Green Promenade in the center of Shamian Island (Guangzhou Daily)
With crimson flowers dotting the peaceful streets and gardens offering a small haven of tranquility, Shamian island has experienced a rebirth after two months of renovation. The beautiful yellow colonial buildings give out a warm glow in the afternoon sun, a scenery easily mistaken for a small provincial town in southern Europe.
Anyone visiting Shamian over the past two months would definitely have been in for a disappointment. Its was noisy, dusty, and scaffolding covered all the most interesting buildings. Now it has all disappeared, revealing the original appearance of over 150 protected buildings. "This is what it looked like decades ago, European visitors can see what their ancestors built here," says Professor Tang Guohua from Guangzhou University who was in charge of the protected buildings during the renovation campaign.
