While Beijing becomes a familiar name for most foreign visitors coming to the Chinese capital, Canton may still be the nickname favored by many foreigners arriving in Guangdong's provincial capital.

"Guangzhou has embraced diverse cultures ever since its birth exactly 2,222 years ago," said the local media on the eve of the Olympic torch relay in the city. Being the city where ancient foreign businessmen started their China tours with their merchant ships, the Cantonese capital surely has a proud history behind it.

This was best illustrated by two remarkable events in the past two years: the successful salvation of an 800-year-old fully loaded merchant ship from the sea bottom last December and the historic return of the Gotheborg, a replica of a famous 18th century Swedish trade boat linking China and Europe, in the summer of 2006.

While the people in Guangzhou are serious about learning from overseas cultures, it is also remarkable that they held firm to the values and traditions of their ancestors. For example, they still put their families before everything else; they still select their words carefully referring to their ancestors; they are still famous for their diligence; and they still have a famed appetite for everything that flies and everything with four legs.

The people of Guangzhou certainly set an eye for a better tomorrow before them. The Canton Fair, the largest international trade fair in China, is set to blossom, while the sports-loving Guangzhou people will witness the 2010 Asian Games which will kick off at modern the Guangzhou Olympic Center stadium.

(China Daily 05/08/2008 page12)