Marina Reskovich: A Night On The Pearl River

 

Last night we went on a cruise through the pearl river delta. It was a really interesting cruise because we got to see the city through a new perspective and we saw how busy the city gets during the night time.

 

The first thing I noticed upon arriving to the boat cruise was how many native Chinese people were actually waiting to get tickets for the cruise. I think we might have been some of the only tourists. But, the fact that it has been a holiday weekend may have added to the abundance of what seemed to be local people. 

 

It was a really beautiful cruise; we had assigned seating downstairs on the first floor but most of us decided to go up to the deck, where you were outside, and could see the beautiful lights and scenery first hand. Having been the day leader, I had already researched my topic and knew somewhat what to expect, but I was still really surprised with how completely modern the architecture was. One might have expected to see  historical sites, but I think the charm of the cruise is to see the city dressed up at night, not to have a history lesson.

 

I wondered with a few other students, as we looked up to the sky, if the people of Guangzhou ever got the pleasure of seeing the moon and the stars like we do in Vancouver. This question remained on my mind throughout the cruise.

The people on the boat seemed to be having a wonderful time, and it seemed to me that the act of sharing a beautiful scenery with friends and family and a few drinks was really the point of the cruise. There were many cruises going on at once so it seemed to me that it was a popular thing to do amongst the people.

 

All in all the boat cruise was a great way to see the city lit up at night and to see how modern the city Guangzhou is. It was not a great learning experience in terms of the landscape unfortunately, for there was no narration in English to describe the scenery, but it was most definitely incredible to see the lights of the city in that way, especially that of the Canton tower. It was really enjoyable to see the energy of the city at night, and to see people take a moment to relax in such a busy and big city.

Marina is a third year Bachelor of Tourism Management student.