Btw, if you're thinking about heading to Guangzhou but don't know where to stay, stay at NOMO Apartment Hotel @ Beijing Rd., above Jiedeng A-Mall. *Remember to book the Beijing Road one because they have another location which isn't as convenient.* OMG the metro is just below & there's plenty of shopping underground. Plus it's only a short walk away from the famous shopping street along Beijing Road! There's plenty of restaurants within the mall (we ate at a random cantonese restaurant & everything was yummy! + South Korea's famous emcee, Kang Ho-Dong's Korean BBQ outlet is there too!) so no need to worry about ever feeling hungry. The room was really clean, the amenities were new & the price is pretty affordable as well. I'd definitely stay there again on my next trip!
I was so amazed with the weather in Guangzhou because the skies were blue & there were plenty of greenery by the road. We were quite fortunate that the weather was pretty good during the time we were there but I really did not expect to see this much greenery by the road, even more than in Singapore! There were even luscious hanging plants all over the pedestrian bridges. I was so amazed!
I previously visited TORAY's huge factory in Penang (fabric supplier for UNIQLO Malaysia) when I was doing my diploma & so visiting this one was a different experience. We got to see the whole process from using yarn to make fabric to rolling freshly made fabrics, then cutting with a template cutting machine up to the human sewing production. We also visited a clothing printing factory nearby & got to see how screen printing was done. TBH, I was really shocked with the smell of the chemicals because they were so strong & toxic smelling. Higher quality printing are done with even more layers those chemicals & it's just scary that workers don't wear masks when handling such tasks. Sometimes we all see the end product & find it appealing but we should try to be aware & ask, who made my clothes & how are they made?
With 80 billion clothes produced annually, I wonder, do we even need all of them? I came across a video with a similar concept but about food (watch here) & I feel like it's the same with clothes. Stores fill their racks with clothes which will not be completely sold off, but the only difference is, food expires but clothes doesn't. As a fashion student, I am guilty of following trends & buying pieces I'd only wear once just the sake of being trendy. Ever since my exposure to sustainable living, I definitely feel like I'm less likely to impulse buy as I were before. Some times a good discount or bargain is hard to give up, but we should all at least try to "buy less, but buy better".
After the factory visits, we headed off to our final stop which was one I was really looking forward to - Shamian Island / Guangzhou's little Europe.
Too bad the factories were quite far from the city, by the time we arrived at Shamian Island, it was almost sundown so we had to rush our photo taking session. :( Sad me who really was looking forward to a nice ootd here! Anyway, we were supposed to eat there but all the decent looking restaurants had too long of a queue so some of us headed back to our stay which was conveniently beside a shopping mall with plenty of restaurants to choose from.
We went for Korean food on our first night in China ahahah! It was pretty good tho, affordable too!
DAY 2:
The second day of the trip coincided with Chris' & my birthday! It was We had a really cute birthday song at the metro which was nice before we headed to Guangzhou's international textiles town.
OH MAI GOD is all I can say when I arrived. I was in awe by the size of the place & the variety of fabrics I could find. Not just that, there's even a building dedicated to accessories for bags, clothing & other things. I didn't have enough time to explore that area even though I really wish I did (one reason to go back again! ;) ), but I had to source for fabric for my final major project at that time. There were so many free fabric swatches throughout the mall, I took home quite a few just for aesthetics! The visit made me really appreciate my parents sending me to a Chinese primary school (I hated it & called it hell haha) because it made buying fabrics & negotiating a lot easier, plus I got to help some of my classmates liase with sellers.
We ate at a random noodle restaurant at the textiles town before heading to our next stop. This place served really huge portions at a cheap price. Totally worth it!
We headed to a high end mall where we were given an hour to observe some shops. Within that short one hour, I completed the task & even managed to do some shopping afterwards. The photos were taking on our way to visit a branded lifestyle store & it was sunset at the time, the skies were so pretty we couldn't miss out on this photo opportunity.
The visit to GOFUN 就试潮店 吉祥物 was interesting especially for an Instagram addict like myself because every corner of the store is so aesthetically pleasing in a hipster way. The staff there were even really nice to explain to us about the store in which (if people who know me personally would laugh at the next sentence...) I was the translator. HAHAHA! Anyway, GOFUN is a multi-label lifestyle store that features trendy, hipster, streetwear brands. The lower floor holds the latest ht items from international brands like SUPREME, BAPE & Moschino while the top floor is filled with one of a kind merchandise & clothing made by Chinese designers. Even though I aint much of a street style person, but I was truly intrigued during my visit there & it's definitely a place to not miss out if you're a hypebeast or hyperbae to be.
