On the afternoon of April 17, Zhenhai Building, which has a history of more than 600 years, welcomed more than 60 overseas buyers of the 135th Canton Fair. The Yuexiu District Bureau of Commerce and the China Foreign Trade Center jointly organized the "Into Yuexiu - The 135th Canton Fair Business Delegation" to invite overseas buyers to enter Yuexiu District. Yuexiu flowers bloom, merchants visit the city landmarks to understand the thousand-year-old business capital, taste the "ten elegance" to experience the Cantonese culture, taste the "one cup and two pieces" that touch the taste buds, and see the colorful night view of Yangcheng. In Yuexiu, overseas buyers can meet friends with flowers, and feel the unique charm of Guangzhou, the "thousand-year-old business capital".
Ancient Yue and Jinxiu unlock the history of Guangzhou's foreign trade development
Guangzhou has always been a bustling shopping mall, since the rise of the Maritime Silk Road, Guangzhou has always been a foreign trade port.
At the first stop of the Guangzhou Museum, the docent vividly introduced the history of Guangzhou's foreign trade development to the overseas buyers of the delegation, and the merchants were fascinated by the blue glass bowls of the Western Han Dynasty, the crystal agate coral beads of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the yellow glazed Hu figurines of the Sui and Tang dynasties, and the silver coins of Venice and Bangladesh in the Ming Dynasty, and asked the docent about the origin of the exhibits from time to time. When they came to the Ming and Qing dynasties, such as the export heraldic porcelain plates and the Guangcai character pattern bowls, which were the "best-sellers" of Guangzhou's foreign trade at that time, they raised their cameras to take pictures.
"2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil, which has been Brazil's most important trading partner since 2009. During the Canton Fair, we were able to learn about the business culture of Guangzhou's 'Millennium Business Capital', which also increased our confidence in looking for business opportunities in Guangzhou. ”
Ancient and modern show, experience the Cantonese culture that has been flowing over the years
The merchants came to the second stop of the itinerary - Orchid Garden. This year, the series of activities of the "Orchid Blossom and Yuexiu" Cultural Tourism Week created the "Ten Elegance" ancient style and elegance in Guangzhou Orchid Garden, using flowers as the medium to inherit excellent traditional culture, lighting up the new fashion of cultural tourism with science and technology, and innovating to create the "elegant" cultural brand of Huacheng flowers. Yuexiu District will meet friends with orchids, make friends with orchids, make friends with customers from all over the world, and invite merchants to experience the "elegant" culture of flowers in Huacheng. Along the way, the merchants felt the ancient style of "ten elegances" such as flowers, incense, tea, rain, piano, games, wine, reading, waiting for the moon, and seeking seclusion, and at the same time learned and experienced grass painting, embroidery, silhouettes, etc. from the intangible cultural heritage inheritors.
Guqin has taken root in Lingnan as early as the Han Dynasty. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there were many famous qin people in Guangzhou Prefecture, and the Tibetan qin was also abundant; the thousand-year-old crossing of the ancient song "Bijian Liuquan" played by the "Yaluqi" qin in the Ming Dynasty appeared in the guqin booth of the orchid. The inheritor, Mr. Ou Hongshan, taught the merchants to play the guqin by hand, and introduced the traditional Chinese culture to the merchants. "The performance of the Lingnan guqin creates a clear, subtle, light and distant artistic conception, which fully reflects the simple, robust, hearty and bright characteristics of the Lingnan Qin School. ”
The merchants followed the teacher to paint the colorful Tongcao painting, the inheritor Su Xin teacher introduced: "Tongcao painting emerged in Guangzhou in the 18th and 19th centuries, its unique materials and brushwork are full of strong Lingnan color, so that it has become the best-selling traditional handicraft in the maritime Silk Road trade with Guangcai, Guangxiu and other export products. ”
Representatives of Australian enterprises and reporters said: "This delegation is a very special experience, and we are very grateful to Yuexiu District for allowing us to experience the unique charm of Chinese culture." When we go back, we will share the experience of this delegation with our friends, and invite our relatives and friends to come to Guangzhou to experience it again. ”
Ancient Yue and Jinxiu, sharing authentic Cantonese "one cup and two pieces"
Cantonese refreshments have long been world-famous, and the merchants of this delegation came to Diandude in the center of Liuhua to enjoy Cantonese refreshments that touched their taste buds. Diandude, originated in 1933, inherits the tea drinking culture of old Guangzhou, and is a Cantonese teahouse that has won the title of time-honored brand in Guangzhou.
The Cantonese tea culture impressed the merchants. Combined with the theme of this "Lanyuan Shenghui" activity, Diandude specially made a dim sum chrysanthemum cake with flowers as the point. Cantonese dim sum and Cantonese food customs pay attention to not eating from time to time, and all ingredients are fresh and seasonal. Chrysanthemum cake is a seasonal cake made from chrysanthemums (edible ingredients). Here, the merchants tasted the four kings of morning tea, the famous Hua Dan Jinsha red rice sausage and other characteristic Cantonese dim sum, and they were full of praise for it.
Diandude's char siu bun making technique has been awarded the "Intangible Cultural Heritage" award. Huang Guangming, the national production director of Diandude, also introduced the two Cantonese dim sum production processes of shrimp dumplings and barbecued pork buns to the merchants. The merchants watched the shrimp dumplings and barbecued pork buns they were tasting gradually taking shape in the hands of the dim sum master, and the whole process of bending comb thirteen folds and yin and yang skin was displayed in front of the merchants.
As night fell, the river breeze was blowing, and the merchants finally came to the last stop of the trip, the Pearl River night tour. From the deck, you can see the lights on both sides of the river, and the traffic is bustling. The night of Yuexiu's prosperous city and the thousand-year-old beauty of the Maritime Silk Road are deeply imprinted in their hearts.
Yangcheng flowers bloom in April, and business opportunities come from ancient times and present. Since its establishment, more than 9.3 million overseas businessmen have participated in the Canton Fair, and 195 global partners have participated in the Canton Fair, which has effectively promoted trade exchanges and friendly exchanges between China and other countries and regions around the world.
The person in charge of the Yuexiu District Bureau of Commerce introduced: "This year's Canton Fair business delegation shares the business travel culture with overseas merchants, so that merchants can understand the history of the 'thousand-year-old business capital', and promote the business travel culture of Yuexiu District to 'go global'." Yuexiu District is the city center of Guangzhou for more than 2,200 years, and is the most concentrated area of the city's administration, commerce and culture, and is known as the 'cultural source of Guangzhou and the core of the thousand-year-old commercial capital'. The economic density here has exceeded 10 billion yuan per square kilometer, ranking first in the province and third in the country, and the business opportunities here are unlimited. We also look forward to the global merchants to harvest a wonderful experience in the beautiful Yuexiu, increase business and cultural exchanges with Yuexiu District, and build the future together. ”
Text: Reporter Li Chunwei, Correspondent Zhan Pingping, Correspondent Hu Qiangming