GUANGZHOU (CANTON)  Guangzhou, China’s third-largest city, is the capital of Guangdong Province. It is located on the Pearl River about 120 km north-northwest of Hong Kong and 145 km north of Macau which has made Guangzhou a strategic port and thriving commercial centre for centuries. Guangzhou has a history of over 2,200 years and was a major terminus of the maritime Silk Road. It continues to serve as a major port and transportation hub. Guangzhou contains a large migrant population from other provinces of China. Together with Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, Guangzhou has one of the most expensive real estate in China.

Canton is the traditionally romanised name for the southern Chinese city Guangzhou in Guangdong province. The city has long borne the nicknames of Rice City, City of Flowers, and City of Rams or City of the Five Rams from the five stones at the old Temple of the Five Immortals The former name "City of the Immortals" came from the same story. 

Long the only Chinese port accessible to foreign traders, the city fell to the British during the First Opium War. No longer enjoying a monopoly after the war, it lost trade to other ports such as Hong Kong and Shanghai, but continued to serve as a major port. Guangzhou is best known for its annual Canton Fair, the oldest and largest trade fair in China. For the three consecutive years 2013–2015, Forbes ranked Guangzhou as the best commercial city on the Chinese mainland.

Canton as an adjective is still used in describing the people, language, cuisine and culture of Guangzhou and the surrounding Liangguang region. Guangzhou is considered the home of traditional Cantonese "Chinese food." There are more restaurants per capita here than anywhere else in China. The city's architecture ranges from traditional to modern with spectacular old temples and gleaming steel towers. The four Chimelong theme parks are popular with tourists.