Discover China

About 300 historical and cultural relics from Shaanxi Province featuring early ancient Chinese history are on display at the Shenzhen Museum until 9 December 2010. Find out more in the Shenzhen Daily article Shaanxi relics reveal ancient Chinese history.

After eight months of voting and evaluation, 10 aspects of Guangdong culture, ranging from opera styles to outstanding historical figures, have been chosen by the Guangdong Provincial Government to represent the cultural gems of Guangdong. The 10 gems are Guangdong opera, Cantonese cuisine, the Cantonese arcade building style, Cantonese music, lion dance, the Lingnan school of painting, Duan inkstone, Kaiping diaolou, and two historic figures: Sun Yat-sen, the leader of China’s republican revolution, and Huineng, the sixth Patriarch of the Zen. The Kaiping diaolous in Kaiping County, named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007, are fortified multi story towers built from reinforced concrete. They served mainly as protection against bandits. To read more about the Kaiping diaolous see the Shenzhen Daily article Kaiping diaolou.

What did China look like 900 years ago? It was in the most glorious period of the Song Dynasty. Zhang Zeduan, an extraordinary artist at that time, captured the daily life of people in the capital Kaifeng and made it eternal in his scroll painting, “Along the River During the Qingming Festival.” The countryside and the densely populated city are the two main sections in the picture, with the river meandering through its entire length and busy transportation and business activities functioning to connect the whole city. The Shanghai World Expo 2010 features a large animated version of the painting – to find out more about the painting and view the video see the China Network Television (CNTV) Culture Express story Look into China along the river. Kaifeng is one of China’s ancient capitals and features a number of significant historic sites. We visited the city on our trip to Henan Province in 2008.

At first glance Shenzhen appears to be a completely new city. But do some exploring and you’ll find historical gems like the Siyue Shuyuan and the Zhang Ancestral Hall in Dongmen, which is now a thriving shopping area. Read more in the Shenzhen Daily article about Old Dongmen.

A great place to start an exploration of Shenzhen’s heritage is the outstanding Shenzhen Museum of History, which is located in the eastern end of the spectacular wing-roofed Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government building in Futian District in central Shenzhen. I had the pleasure of visiting the museum earlier this year – read the story of my trip or view the pictures.

Links to some other Shenzhen Daily articles on Shenzhen’s heritage can be found in More of Shenzhen’s treasures. The English language Shenzhen Daily newspaper has the latest news about Shenzhen and China including business, travel and entertainment updates, and often features fascinating insights into Shenzhen’s historical and cultural attractions.

Here are some more of Shenzhen’s great attractions, from the Shenzhen Daily newspaper:

• Three Parks in Luohu
• Phoenix Mountain in Bao’an District
• Old Nanshan

The English language Shenzhen Daily newspaper has the latest news about Shenzhen and China including business, travel and entertaintment updates, and often features fascinating insights into Shenzhen’s historical and cultural attractions.