Journey to the East
Once a thriving 20th century neighbourhood full of foreigners and returning overseas Chinese, the beautiful tree-lined streets of Dongshankou have been given a new life
Over the past couple of decades, Guangzhou and other major cities across China have experienced a construction boom at a speed that’s second to none around the world. But just like with the French Concession in Shanghai and Beijing’s historic Qianmen, the southern metropolis of 15 million still has remarkable pockets of the past where residents can seek refuge from the urban development happening all around them.
Dongshankou, a small neighbourhood to the east of Guangzhou’s historic centre (its name ‘东山口’ literally means ‘east mountain entrance’, has traditionally been an area overlooked, but things have changed over the past few years. Consisting mainly of an assemblage of some 700 homes built by overseas Chinese in Western architectural styles during the early 20th century, this once sleepy pocket of the city is now waking up to a new cool crop of cocktail bars, hipster cafes, art galleries and boutique shops.
Intent on exploring the district, we were dropped off on the outskirts of Dongshankou, seeking shelter from the seasonal downpour in a rather beautiful branch of Starbucks, housed in a converted trader’s residence. Once the deluge had ended, we strolled east towards Dongshankou proper, where tree-lined narrow streets connect low-rise red brick buildings fulfilling a mix of functions: some of the city's most important schools are found here, alongside district government offices, churches, shops selling arts and crafts, and low key restaurants serving hearty portions of dumplings and noodles to hungry locals. The new wave is most noticeable through the many art galleries that dot the area, with names such as 1922, which holds regular exhibitions and art walks.
Perhaps the most well-known of the newcomers is Hope & Sesame, Guangzhou’s first speakeasy – which ranked 15th on the 2021 Asia’s 50 Best Bars list – discretely hidden behind the façade of a Cantonese cafe on Miaoqian Xi Jie. “Dongshan has this old-world charm; the area is filled with protected heritage buildings, with a beautiful river running through the heart of the district,” says co-founder Andrew Ho, a Hong Kong-born former hotelier who opened the bar with his Swiss partner Bastien Ciocca in 2016. “The area has a real authenticity to it: modest wet markets frequented by locals; the aroma of home cooking filling the streets every day. This old area was where we believed we could create the biggest contrast if we opened a cocktail concept bar.”
Hope & Sesame is admittedly a clever name for a speakeasy - just try saying the name repeatedly in rapid succession - but many locals only know it by the Chinese name, Miaoqian Bingshi, which translates to ‘ice room in front of the temple’ (‘bingshi’ being a type of Cantonese café serving cold drinks, and Miaoqian also the name of the street on which the bar is located). In the five years since the bar’s opening, Dongshan has gone through a significant transformation. Ho adds his sales pitch, “It's a down-to-earth, authentic neighbourhood with an artsy vibe, combining history, green spaces, hip lifestyle and cool F&B options – and all just a 10-minute drive from the CBD.”
That startling change is rapidly apparent as you leave quiet Dongshan for the high rise and bright lights of Zhujiang, the government-planned central business district built over the last decade. Soaring skyscrapers stand at the CBD’s centre, across the river from the landmark Canton Tower, while at its heart is the remarkable Flower City Square, a pedestrian-only elliptical park filled with walkways and restaurants that stretches several kilometres from north to south, ending at the spectacular stadium on Haixinsha Island, which hosted the opening ceremony of the 2010 Asian Games.
Although she now works in Macao, Guangzhou native Pauling Pan was the opening chief concierge at the Rosewood Guangzhou, which occupies the top 16 floors of the soaring 111-storey CTF Finance Centre, one of the city's twin towers – the other, the Guangzhou International Finance Center (a mere 103 floors), sits on the opposite side of the park. Located close to the banks of the Pearl River, and the sleek Zaha Hadid-designed Opera House, this modern metropolis tower of glass and steel stands in looming contrast with the small, charming brick residences found in Dongshankou.
“I first visited Dongshankou as a kid while riding my bicycle with friends,” Pan tells me, recalling her initial encounter with the area. “I distinctly remember passing by all these old foreign-looking schools and churches built more than 100 years ago by foreign missionaries, and the beautiful Western villas put up by returning overseas Chinese. I was also so surprised to find that, instead of being rundown as I thought, everything was well-maintained - I never realised Guangzhou had a place like this.”
Pan believes that the reason for the district’s ongoing regeneration is the efforts of the local district government in protecting and maintaining the area, providing the strong platform for Dongshankou to thrive. The influx of local artists and businesses seeking heritage properties is also attracting the city's younger generation to the area. “The old-fashioned Dongshan department store is a place that brings back fond childhood memories for me,” adds Pan, “while I love the many quiet places where I can drink coffee and read a book, and I always check out the independent galleries and stores.”
Such as the ones run by Chosen Chen, the business development manager of Local Landscape, a contemporary national art and lifestyle brand behind three intriguing venues in Dongshan: The Hills, a lifestyle concept store focused on eco-living; Public Space, a contemporary arts gallery featuring interactive art exhibitions; and The Aura, which has transformed the ground floor of an elegant red brick house into a quiet, open-air cafe serving lattes and rooibos, next to a interior displaying imported scents.
“This is a special community,” says Chen, “our neighbours are all very laidback, which you don’t find often in cities like Guangzhou.” He expresses the hope that Dongshan will continue to be a place where you can see an art exhibition, enjoy a cup of tea, and shop for locally-made products. “In many ways it’s just like the old days here, when citizens used to gather under a big banyan tree with snacks and fans at the end of a hot summer day. As dusk fell, they’d share stories and spend time with neighbours, who were as close as friends. This is the life that we hope to find once again, in Dongshan.”
What a great place! What a great read!