The "half-day off" trip to Guangzhou

I love to travel; see the sites and meet people and have been fortunate to have had jobs that allowed me to travel extensively. But so often it is rushed and you visit a fascinating city but only see the airport, a taxi and the client's training facility. Living in China for almost 18 months now I have not seen much of the real country and so I decided to change my routine. I did a one day interest rate risk session in Guangzhou for the NAFMII Bond Conference in November. It was held in the Shamian district of the city. After my sessions, I took a 1/2 day to walk around this area of beautiful colonial style buildings (reminiscent of Raffles in Singapore), pedestrian malls and all right beside the river. It was absoutely beautiful and a great break for the mind. So in planning my training and travel schedule for 2015, I will make sure there is a "half day off" at the end of every trip I take to a new city in China so that I actually "live" in China as opposed to just work here.