Shamian Island

Shamian Island is located on the Pearl River in west-central Guangzhou and was a Franco-British concession in the middle of the 19th century.

After the Second Opium War, the island was ceded to France and the United Kingdom by the Treaty of Tianjin in 1859 and was recovered by the Republic of China in 1943. Therefore, the buildings here are mostly Western-style. We discover a famous French Catholic church, Notre-Dame de Lourdes in the Gothic-Lusitanian architectural style founded in 1892, an English Protestant church, Christ Church Shamian founded in 1865, the “White Swan” hotel, the first five-star hotel in China, the former branches of the banks of Hong Kong and Shanghai as well as the former British and French consulates erected on the island. These well-preserved old constructions stretch 900 meters long from east to west and 300 meters wide from south to north.

It is a quiet and airy place where you can walk around and is also a unique wedding photography location regularly chosen by newlyweds.

Useful information

Chinese Name: 沙面岛
Location: Downtown Guangzhou
Opening hours: All-day
Admission: Free
Recommended time of visit: 2-3 hours

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