Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year (January/February), is China’s most important festival, celebrated by enjoying a New Year feast with family, hanging red lanterns and setting off firecrackers. Guangzhou’s celebrations see the Pearl River lit up with magnificent fireworks displays and The Spring Festival Flower Market, which dates back to the Ming dynasty and is one of the city’s best known cultural events.

The Guangzhou International Dragon Boat race on the Pearl River takes place on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month (May/June) and celebrates the Duanwu Festival. People gather from all over the world to participate in the colourful event, which sees the dragon boats race between the Haiyin and Guangzhou bridges.

August sees tourists flood the streets of the city’s Panyu Distrcit for the Guangzhou Lotus Festival, where they can see specimens of the flower and sample food made from them. Foodies will love September’s Guangzhou International Gourmet Festival, which began in 1997 and showcases the best of the city’s world renowned cuisine.

The Mid-Autumn festival (September/October), sees local delicacies including moon cakes and shaddocks and is a time to sit and appreciate the moon. Many visitors enjoy the festivities with a Pearl River cruise or from the top of Baiyun mountain.