Of course I did not miss this opportunity to take plenty of photos!
I was pretty exhausted throughout the day having to drag my heavy fabric everywhere, but my birthday still ended on a sweet note. With my musketeers teaching me how to dance while on IG live (which was my first time ever), to some classmates coming in my room to surprise me with sponge cake snacks & chatting about all things random, I couldn't ask for a better way to spend my first overseas birthday celebration with them.
DAY 3:
I enjoyed my ma la hotpot dinner the night before a little too much & had really bad stomach ache the next day. We headed to Guangdong museum to visit an exhibit. The main focus was Art Nouveau & it was an art movement that I truly enjoyed. The pieces had flowy, simplistic lines with uses of soft colours, making it a very romantic art movement.
After exploring the exhibit, we strolled along the open spaces outside the museum which overlooks Guangzhou’s central business district. With such a perfect backdrop, a photo shooting session was not to be missed! Getting a touristy photo with Canton Tower was a must as it’s the tallest TV tower in the world.
We then headed to Redtory Art & Design factory which is a large space filled with rows & rows of museums, cafes & all things art & design. A place perfect for creative minds to easily spend half a day exploring every photo worthy corner. I loved how the place had a very industrial feel to it & it was just really relaxing to stroll along the streets. I really wished we spent less time at the museum & more time at Redtory because there was so much yet to be explored. Another place I would definitely go again!
The last stop of the day was at Shangxiajiu shopping street which from the name you can tell is a shopping street filled with stores offering fashion apparel, accessories & street snacks. It’s pretty hard to find a washroom there as both sides of the street was full of shopping & more shopping. We went to some sketchy looking cinema to go to the toilet. It was old, dark, no ticket checking needed to access the toilet & I could totally see drugs or some sketchy business being dealt there LOL.
DAY 4:
Approaching our last full day in Guangzhou before departing back to Singapore, it was pretty bittersweet as I was starting to really like this place. Although I was pretty unlucky this trip as I had stomach ache & bruised my toe from kicking the edge of the bed (which resulted into a black toenail which later came off), I still had a great time.
We had the morning off where we used to shop at the underground mall at where we stayed. The prices for clothing are pretty standard, around RM20-30+ per piece. It may be around or slight more expensive than buying on Taobao, but it was nice to touch & feel what you’re getting first as we’ve all bought something online that doesn’t appear like what the photo shows. Most shops do not have fitting rooms & usually come in free size only so you really have to know your size well. Pants & shorts sizes there are quite small so get a size up from what you usually wear. Also, do check thoroughly because sometimes there could be defects. I didn’t bother to haggle prices because I felt like it was pretty fixed since most shops are selling at around the same range.
We headed to Bluespace which is a fashion consultancy firm that helps brands better their merchandise buying, public relations & marketing. They were kind enough to give us a talk on the fashion scene in China as well as share with us a workshop program that is held at emerging fashion cities such as Seoul & Bangkok. (search on Wechat for 时尚家学院 to find out more about Bluespace & their workshop program) It was a cool experience learning that becoming a brand that makes profit doesn’t mean high markups but better buying strategies to reduce leftover stocks as much as possible.
The last stop of the day was to 方所 Commune lifestyle store which was at Taikoo Hui mall. We accessed the mall through its rooftop garden which was so pretty. No surprise because Taikoo Hui is a high-end mall on par or even higher end than Pavilion.
Visiting 方所 Commune lifestyle store made me relive my childhood days where I loved to stay in the bookstore for hours because there was just so much to see. The lifestyle store features unique, design-esque apparels, knick & knacks alongside international magazines & photography & art books. Creative minds would definitely enjoy coming here as there’s just so much to see. There’s even a café inside for you to enjoy your read while sipping on a cup of coffee.
Overall, the trip really bonded all of us & gave us the get-to-know time we never really got to have when in college since it was always work, work & more work. Guangzhou, you surely surprised me in the best ways & I’ll be back for you very, very soon.
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT MY GUANGZHOU FINDINGS ON MY PORTFOLIO BLOG
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