(This post is a quick translation of LEMONed's "中文網志年會2008 廣州攻略"; all first person "I"s, "my"s, and "me"s are his, all mistakes are probably mine)

Chinese Bloggercon 2008 Guangzhou Intelligence Briefing

This year is the 2222th anniversary of the founding of Guangzhou and the fourth anniversary of the Chinese Bloggercon, following in the the footsteps successful meetings in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Beijing. Hurry up and register!

Thanks to Isaac, Shizhao, Tangos, lonsonlo, etc, for giving me the chance to work on the conference. I wrote this incomplete guide and I hope it's helpful.

Conference Location

Pingpong60 - located at 60 Xianlie East Horizontal Road in Guangzhou, it's next to the Xinghai Conservatory. It's built in an abandoned but renovated old factory, about 1/3 of the factory is devoted to a main hall, which will be the main setting of the conference; the leftover 2/3 has been turned over to several creative design businesses, with a feeling like Beijing's 798 district, it has a great atmosphere. There's lots of free parking just outside, a drink stand and small convenience store, as well as free potable water. Of course, we will set up wireless internet.

The location is about a one or two minute walk from the Xinghai Conservatory, where attendees who have already registered can use their meal tickets.

Conference Surroundings

Outside the conference grounds is Yongfu Road, the site of the city's biggest auto accessories market and as such nothing much to see, mostly KTV and internet cafes. Over towards Huanghua Ridge and the Zoological Gardens, things are a bit more lively. There's no shortage of places to eat, Hengfu Road has a branch of Guangzhou's famous "Dongfang Hongxing Seafood Restaurant", bars open late, spas, saunas, etc. For more entertainment I recommend heading not far to the Huangshi Road, Taojin Road area.

Conference Lodgings (tentative)

Nanyaxing Hotel, a three star economy hotel with a safe and comfortable environment, is about a 10 minute walk from the conference location. It has 50 rooms, 40 doubles (considering pairing up to save money), rooms with TVs, A/C, ethernet ports, 24 hour restaurant. If you indicate that you are attending the conference you can get the special rate of RMB 150/night.

How to get there

The conference location is down a little road, a bit hard to find, so read this part carefully.

• Walking from Yongfu Road (see on Google Maps):
  Get off the bus at Hengfu Rd or Yongfu Rd. Enter Hengfu Rd from the Art Museum, and make a right onto Yongfu Rd; or from Guangyuan East Road enter Yongfu Road, turn left onto Yongfu Road (going straight would take you onto Hengfu Road). At this point the railroad tracks should be below you. Cross the road, look for the Xinhua Publishing factory door sign, go down the slope about 100 meters and look for the Xinhua Publishing and a small residential neighborhood. Across from it is the "Guangzhou city municipal administration construction school". Keep walking along the small road to the right for about 200 meters (a one-way street, so if you're driving you can't come this way). You will see Pingpong60 to your left.
• Walking from Xianlie Middle Road (see on Google Maps):
  Get off the bus at the Zoo stop or cross from Shuiyin Road to walk this route. First, look for the Ouya Hotel on Xianlie Middle Road; at this point the Inner Ring Road A should be below you, and you can climb the stairs downwards. Walk forwards on the sidewalk about 100 meters and you can exit the sidewalk and cross the street towards the Xinghai Conservatory and walk another 400 meters to Pingpong60. This route is a little difficult, so make sure to follow the attached map and photos carefully.
• Driving or walking from Xianlie Middle Road (see on Google Maps):
  Get off the bus at Shahe Peak to take this route. Enter Xianlie Middle Road from next to Zhixin Burial Site and the Guanggong Shahe Campus Entrance, turn left at the end, walk down a little road where a trucking company drops off and picks up their goods. From there you can get on the sidewalk which goes past the Xinghai Conservatory, and walk or drive to the end of the street where you can only turn right, and go up the slope for about 200 meters to Pingpong60.
• Drive on Inner Ring Road A (see on Google Maps):
  Get off the Inner Ring Road A at exit A14 (Shuiyin Rd, Xianlie Rd), and drive slowly because you will immediately take an "S" shaped turn down a small, sloped rode. Continue for less than a minute to arrive at Pingpong60.

On my Google Map there are also bus stops and routes marked, as well as some landmark buildings for your consideration. For more detailed and accurate information, please consult official sources.

How to get to the conference location and hotel after arriving in Guangzhou

• Baiyun Int'l Airport - Get off the airplane and follow the signs to the Airport Express bus line ticket counter and bus stop. There's an official schedule, ticket price list and route information on the airport website. I recommend that you take Line 2A or 2B to Huayuan Hotel (Garden Hotel), it's the closest stop to the conference location but there's not direct bus line so you'll have to catch a taxi for RMB 20 or so.
• Guangzhou Train Station - Don't exit the station, directly go to the subway Line 2 station and board the train. Change to Line 1 at Gongyuanqian station, and exit Line 1 at Dongshankou station. From there, take bus line 285 to Yongfu Road. You can also take a taxi from the train station and it will be faster but cost about RMB 40.
• Guangzhou East Railway Station - Take bus line 271 to Shahe Road and follow these directions; you can also take line 60 to Hengfu Road and follow these directions. A taxi will only set you back about RMB 20.

If you can, try to get off at Guangzhou East Railway Station; it's best to avoid the main station. If you can't avoid it, please don't leave the station, if you walk around that area you'll run into trouble. Watch out for pickpockets, DO NOT buy anything, don't listen to offers of lodging or female companionship, and if you run into any trouble don't hesitate to call the police!

Guangzhou city public buses are RMB 2 per ride. Taxis start at a base fare of RMB 7, and after 2.3 km are RMB 2.6 per km, with an RMB 1 gas tax added on at the end, with the same fare 24 hr/day. The three largest taxi companies are Baiyun (blue), Jiaotong (red), and Guangjun (Yellow, all Guangzhou native drivers). Other taxis will be green, and one small company is gold. For your protection it's best to choose one of the three taxi companies. If you're from out of town and afraid of getting taken for a ride, confirm upon boarding the taxi that the driver will issue you a receipt upon arrival. This also increases the chances of getting anything back if you accidentally leave it in a taxi.

Guangzhou Subway (the closest stops to the conference venue are Yangqi and Guangzhou East Railway Station)

Taiwanese attendees should think about taking the plane to HK, and then from Kowloon's Hong Kan Railway Station take the train directly to Guangzhou East Railway Station. The journey takes about two hours, the price is HKD 190 (ordinary) or HKD 230 (first class), and there are about 10 trains leaving every day from 7:30am to 7:30pm. You can also take the HK MTR East Rail to Shenzhen's Luohu border-crossing (it's troublesome to take the subway from the airport, but passing through customs is much more convenient). After passing through customs, take the Guang-Shen bullet train to Guangzhou East for RMB 75 (ordinary) or RMB 90 (first class) in about an hour.

Guangzhou Weather

Guangzhou has a climate similar to Hong Kong's, so it won't be too cold in November. According to my experience, wearing two layers will be sufficient; don't bother with sweaters. Watch this space for notices about the weather; I don't recommend trusting pro weather forecasters...