春节广州 Day 5 - Sunday, February 22, 2026

Morning: 木棉花开 · 羊城街头 / Kapok Blossoms Along the Streets

出门就看到了广州的市花——木棉花。高大的木棉树上，火红的花朵像一盏盏小灯笼挂在枝头，在蓝天映衬下格外好看。广州人叫木棉树”英雄树”，因为它开花的时候没有一片叶子，光秃秃的枝干上全是花，有一种”我不需要绿叶衬托”的霸气。

Stepping out, we were greeted by Guangzhou’s city flower — the kapok blossom. Fiery red flowers hung from the tall, leafless branches like little lanterns against the blue sky. Locals call the kapok the “hero tree” because it blooms without a single leaf, its bare branches blazing with flowers alone — a bold beauty that needs no green foliage for support.

Did you know? 木棉花是广州的市花，每年2—3月盛开。木棉花掉落后，广州人会捡回家晒干，用来煲汤或泡茶，据说有清热祛湿的功效。所以木棉又叫”红棉”，是一种又好看又实用的花！ The kapok is Guangzhou’s official city flower, blooming every February and March. After the blossoms fall, locals collect and dry them for soups and teas believed to clear heat and dampness. Beautiful and practical!

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Morning: 陈家祠 · 岭南建筑艺术的明珠 / Chen Clan Ancestral Hall: Pearl of Lingnan Architecture

七十二县的陈家人 · Built by 72 Counties

走进陈家祠——正式名称叫”陈氏书院”——就像走进了一座岭南传统工艺的博物馆。这座宏伟的建筑群建于清朝光绪年间（1894年），由广东七十二个县的陈姓家族合资兴建。当年，陈氏族人们凑钱盖了这座书院，既是祭祀祖先的祠堂，也是各地陈姓子弟来广州赶考时的住所。想象一下，一百多年前，来自广东各地的陈家孩子们背着书箱，长途跋涉来到这里，住在祠堂里准备科举考试——这里就是他们在大城市的”家”。

Stepping into the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall — officially the “Chen Clan Academy” — is like entering a living museum of Lingnan traditional craftsmanship. This magnificent complex was built during the Qing Guangxu era (completed in 1894), jointly funded by Chen-surname clans from 72 counties across Guangdong Province. It served a dual purpose: an ancestral temple for worship and a hostel for Chen clan students traveling to Guangzhou for the imperial examinations. Imagine, over a century ago, young scholars named Chen arriving from all corners of Guangdong with their book chests, staying in this grand hall as their “home” in the big city while preparing for the exams.

Did you know? 陈是广东第一大姓！在广东，差不多每7个人里就有一个姓陈。所以七十二个县的陈家人合力建造这座祠堂，工程之大、参与之广，在全国都是罕见的。 Chen is the most common surname in Guangdong — roughly one in every seven people! That’s why clans from 72 counties could pool resources to build something this grand, a scale of collaboration rarely seen anywhere in China.

五绝：五种神奇的手工艺 · The Five Traditional Arts

陈家祠最令人赞叹的，是建筑上精美绝伦的装饰工艺。这里集中了岭南建筑装饰的”五绝”——木雕、石雕、砖雕、灰塑、陶塑。每一种工艺都是一个世界，让人看了移不开眼。

What makes Chen Clan Ancestral Hall truly breathtaking is the exquisite decorative artistry covering every surface. The hall showcases the “Five Arts” of Lingnan architectural decoration — wood carving, stone carving, brick carving, lime sculpture (huisu), and ceramic sculpture (taosu). Each craft is a world unto itself, impossible to look away from.

木雕 Wood Carving — 走进大厅，抬头就能看到精雕细刻的木雕屏风和梁架。匠人们在一块块木头上雕出了花鸟、人物、故事场景，每个细节都栩栩如生。最厉害的是”镂空雕”——木头被一层层镂空，像立体的剪纸一样，光线能透过来！

Step inside the main halls and look up: intricately carved wooden screens and beam frames fill the space. Artisans carved flowers, birds, figures, and story scenes into wood with lifelike detail. The most impressive technique is “openwork carving” — layers of wood carved through like three-dimensional paper-cutting, letting light filter through!

石雕 Stone Carving — 门口的石狮子和柱础上的石雕，线条流畅，气势雄浑。石头虽然坚硬，但在匠人手里却变得柔软，花瓣的纹路、毛发的质感，都刻得清清楚楚。

The stone lions at the entrance and the carvings on column bases show flowing lines and powerful presence. Though stone is the hardest of materials, in the hands of master carvers it becomes soft — you can see every petal vein, every strand of fur.

砖雕 Brick Carving — 墙壁上的砖雕更是精妙。普通的青砖，在匠人的刻刀下变成了一幅幅精美的画。花草树木、亭台楼阁、飞鸟走兽，层次分明，就像一幅立体的水墨画嵌进了墙壁里。

The brick carvings on the walls are even more extraordinary. Ordinary grey bricks become exquisite paintings under the artisan’s chisel — flora, pavilions, birds, and beasts rendered in distinct layers, as if a three-dimensional ink painting had been embedded into the wall itself.

灰塑 Lime Sculpture (Huisu) — 抬头看屋脊和墙头，那些色彩艳丽的装饰就是灰塑。用石灰、稻草、糖水调成的材料，塑成花果、瑞兽、人物故事，然后涂上鲜艳的颜色。经过一百多年风吹日晒，颜色依然鲜艳，这手艺真是了不起！

Look up at the roof ridges and wall tops for the colorfully painted decorations — that’s lime sculpture. Made from a mixture of lime, straw, and sugar water, these figures of fruits, auspicious beasts, and story scenes are painted in vivid colors. After more than a century of sun and rain, the colors remain bright — a testament to incredible craftsmanship!

