What I love the most about traveling is the unexpected. All kinds of unexpected: a hostel that disappears in the middle of the Chinese desert, or a city that wasn’t supposed to be a big deal, but ends up gifting you with the most life-changing breakthrough.
That’s what this travel story from Guangzhou tells you. This vibrant southern city was meant to be the last stop on my two-week trip to China, the easiest way to fly back to Italy from the south.
Yet, on the final night of my journey, in the liveliest part of the city, I suddenly remembered everything I had always wanted from life, and who I was meant to be. All because I connected, deeply and unexpectedly, with a city that made me feel like an intrinsic part of it.
But before that moment of clarity hit me, I had no idea that Guangzhou would leave such an impression. It all started with a late-night arrival and zero expectations.
I wish I were one of those people who, before going on a long trip, research destinations like they’re preparing for a reality show called “Become the World’s Best Tour Guide” — or worse, “How to Be the Most Annoying Travel Mate”
You know the type. Those people who, in the middle of a visit to a Hindu temple, start mentioning random facts about the deities, and while they’re at it, add that the temple was built in who-knows-what year BC.
A part of me wants to be like that. But the other part loves to be surprised. And that’s precisely what took over when I visited Guangzhou.
Expectations vs Reality: Arriving in Guangzhou
I had labeled Guangzhou as a “transition stop.” I arrived on a Thursday night and was flying out Saturday evening. Among all the monuments and highlights of this vibrant, scorching-hot southern Chinese city, the one that mattered most to me at the time was its convenient international airport. I had no expectations for Guangzhou, except that it would get me home.
From the moment my face pressed against the window of the van taking me to my hotel, I realized how wrong I’d been. Guangzhou had nothing to envy from Shanghai.
Towering skyscrapers, lit up by the homes of the Cantonese people inside. The skyline stretched endlessly across the horizon.
Like Shanghai, the city was cut through by a river, the Pearl River. High-tech buildings lined its banks, housing the usual suspects: banks and insurance companies. It feels like there’s an unwritten but universally respected rule about riverside architecture in China.
And yet, Guangzhou had a different energy.
Skyscrapers, Humidity, and a City That Surprised Me
My ignorance had led me to expect a less developed city, as if Hong Kong and Macao weren’t right next door. Looking back, I should’ve known better.
The view from my hotel window reminded me of Hong Kong, or at least the way it looks in photos, since I’ve never actually been. A never-ending sea of gray buildings stretched out before me.
Directly below, low apartment blocks were covered in colorful laundry strung out to dry under the moonlight. They reminded me of Tibetan prayer flags, though only from a distance.
From Hong Kong, I recognized the modernity, the speed, and the constant movement, people rushing as if they were constantly pressing the gas pedal. So many people, packed into every available inch of space. And in that moment, I wondered if the next day would show me a different side of China.
It didn’t.
The China I found the next morning was the same as always. I thought my Mandarin wouldn’t be much help, but most people spoke it fluently, along with Cantonese. Still, something was different: the heat.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so hot in my life.
Canton was the southernmost city I had ever visited, so I shouldn’t have expected anything else, but to be honest, I hadn’t expected anything at all.
The air conditioning inside malls could’ve made anyone sick. And yet, between the icy interiors and the 40°C (104°F) outside, I honestly couldn’t tell which was worse. We, poor souls, staying in the South of China during that time, were doomed to get a cold from walking in and out of that madness.
A Walk by the Pearl River and a Moment I Didn’t See Coming
On my last night in China, we went to see the area around the Guangzhou Tower. A 600-meter-high tower, lit in rainbow colors, in the center of a modern neighborhood full of skyscrapers and tree-filled parks.
A massive white pedestrian bridge, the Haixin Bridge, connected the two riverbanks, solid and majestic. Thousands of people strolled from one side of the city to the other.
There was nothing particularly new in what I was seeing. It was just another big Chinese city, full of life.
A place that, despite the crowd, gave off the same sense of peace I will always feel in China: that quiet, comforting voice in my head whispering: “Nothing bad can happen to me here.”
While walking those streets, I felt small again, compared to the tall buildings, the flow of people, and the hum of the city. And at the same time, I felt like I belonged. Completely.
The Revelation and the Real Reason We Travel
I had felt this before. But on that bridge, it hit differently. That’s where I had that “breakthrough moment” the tarot reader had told me about back in May.
Something inside my head whispered: “This is where you have to be.” Not in Guangzhou, exactly — but there. On that bridge. In the middle. Between one part of the world and another.
I didn’t belong to any one place. I was meant to be surrounded and constantly inspired by people different from me. Meant to feel small and, at the same time, completely connected to everything around. I didn’t know how to achieve that, or where I was supposed to go, or even if it was possible. I just knew.
That moment, more than any photo I took or souvenir I brought home, was what transformed my return into a new beginning. I had known this trip would mean something.
I had returned to China after a four-year absence, following a global pandemic, and after leaving a man I had naively thought would become my husband. But what I never expected was that this “transition stop”, the one I had so carelessly labeled, would become the most meaningful step of all. The step that transitioned me into a new phase of my life.
Everything I started dreaming of when I returned home was born there, in the middle of that bridge. And honestly? Even if I had done all the research in the world, like a walking guidebook, I don’t think I could have seen it coming.
Maybe I should listen more often to the part of me that loves to be surprised. Because it’s the unexpected moments, the ones you couldn’t plan for, that show you who you are and where you’re meant to go.
Sometimes (actually often), the most meaningful travel experiences don’t happen at famous landmarks or after months of planning. They show up unannounced, on a humid summer night in a city you completely underestimated.
Nothing could have prepared me for what Guangzhou gifted me. And by allowing myself to be surprised, I ended up exactly where I needed to be. That’s the beauty of travel: when you stop trying to control everything, it guides you back to yourself… and for me, that meant moving to Bali, precisely one year later.
If you’re planning a trip to this vibrant city, don’t miss my guide on the best things to do in Guangzhou; it’ll help you discover the beauty of the city beyond the airport.
And if you love getting inspired by travel stories, spontaneous breakthroughs, and life-changing travel experiences, I share many more in my newsletter, where I take you along for the ride through my journey in Asia so that you can find inspiration for your own. Subscribe below!
