Once a British and French concession, the 0.3-sq-km island had churches, consulates and banks. Now, it is mostly cafes and hotels, the most famous being White Swan Hotel, a landmark from the early 1980s.

Here, the pace of life is even slower, and one may not find it strange to sit on a bench for hours, gawking at boats that cruise up and down the river, as I did many times when I was living in the city.

Imagine old-style barges with sails, and you'll get a picture of late 19th-century or early 20th-century Guangzhou with the hustle and bustle befitting the earliest Chinese city to open to the world.

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