The Ocean Hotel and Views of Guangzhou
I stayed in the Ocean Hotel, a four-star hotel in the center of Guangzhou. The breakfast room (aka the Western cafe) was on the 26th floor and provided good views of the city when the weather was clear, as it was most of the time that I was there.
Here is a typical view from the top floor of the Ocean Hotel. Guangzhou is changing fast, to the point that Xiaodong (Zheng Mei's husband, not to be confused with my host here, Ni Xiaohong) said he could hardly recognize the place even though he had only been away for seven years. Please note the little oval on the left. It is not a race track or a swimming pool, but a very imaginative pedestrian walkway over a busy intersection. You can walk up to it from several places, go around as much of the circle as you need to, and exit. I found it to be extremely handy. Later you will see one in Guiyang that is covered and filled with shops inside.
The view of Guangzhou in another direction. Notice the brown haze near the horizon—a sign of heavy air pollution.
There happened to be a couple of workers hanging down during the time I was taking photos. I leaned waaay over the wall and got this shot.
Here is part of the breakfast room on the 26th floor. The food was very good.
Here is a view toward the north. In the distance you can see a mountain top with some white buildings. This is White Cloud Mountain, where we walked the day after I arrived.
Here is a closer view of White Cloud Mountain.
The name of the hotel on the roof.
Another view of downtown Guangzhou. There are a surprising number of trees and amount of greenery for such a crowded city.
Here is the front desk of the Ocean Hotel.
Here is my new friend Mona (Zhang Xuemei). She works in the Business Center at the Ocean Hotel, where I would go daily to access the Internet. On the last night I was there, she asked where I lived, and that started a nice conversation. I was able to show her some of the photos on my Web site.