Dear  Members,

I’m going to be organising a trip to Guangzhou (Canton) and Hong Kong running from the 28th October to the 11th November. It will be organised along the lines of the Berlin and Amsterdam trips, that is, anyone who wants to join the trip will be responsible for booking their own accommodation and transportation. There will, therefore, be a fair amount of flexibility in regards to how you travel to the area, where you choose to stay and when you choose to go. That means that you will be free to leave and join when and where you please.

The plan for the timing of the trip is to be in Guangzhou for the first 8 days and in Hong Kong for the latter 5 or 6 days. There are flights available where you can fly in to Guangzhou and fly out of Hong Kong and travel between the two is quite straightforward. You could also consider flying into and out of Hong Kong as there is more availability to there from London and flights can be cheaper than flying in to Guangzhou. At the moment, indirect flights are showing up for around 600 to 650 pounds. Unfortunately, other than flying, alternative options are not particularly practical. As for accommodation options, these are numerous and there are hostels and hotels in both places, however, hotels tend to be relatively expensive in Hong Kong whereas in Guangzhou there are many cheap decent hotels available. For example, I’ve just had a quick look for the period I’m planning on being there and there was a Chinese chain hotel in a good location in Guangzhou (near the Chen Clan Temple) coming up for around 23 pounds a night for a room for 2.

As some of you may know, I lived and worked in Guangzhou for some years and I’m planning on showing you the different sides and sites of there. These will be as varied as seeing the more modern buildings such as the Guangzhou Opera House (designed by Zaha Hadid) and the Canton Tower (pictured in the photo attached) to the Qing era buildings which remain; to temples and parks. We may also take day or longer trips out of Guangzhou. As for Hong Kong, when I was living in Guangzhou, it was a place I visited fairly regularly and where I used to go hiking. Hong Kong is of course, known for its urban landscapes and shopping but in addition to that I’m planning on visiting an outlying island or two and taking you on a hike or two.

If anyone is interested in joining me, they can email me and I will be able to give them further details, advice and suggestions.

Best wishes,