Why is Foshan qualified? Let us show you Foshan from different facets.
National-level historical and cultural city
Foshan was listed as a National-level historical and cultural city back in 1994. There are 15 national-level intangible cultural heritages and 15 national-level intangible cultural inheritors in Foshan. It is also home to 8 major historical and cultural sites protected at the national level and 54 at the provincial level. Up to 244 museums and galleries have been established or are under construction.
The Ancestral Temple
Demonstration city of national public cultural service system
In 2019, Foshan ranked the third on the national list of national demonstration city of public cultural service system for its well-developed public facilities. To be specific, so far, there are 1,768.89 square meters of indoor public cultural facilities for every 10,000 people, and 2.81 square meters of sports venues for each person; Among all the books in 349 libraries, each person has 1.4 public books; There are 934 football fields and 281 sports parks, 396 washrooms for visitors and 5 tourist distributing centers in Foshan.
Century Lotus Sports Center
Top Tourist City in China
Foshan now boasts of 33 National AAAA Tourist Attractions and 143 tourist agencies, among which, 5 are on the top 100 national list and 12 on the top 30 provincial list.
Songtang Village
City of Gastronomy
Foshan is famous as the “Cradle of Guangdong Cuisine” and the “Home of Chinese Chefs”. More impressively, Shunde, a district in Foshan, has been crowned as the “Creative Cities Network- City of Gastronomy” by UNESCO.
Shunde Double-Layer Steamed Milk Custard
City of Martial Arts
Foshan, the birthplace of martial arts, including Wing Chun, Hung Kuen and Choy Li Fut, is the only city hailed as “City of Kung-Fu”. In 2021, Foshan Wing Chun has been put on the extended list as one of the representative intangible cultural heritage projects!
Wing Chun
Birthplace of Cantonese Opera
Wanfu Stage built in 1658 is the largest and well-preserved stage in Lingnan area for Cantonese opera. Even today, there are so many enthusiasts of this local opera in Foshan. In 2013, Nanhai, a district in Foshan, won the reputation of “Home of Chinese Operas”.
Wanfu Stage
Going global
Foshan has already established a sound friendship with 17 cities of 13 countries and also hosted many cultural and tourism exchanges with Itami in Japan and Pusan, Tongyeong, Daegu and Pocheon in Korea, boosting the cultural prosperity in East Asia.
Foshan will be committed to building the cultural city of East Asia. By the virtue of its rich culture, Foshan will soon be served as the platform in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area for exchange to the outside world.
Author | Ivy
Revisor | Eleanor
Photo | Foshan Municipal Bureau of Culture, Television, Radio, Tourism and Sports