陶塑 Ceramic Sculpture (Taosu) — 最壮观的要数正脊上的陶塑了。整条屋脊上排列着彩色的陶塑人物和故事场景，正脊陶塑长卷《百鸟朝凤》全长27米，是目前所知最大的陶塑屋脊装饰！几百只形态各异的鸟，朝着中间的凤凰飞来，场面宏大又生动。远远望去，整条屋脊就像一条流动的彩色画卷。

The most spectacular of all are the ceramic sculptures along the main roof ridge. The entire ridgeline is lined with colorful ceramic figures and narrative scenes. The masterpiece — A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix (Bainiao Chao Feng) — stretches an astonishing 27 meters long, the largest known ceramic ridge decoration! Hundreds of birds in unique poses fly toward the central phoenix, creating a scene both grand and vivid. From a distance, the entire ridge looks like a flowing scroll of color.

Did you know? 陈家祠的陶塑来自广东佛山石湾，那里被称为”南国陶都”，制陶历史超过5000年。石湾陶塑以人物和动物形象生动著称，被列为国家级非物质文化遗产。所以你在屋脊上看到的每一只鸟、每一个人物，都是出自石湾陶艺大师之手！ The ceramic sculptures at Chen Clan Hall come from Shiwan in Foshan, known as the “Ceramic Capital of the South” with over 5,000 years of pottery history. Shiwan ceramics are famous for their lifelike human and animal figures and are listed as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Every bird and figure on that rooftop was crafted by Shiwan ceramic masters!

玉兰花开 · Magnolia Season

庭院里的玉兰花正含苞待放，洁白的花苞在阳光下泛着温润的光泽。有几朵已经绽开了，衬着身后古色古香的陶塑屋脊，形成了一幅绝美的画面——活的花和不朽的花，跨越百年在同一个院子里绽放。

In the courtyards, magnolia trees were on the verge of blooming. Pristine white buds gleamed softly in the sunlight. A few had already opened, framed against the antique ceramic ridge behind them — living flowers and immortal ones, blooming together in the same courtyard across a span of a hundred years.

全家福时间 · Family Photo Time

在陈家祠的庭院里和正殿前，我们留下了好几张全家福。古朴的岭南建筑做背景，红色的灯笼和春联增添了节日气氛。妈妈说这是整趟旅行里她最喜欢的拍照地点，因为”有文化底蕴的地方拍出来的照片，看着就不一样”。

We took several family photos in the courtyards and in front of the grand hall. With the classic Lingnan architecture as our backdrop, red lanterns and Spring Festival couplets added festive flair. Mom said this was her favorite photo spot of the entire trip because “photos taken in places with cultural depth just look different.”

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Afternoon: 永庆坊再访 · 白天的不同面孔 / Yongqingfang Revisited: A Different Face by Day

市井烟火 vs 灯火璀璨 · Market Bustle vs. Evening Glow

三天前的夜晚，我们第一次来到永庆坊，那时是灯火璀璨的夜景，霓虹灯映在荔枝湾涌的水面上，浪漫而梦幻。今天白天再来，永庆坊完全换了一副面孔——变成了充满市井烟火气的老街市。

Three evenings ago, we first visited Yongqingfang at night — neon lights reflecting on the surface of Lichee Bay Creek, romantic and dreamlike. Returning by daylight, Yongqingfang had put on an entirely different face — it had become a bustling, lively old market street full of everyday warmth.

窄窄的巷子里挤满了逛街的人，两旁的小店卖着各种有趣的东西：手工糖画、岭南特色小吃、文创纪念品、广式凉茶……空气里飘着各种食物的香味。昭昭在一家小摊前停下来，看师傅用糖浆画出一条金色的龙，眼睛都看直了。

The narrow alleyways were packed with strollers, flanked by shops selling all manner of delights: handmade sugar paintings, Lingnan street snacks, creative souvenirs, Cantonese herbal teas… The air was rich with the aroma of food. Zhaozhao stopped transfixed at a stall watching a craftsman draw a golden dragon with sugar syrup, eyes wide with wonder.

白天的永庆坊让我们看到了广州老城最真实的生活气息。如果说夜晚的永庆坊是一幅精美的油画，那白天的永庆坊就是一幅热闹的风俗画，每一笔都是鲜活的市井百态。

Daytime Yongqingfang showed us the most authentic pulse of old Guangzhou. If the nighttime version was an elegant oil painting, the daytime version was a vibrant genre painting — every brushstroke capturing the lively scenes of everyday life.

Did you know? 永庆坊所在的恩宁路，曾是广州最完整的骑楼街。“骑楼”是岭南特色建筑，二楼像骑在人行道上一样伸出来，形成有顶棚的走廊，既遮阳又挡雨。广州的骑楼建于20世纪初，融合了中西建筑风格，是广州街头最有辨识度的风景线。 Yongqingfang sits on Enning Road, once Guangzhou’s most intact arcade street. “Qilou” (arcade buildings) are a signature of Lingnan architecture — the second floor extends over the sidewalk to form a covered corridor that shields pedestrians from sun and rain. Built in the early 20th century, these arcades blend Chinese and Western styles and remain Guangzhou’s most recognizable streetscape.

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五种传统工艺，一座百年祠堂，讲述着岭南人对美的极致追求。白天的永庆坊，又让我们看到了广州最鲜活的烟火日常。

Five traditional arts, one century-old ancestral hall, telling the story of Lingnan people’s relentless pursuit of beauty. And daytime Yongqingfang revealed the most vivid everyday life of Guangzhou.