Check my list of events to find out what’s happening near you this CNY and which cultural activities your family may be interested in. There are some really awesome ones coming up!

Those, who have been in China for a while, know how tricky it can be sometimes to find specific information about events, not just those related to major holidays like Chinese New Year, taking place in and around Guangzhou. I can’t tell you how many times I felt ridiculously frustrated because I had missed a fantastic event only because I hadn’t seen it advertised/promoted anywhere and was not aware of it, neither was my Chinese husband or Chinese friends.

I find that most of the up-to-date information is mainly shared via Chinese social media accounts on platforms like Weibo, Douyin and Xiaohongshu, which many of us illiterate when it comes to Chinese characters, can’t access and not every app has a built-in translation function. Luckily some content also gets posted on official Wechat accounts and that’s where I get most of my information from. Having said that, I follow quite a few local accounts but in order to really be aware of everything that’s happening in the city, I’d literally have to do nothing all day but read articles on the hundreds of channels run by shopping malls, theatres, districts, scenic areas, etc. I think we can agree that, unlike abroad, in China, a website is no longer a first point of call and so finding information as a foreigner, can be really tricky…

Bearing that in mind, I did manage to find quite a lot of information about the upcoming Spring Festival! The list I created is by no means exhaustive, in fact I am absolutely certain there is LOADS more going on in the city this CNY, especially in the ancient villages like the one in Liede, but I just haven’t stumbled upon it while doing my online research. I included links so you can check photos/videos from the past years for yourselves. I did NOT include Flower Markets because they will get a separate post. I hope you’ll find this post useful and can enjoy some wonderful cultural activities with your family!

*This post may contain associate links, which means that I may receive a small commission from any purchase/transaction you make through them. Thank you!

Guangzhou Fireworks Show

Guangzhou hasn’t seen many fireworks in recent years so this is very special indeed. This is a huge event for the locals so expect large crowds!

Where? Baie Tan Art Centre, Liwan district.

When? 29th January, 8pm

How to book? 17 areas have been selected as best viewing locations (e.g. Shamian Island, area around the art centre, Renmin Bridge, Zhoutouju Park) and each requires reservation in advance; they will be temporarily closed to public. Bookings can be made via official Wechat channel of Guangzhou Fabu (广州发布). Free event. If you can’t be bothered about online tickets but would still like to see the fireworks, you may consider booking a room in one of the hotels near Baie Tan, e.g. in Haizhu, by the river, and watch them from the comfort of your room though of course the experience won’t be quite the same:) Feel free to use Trip.com to search for suitable rooms; I find they have the best selection of local accommodation.

Yuexiu Park Lantern Festival

Every year large areas of the park become home to tens of stunning, large lanterns. This year the main entrance of the park will feature a gigantic, 7-story high phoenix and some lanterns will be floating on the lake! Note that areas of the park, where lanterns are not located, are still free to enter and in order to visit Guangzhou Museum you need to purchase a separate ticket at 10rmb pp, 9:30-17:30, closed on Mondays. This is a wonderful event, kids love it! Here you’ll find lots of photos from last year’s festival.

Where? Yuexiu Park, Line 2 Yuexiu Park (gongyuan) station, exit B1.

When? 16th January-16th February; lights come on at 6pm.

How to book? Tickets for the lantern festival need to be purchased either online or at the park’s gate. Normal price-40rm per adult, 20 per child. If you book online via Guangzhou Shi Yuexiu Gongyuan-park’s official Wechat channel , you’ll get a discount and pay 32rmb per adult. Expect intense crowds on the main days of Spring Festival and try not to drive there as parking is limited. If you absolutely have to drive, try the Convention Centre opposite the park. Tickets can be purchased on the park’s official channel.

Guangfu Temple Fair, Yuexiu

This extravaganza, as that is what it is, is held annually in Yuexiu’s old tourist areas and is characterised by hundreds of cultural performances, from lion dances, to kung fu shows, Hanfu parades, musical performances, intangible heritage workshops, you name it! Last year nearly 5 MILLION people visited the fair! Similar to Flower Markets, in addition to lively events, one can also enjoy lots of food at many stalls, buy handicraft or participate in various activities, many of which are especially aimed at children.

Where? Beijing Road, Temple of Five Immortals, Zhongshan 4th Road, Xihu Rd, Yangji village. No exact address as the area is large. Best metro stop to get off at is Beijing Road on Line 2. Check out the photos from last year’s event here.

When? 12th February-18th February. Opening ceremony 3pm, other days 10am-22.

