Cut by a modern urban backdrop of expressways, hotels and office towers, the area surrounding Guangzhou train station above Dongfeng Lu has the best of the city's parks and museums - something for both fine and wet weather. Most of the attractions here are in the vicinity of Jiefang Lu or Renmin Lu, which are covered along their lengths by buses #5 and #31 respectively.

 

Despite the frenetic atmosphere outside the train station, there are two oases of peace and quiet in the immediate vicinity. East of the station and on the south side of Huanshi Lu, look for a bus compound whose gateposts sport little green minarets and Arabic script; walk through to the lane behind, and you're among the bamboo stands of Guangzhou's Islamic Cemetery . The cylindrical stone graves are all aligned roughly northwest towards Mecca, and on the right is a walled courtyard built around the tomb of Abu Waqas , a seventh-century missionary who brought Islam to China. The details are a little sketchy, however, as Abu Waqas supposedly died around 629, three years before Mohammed, and the Quran wasn't collated for another generation afterwards. The courtyard's wooden gates are usually locked, but you can peer through at the brightly coloured atrium within, a nice blend of Islamic and Chinese design.

For pure pleasure, however, it's hard to beat Guangzhou's delightful Orchid Garden , just next door (daily 8am-5pm; ¥8, entry includes tea in the central pavilion). Though fairly small, there are far more than just orchids here, including ponds surrounded by tropical ferns and lilies, winding stone paths, palms and giant figs with drooping aerial roots and pink-flowering azaleas. Apart from the filtered traffic noise, it's hard to believe that the city lies just outside.