It's only a short hop across Liuersan Luon to Shamian Island , but the pace changes instantly, and Guangzhou's busiest quarter is exchanged for its most genteel. A tear-shaped sandbank about 1km long and 500m wide, Shamian was leased to European powers as an Opium War trophy, the French getting 44 acres and the British the rest. Having doubled the island's size through land reclamation, the colonials recreated their own backyards, planting trees (now massive) and throwing up solid, Victorian-style villas, churches and tennis courts in imitation of life at home. Huge iron gates on the bridges once excluded the Chinese from Shamian - much as the Chinese had once forbidden foreigners to enter within Guangzhou's city walls - leaving the Europeans in self-imposed isolation from the bustle across the water.

 

Shamian retains something of that atmosphere today, a quiet bolt-hole for many long-term travellers in the city. There's restricted traffic flow, and the well-tended architecture, greenery and general peace make it a refreshing place to visit, even if you're not staying or sampling the restaurants and bars. There's also a good park on the Shamian Nan Jie esplanade, and two cannons , cast in nearby Foshan during the Opium Wars, facing out across the river behind the tennis court.