Nansha Super Lantern Festival

That’s not the official name of this event but that’s what many call it since it is going to be a huge, record-breaking affair! Imagine 870 acres (a whopping 58 hectares) of land, over 3km long, displaying 218 gorgeous lanterns (crafted by over 1,000 artisans) depicting chinese cultural elements and figures (largest number of lanterns in China!). But that’s not all! This is the biggest lantern festival in the GBA area with 11 cities participating, which means over 100 food stalls alone, not to mention the many stages, hundreds of concerts, performances, light shows and many family-friendly activities, such as lion dances, riddles, calligraphy workshops, etc. Here’s the ad for it, looks absolutely amazing!

Where? Nansha district

When? 22nd Jan-30th March (yes, 68 days!), closed on 28th Jan; lights come on at 5pm but opening hours are 3:30-22:30 daily.

How to book? Tickets are priced at 68rmb-168rmb depending on when you go. You get the low price when booking online before CNY starts, during CNY expect to pay 168rmb, then 128rmb if you decide to go after the holiday weekend. Weekdays are cheaper and will cost you 98rmb for a standard ticket. Kids shorter than 1.2m go in for free and anyone under 18 can enter on a discounted student ticket as long as they show a proof that they attend an educational establishment. Book via Da Wan Qu Deng Hui (大湾区灯会 – Greater Bay Area Lantern Festival official channel). Remember to bring your ID!

Grandview Tang Dynasty Thousand Lantern Event, Tianhe

If you were thinking of visiting Grandview mall with family this weekend, you may want to think twice because yes, you will see the beautifully-decorated 5th floor, amazing stage with many evening performances, costume parades and intangible culture workshops but that’s assuming you will get through the crazy crowds! As Grandview mall is an open public space, there are no tickets and that also means thousands upon thousands of visitors wanting to get a glimpse of the planned shows. You have been warned:)

Where? Grandview mall, Tiyu Xi Road. Metro Line 3 to Tiyu XiLu, exit C (located under Teemall) or APM line Sport Centre South (exits opposite Grandview, access via underground pass/market).

When? 17th-19th January

Yuntai Garden Tulip Expo, Yuexiu

Every year, the stunningly colourful Yuntai Garden at the South entrance of Baiyun mountain, holds Tulip Expo, an event bursting with colour of over 10,000 tulips, which kids and adults will undoubtedly love. As Guangzhou is ‘flower city’ and it is traditional at Spring Festival to buy flowers (thus the many Flower Markets, which I will list in a separate post) you can be sure the place will be heaving on the main days of the festival but go on a weekday morning and it should be a much more relaxing experience. If you’ve never been to Yuntai Garden-it is a lovely, large park with great views of the city.

In addition to this event, other parts of Baiyun mountain have their own CNY events: Orchid Show at Mengxing Scenic Area(24th Jan-16th Feb), Flower Show at the new, beautiful Yunluo Botanical Garden, next to Yuntai Garden, and Hydrangea Show at Spring Valley Scenic Area(Jan 1st-Feb 12th). This time of year is the best period to see plum, peach and cherry blossoms in various parts of Baiyun mountain, e.g. Peach Blossom Valley neat the West Gate. Please bring ID.

Where? Yuntai Garden, Baiyun mountain, Yuexiu district. Nearest metro is Yuntai Garden, exit A or C1 on Line 11. Parking is very limited and believe me, you will struggle to find a spot so I strongly suggest taking a Didi, metro or a cable car from the top of Baiyun mountain, which stops next to Yuntai Garden:)

When? 24th Jan-16th Feb, 8am-6pm

How to book? Full price 10rmb, 5rmb for a child, free for kids below the age of 6, purchased on site either at the ticket counter or via QR codes.

SUNAC Live action show ‘Dream of Lignan’, Huadu

This might not be ideal for the little ones but older kids might like what’s supposed to be a large-scale, visually stunning cultural show organised on the first day of the New Year so 29th January. Imagine multi-dimensional stage, 4,000 seats, a magical water curtain and dazzling lights, wire-flying stunts, display of martial arts, history of Lignan area and its folk customs presented through modern songs performed with traditional instruments.

Where? Sunac Cultural Tourism City, Huadu. It is possible to take the metro but it would take forever and it is quite complicated so I suggest you self-drive or take a taxi.

When? 29th January-28th February

How to book? From Jan 29th-4th Feb there will be two shows daily at 6:30pm and 8:30pm. From Feb 5th-Feb 28th there will be one show, at 6:30pm. Tickets are priced at 138rmb per adult, VIP ticket 288rmb, children 98rmb, there are also packages where you can combine with show with Sunac Paradise. Tickets available on site or use Sunac Land Wechat channel to buy online.

