The Jiefang Lu-Zhongshan Lu crossroads form the crux of downtown Guangzhou's mix of old and new roads, alleys and buildings, the hyperactive heart of the city's small businesses. There are few obviously quiet corners, and everything is rather grubby, too, though here and there you'll see newly painted facades, with litter kept down by an army of streetsweepers. The numerous sights revolve around some excellent temples and fairly dry historic monuments , mostly concentrated between Jiefang Lu and Renmin Lu, with the rest scattered farther east or west. Buses aside, most sights are within a few minutes' walk of metro .