Nanhai God Temple, situated at Miaotou Village in the Huangpu District of Guangzhou, is the only temple left from the four ancient Sea God Temples of China. It is of important value in the study of foreign trade in the ancient China as Guangzhou is known as the starting point of the ancient maritime silk road.
With a history of more than 1,400 years, the temple was the place where the ancient people gave offerings to the Sea God. This famous God Temple covers an area of over 30,000 square meters. Since the completion of the temple in the Sui Dynasty sacrificial ceremonies had been held in the temple presided over by officials appointed by the emperors, leaving many precious stone tablets. Other relics in the temple include a bronze drum, the jade seal of the Nanhai God and an iron bell. Old trees of rare species like ormosia and kapok also make the temple more attractive.
The Sunbathing Pavilion, which was one of the Eight Views in the Song Dynasty, is the ideal place to watch the sunrise. With the coastline receding to the south, the place where the pavilion stands has become a piece of beach. The present octagon-shaped pavilion was rebuilt in 1953, with stone inscriptions of Su Shi, a famous poet of the Song Dynasty and Chen Baisha, a Cantonese scholar of the Ming Dynasty inside.
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