When I went to Guangzhou I didn't know anyone there and my knowledge of it was extremely limited. Soon after living there, I realized the open and tolerant atmosphere of the city. All kinds of comparisons between Guangzhou and Shanghai became something I often did when I traveled through the city. In my opinion, Guangzhou is characterized by the richness of its urban spatial forms: the CBD of Tianhe, the grass-roots urban villages, the area around Yide Road where traders gather, the romantic Shamian, and the Baiyun Mountain that leans on the city. Each of these forms is complete and self-contained, not a collage of products. For a long time, I thought Hakchun was just a place name, representing an elevated intersection and its surroundings on the map. Until one time through the wrong station in Hakchun, walking through the place, only to find a real "Hakchun" the name of the "village in the city" living right there, spitting out life, the size of the considerable, so that I really feel the city of Guangzhou tolerance, and the richness of the life forms in it. I can really feel the tolerance of Guangzhou and the richness of its life forms. Over the decades, Guangzhou has chosen a pragmatic and eclectic approach to the goal of urbanization. That is why it has retained its scattered urban villages and built elevated lines that are adequate for use but not too wide or spectacular. Shanghai, on the other hand, has chosen a route that radiates outward from the center while washing away all the non-urban elements along the way, and it demands grandeur and grandeur from its roads, bridges and "landmarks".
Four and a half years ago when I first arrived in Sha Mian, I found that there were actually empty houses in this small enclave of beautiful scenery. A subtropical colonial style house, tree shadows covered with broken windows, a different mood. I imagined its fate in Shanghai, then thought of Xintiandi and Duolun Road, and urged myself to cherish my short life in Guangzhou. I have been to the Zhongshan Library several times, and in that compound there are several dilapidated house foundations full of grass, and every now and then there are children playing games in the open space, and people walking in and out with their books, and passing under two tall bananas. I thought to myself, "This is all the value of a public **** cultural building, allowing people to use it comfortably and become one with it. And in Shanghai, such a public **** building, and how many places?
Guangzhou is also a city more suitable for wandering than Shanghai. Also along the river, it has much longer riverside roads than Shanghai, and these have been made pedestrian-friendly - with wide, unobstructed sidewalks along the river side of the road. Starting from the western end of Binjiang Xi Lu in Haizhu District, pedestrians can walk all the way to Sun Yat-sen University, enjoying the view of the river. In Shanghai, the so-called "Riverside Avenue" in Lujiazui is a peculiar construction. It is actually not a road, but a park, less than a kilometer in width. Visitors must enter from the special entrance, walking across a small slope, only to be able to enter a tile wrapped along the river to pull open the long "pool" - welcome to the "Riverside Avenue! Welcome to the "Riverwalk"! Here you can view the "Universal Architecture Exposition" on the Bund across the river, marvel at its landmarks and history as a rare visitor to "Shanghai", take a picture, and watch the giant LED advertisements passing by in the river. However, walking along this "Riverside Avenue" is not so easy. Because of its irregular shape, there are many steps up and down, and it is not so wide compared to the stone green belt with plants and flowers that is right next to it. This "riverfront boulevard" is more accurately described as a customized "observation pool" for the Bund complex on the other side of the river, and its function is almost exclusively to allow the symbols of the Bund colonial complex to be imprinted on more people's minds through on-site observation and photography, rather than to allow the public to get close to the The Mother River.