Yuexiu Park and the Symbol of Guangzhou

Home to the famous Statue of the Five Rams (or Five Goats, depending on your translation), Yuexiu Park is Guangzhou’s central park, equal parts tourist attraction and gathering spot for the locals.  Tourists come for the statue, a magnificent stone carving of these legendary animals, who were said to have been brought to earth by five immortals as a means to bestow prosperity on the city.

A replica of the statue is housed in the Zhenhai Tower, a five-story building set upon the highest hill in the city.  The building, which has existed in some form or another since the Ming Dynasty in 1380, was rebuilt in 2006 to include the Guangzhou Museum, which houses more than 2,000 years of historical artifacts of the city.  The fifth floor contains a lookout point with commanding views of Guangzhou.

But beyond the sightseeing aspect, Yuexiu Park is a prime people-watching spot.  When the muggy Guangzhou day starts wearing you down, park yourself on a bench and soak in the sights: elderly women walking backwards up the hilly pathways, their arms pumping with routine and purpose.  Groups of schoolchildren playing in the pavilion, singing and laughing and screeching with boundless after-school energy.  Middle-aged Chinese men squatting with cigarettes in hand, their hovering butts seemingly defying gravity.

Just another fall day in Guangzhou, China.

Yuexiu Park (map)
988 Jiefang Rd.
Guangzhou, Guangdong