Grandview Maofeng Mountain Thousand Lights Festival, Baiyun

More lanterns to admire, this time at the gorgeous Maofeng Mountain in northern Baiyun district. If you want to see the amazingly shaped lanterns but don’t fancy potentially having twenty strangers in each of your photos and being elbow to elbow with other visitors, or you want to combine culture + nature then you should definitely give this place a try! In addition to lanterns, there will be over 50 folk performances, lion dances and costume parades. Keep reading to find out about other events in Baiyun!

Where? Yuansheng Green Villa, Maofeng Mountain, Baiyun. Best option is to self-drive as you’ll struggle to get a taxi back, once you reach green villa carry on for another 300 metres and you’ll reach the entrance to the show.

When? 25th-27th January, 3pm-21

Lotus Hill Peach Blossom Cultural Festival, Panyu

This natural attraction occasionally also hosts cultural events and CNY is a time when you can visit this interesting natural spot and see lion dance performances on water, the amazing Yingge folk dance and other activities, all in the attractive surrounding of Lotus Hill Scenic Area.

Where? Lotus Hill (Lianhuashan), Panyu district. Take Line 4 to Shiqi station and a taxi from there.

When? Activities start on 18th January, morning. Tickets can be purchased on site. Go to Lianhuashan’s offical Wechat channel to find out more (Guangzhou Lianhuashan Jing Qu).

Shawan Ancient Town, Panyu

This even, held in the beautifully-preserved 800-year old ancient town of Shawan, is a bit different as it is related to silver! Thus if you go there (far, really far but so worth it) you can expect silver-themed activities and traditional wedding events, plus the usual CNY activities, such as intangible culture activities/workshops.

Where? Shawan Ancient Town, Panyu district. Take Line 3 to Shiqiao station or to Panyu Square and a taxi from there.

When? 29th Jan-3rd Feb

Cultural Park Flower Fair, Liwan

Same park, where I went to admire the Chrysanthemum Festival a while ago (see post about it here), is also the home of many cultural performances. The large centre stage is perfect for lion and dragon dances, Cantonese Opera performances and talent shows and throughout the park one will be able to see calligraphy and painting exhibitions, theatrical shows, . The park itself has also been richly decorated for CNY and has 30 large lanterns beautifully lit up after 6pm.

Where? Cultural Park, Liwan district. Take Line 6 to Cultural Park station and get off at exit A, it will take you to the side entrance.

When? 28th Jan-13th Feb, lanterns lit up between Feb 11th-Feb 13th, lion + dragon dance only on 29th-30th Jan. Interestingly sounding Children’s Spring Festival Cantonese Opera Party will take place on Jan 19th!

Baomo Garden, Panyu

I absolutely adore this Chinese-style garden full of pavilions, ponds with koi fish, beautiful bridges and flowers. It is an amazing, relaxing place, that deserves to be much more well-known! Well, if you haven’t been yet, this is your opportunity! Baomo Garden is going to host Lignan Lion Folk Culture Festival, with lion dance performances, costume parades and other Spring Festival activities, all held is stunning surroundings.

Where? Baomo Garden (bao mo yuan), Panyu district. Take Line 3 to Panyu Square and then a taxi.

When? TBC

Nanhai CCTV Film and TV Town

Ok, so this is a bit of a stretch as this place is officially located in Foshan BUT in my defense, it is on the border with Guangzhou and I just had to mention it! Visited recently, when they were setting up for CNY and they have tens of amazing things planned for New Year’s Day-29th Jan. What makes this location very different is that you’ll be watching drama/dance/action performances surrounded by fake but nonetheless incredibly impressive film locations, like massive ancient halls, a water town, a temple. For kids, there are two playgrounds, go karts, a mini zoo and lots of other attractions. Read all about this unique place in my next post!

When? 29th January

Where? Nanhai CCTV Film and TV Town, Yingshicheng Avenue, Shishan Town, Nanhai district, Foshan. Self-driving or a taxi is the best option. If you happen to live near a train station, Foshan’s East Railway Station is closeby. It took us just 40min to drive there from Baiyun, less than driving to Zhujiang New Town!

How to book? This is the official website, in ENGLISH, though it doesn’t seem to mention CNY performances. Staff speak some English so it might be worth calling and asking. Normal ticket price is 90rmb, kids below 1.2m enter free, concession ticket costs 55 rmb. Tickets cover the site and all the shows, the only part I’m not sure of is the mini zoo/amusement park as we did not go there.

Watch this space for more info coming up!

Feel free to let me and other readers know about any CNY events and activities happening in your area in the comments below:)