Foshan Travel Guide

Foshan is a well-known city of history and culture in China. “Founded in Jin and named in Tang” and with a long history and rich culture as well, the city was crowned as one of the Four Well-known Towns and Four Commercial Centers in ancient history. Foshan is the birthplace of Canton Opera and Cantonese cuisine. Martial arts masters like Huang Feihong and Bruce Lee were of Foshan origin, making the city as the "Hometown of Martial Arts".

Located in the mid-south of Guangdong Province, China, Foshan is at the heart of the Pearl River Delta (“PRD”). It connects Guangzhou to the east and is adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao to the south. The excellent geographic location contributes to Foshan's prosperity both in the past and present. The mild climate, adequate rainfall, and evergreen seasons have made Foshan a renowned place of abundance ever since. It has humid subtropical monsoon climate with an average annual temperature of 22.2℃. In the river-woven area of the PRD, Foshan features Xijiang River and Beijiang River, branches of the Pearl River, running all the way through the city.At present Foshan governs five districts, namely, Chancheng District, Nanhai District, Shunde District, Gaoming District and Sanshui District. The city covers a total area of 3848.49 km2 and has a population over 5.923 million including 3.611 million registered permanent residents. Foshan is referred to as hometown of overseas Chinese. Over 1.48 million Foshan origins are now living overseas, of which over 800,000 are residing in Hong Kong and Macao.

Foshan is at the convergence of East Asia and South East Asia, which is an economic vibrant area in the Asia Pacific Region. As located in the central part of the Pearl River Delta (PRD), one of the most powerful economic areas in China, Foshan and Guangzhou, with similar history and culture, put in place the "Guangzhou-Foshan Economic Circle". It is within one hour's drive from central Foshan to the three main transport hubs of Guangzhou (Guangzhou New Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou Nansha Port, Guangzhou Railway Station). The geographic advantage enables Foshan to share with Guangzhou the infrastructure facilities, transportation network, financial capital, personnel education, technological information and market resources, etc. It serves to the industry interaction and functions complementation, which further accelerates the regional economic integration and urbanization. Foshan is 231 kilometers away from Hong Kong and 143 kilometers from Macao. It's about two hours? drive from Foshan to Hong Kong and Macao. The close connection between Foshan and Hong Kong, Macao enables Foshan to make full use of the market advantage and metropolitan position of the two cities, facilitating Foshan to get broader involvement in the global economy.

Foshan City is located at the hinterland of Pearl River Delta. Most area is in the south to the Tropic of Cancer. In the direction of southeast-northwest, there is a transition from plain to hill and mountain gradually. Foshan falls into south subtropical marine monsoon climate, being warm and rainy. The annual hours of sunshine are about 1,800; the no frost period is above 350 days; the average annual temperature is 21.2℃ - 22.2℃. The precipitation has distinctly seasonal variation. The rain falls mainly from April to September, the rainfall during which occupies 80% of the annual precipitation. In summer, it usually has heavy rain or extra torrential rain as the arrival of typhoon, which makes landfall in Foshan twice or third time from July to September of each year.

Climate Data Table for Foshan

Best time to visit Foshan:
The best time to visit Foshan is the spring and autumn; the weather is comfortable with a mild temperature. Because of Fushan location, the climate in summer is very humid and hot.
Before you go to Foshan, you should know something about the local culture, which will do a world good to you.

Avoid Peak Holidays:
It is not a good idea to travel in China during Chinese holidays when huge numbers of Chinese people are travelling around. The busiest three national holidays in China are Chinese Spring Festival (usually in late Jan or early Feb.), International Labor Day (May 01 to 03) and National Day (Oct 01-07). Spring Festival is an especially crowded time to travel. The advantage of being in China at this time is that you will get the opportunity to experience "first hand" the significance of these celebrations in Chinese culture.