Zhujiang New Town, Guangzhou
The modern CBD, the supertall skyline, Canton Tower across the river

The appeal of Zhujiang New Town is that it was designed to be walkable in a way the old districts cannot match. By day you can walk from your hotel into Taikoo Hui or an office tower without stepping into the heat; in the afternoon you stroll Huacheng Square watching Guangzhou families and people photographing the towers; and in the evening the whole cluster of skyscrapers lights up together — the time the area is at its best. You can do almost all of it on foot.

• 1
  For first-time visitors to Guangzhou

  First-timer base · walk to everything · Metro L3/L5

  If this is your first trip to Guangzhou, the area is the safest answer. There is English signage, several metro lines, no real risk of getting lost, and Canton Tower is just across the river. Once the city becomes familiar, you can ride the metro out to the old districts — Beijing Road or Shamian Island — in a matter of minutes.

• 2
  For business and work trips

  CBD · office towers · Canton Fair connection

  This is the business heart of Guangzhou, where the office towers, meeting space and international hotels sit together. The Pazhou exhibition complex (home of the Canton Fair) is an easy metro ride away, and there are lounges, cafés and good restaurants for meetings in the same area. If you are here to work and want a base that walks to everything, this is the most direct fit.

• 3
  For shoppers and architecture fans

  Taikoo Hui · architecture · skyline photos

  The area gathers luxury shopping such as Taikoo Hui (太古汇) and the Tianhe malls within walking distance. Architecture fans get to photograph Zaha Hadid's opera house, the Guangdong Museum and the twin CTF/IFC towers in one place — towers against the sky by day, lights reflected in the river by night.

• 4
  For using the metro to reach everything else

  Metro hub · APM · day trips

  Tiyu Xilu (体育西路) is one of Guangzhou's major interchange stations, which makes this area a very easy base to travel from. Whether you take Line 3 to the airport, connect to Guangzhou South high-speed railway station for Shenzhen or Hong Kong, or hop the APM across to Canton Tower, you start from here.

The strongest argument for basing yourself in Zhujiang New Town is that you buy all the convenience in one place. You step out of the hotel into the metro, the malls and the office towers; you walk to Huacheng Square and the photo spots within the area; and the APM takes you across to Canton Tower with no fuss. Many of the luxury hotels here also have direct river or Canton Tower views from the rooms. Room rates run a little higher than the old town, but for a first trip or a work trip where you do not want to lose time in transit, many travellers find it worth it.

One thing to know: during the Canton Fair (广交会) — roughly mid-April and mid-October — hotel prices across the whole city jump two to four times and rooms fill up fast. Avoiding those weeks saves a lot, so check the fair dates before you book.