It is assumed that the first city in Guangzhou was founded in 214 BC. It was called Panyu. In 206 BC it became the capital city of the Nanyue Kingdom. After conquering the kingdom by Han Dynasty in 111 BC, the city became the capital city of the province.

Over next centuries Guangzhou maintained its high status and prestige as a main trade seaport and as an important cultural  centre in China.

Guangzhou remained in a high position until the outbreak of the First Opium War in 1839. After a series of battles in Greater Bay Area, British conquered Guangzhou on March 18, 1841. The second battle of Canton took place two months later and according to the agreement in Qing Empire from 1842 with the United Kingdom, Guangzhou lost its privileged trade status because more and more of the treaty ports were opened to an increasing number of countries, including in general territorial enclaves. Amid the decline of the Qing dynasty and the chaos associated with the choice of new power, for the disaster, the cities waged a series of clan wars from 1855 to 1867, in which died about one million people.

Tourists arriving to Guangzhou will definitely charmed by the high office buildings that are located in the center of the city. Guangzhou is an important business and science center in China, that's why skyscrapers were built in every free space. The highest building in the city is Guangzhou Tower - a local television building (600 meters high). At an altitude of 450 meters there is a viewing terrace open to visitors, from which there is a view of the entire city.

People, who prefer to see the ancient Chinese architecture should definitely see the Zhenhai Tower, built in 1380 by the local aristocrat Zhu Liangzu as a demonstration of his power, later became part of the city's defensive fortifications. The second important building is Temple of the Six Banyan Trees built at the request of Prince Liang in 537, with a 55-meter-high Flower Pagoda and a statue of the laughing Buddha - now it is one of 142 main monasteries in China. To learn more about the culture and history of the city and the entire region, it's worth visiting the Guangdong Provincial Museum.

To relax from the hustle and bustle of the big city it is worth going to the Shamian Island, which is located on the Pearl River - access from the city center takes just 10 minutes. It is a beautiful place with park, prefect to rest, built-up with colonial architecture from the time of the Franco-British concession. An interesting experience is also a walk along the Pearl River, which is beautifully lit at night. It is also worth visiting the Orchid Garden (Lan Pu), in which there are over 10,000 flower pots and 200 species of orchids.

The Catholic accent in Guangzhou is the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is one of the oldest churches in China. Located on the north bank of the Pearl River. The church stands in the heart of the bustling Old Town. Often referred to as Notre-Dame of the east. Masses in English are also held on Sunday.

Guangzhou is an important business and science center in China. In the city there are located three national universities: Sun Yat-sen University (founded in 1924), Southern University (founded in 1906) and South China University of Technology and also 13 public universities.

On 4th June we hosted in Łódź the delegation form Guangzhou. The purpose of the visit was to commemorate the fifth anniversary of cooperation and to summarize the cooperation to date. The meeting was also aimed at discussing future projects. The plan of stay in Łódź included a meeting with the deputy mayor Krzysztof Piątkowski, visiting the EC1 complex as an example of revitalization as well as a visit to the railway cargo terminal at Olechów.

From 29 to 31 May Łódź was visited by a six-member delegation from the partner city of Guangzhou in the People's Republic of China. The delegation was headed by Mr. Tang Hanghao, Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Municipal People's Congress in Guangzhou.

The visit had a study nature and was largely associated with the exchange of experiences regarding the implementation of the revitalization process. During the meeting in the City Hall of Lodz, after the deputy mayor of the city of Łódź, Krzysztof Piątkowski, representatives of the Revitalization Office and the City Architect's Office introduced the representatives of the partner city of Guangzhou to the issues of revitalization of Łódź. Then representatives of the Guangzhou delegation met with the representatives of the Piotrkowska Street Foundation.

W trakcie spotkań realizowanych w ramach wizyty przedstawicieli Kantonu w Łodzi rozmawiano przede wszystkim o ewentualnych polach do przyszłej współpracy pomiędzy miastami, w tym m.in. o:

• nawiązaniu współpracy akademickiej pomiędzy uczelniami kantońskimi a uczelniami łódzkimi,
• współpracy edukacyjnej na poziomie szkół zawodowych z obydwu miast,
• dalszej wymianie doświadczeń dotyczących realizacji programu rewitalizacji miasta,
• możliwości współorganizacji z Łodzią wystawy o innowacyjności w Kantonie.

Na koniec swojej wizyty delegacja z Kantonu zwiedzała Łódź z przewodnikiem. Goście mogli zobaczyć m.in. przykłady zrealizowanych działań rewitalizacyjnych w mieście (Manufaktura, stacja Łódź Fabryczna, EC1 Łódź - Miasto Kultury, ul. Piotrkowska, Księży Młyn), jak również dowiedzieli się więcej o historii, rozwoju miasta, atrakcjach turystycznych, wydarzeniach kulturalnych, sytuacji gospodarczej Łodzi itp.

On 3 August 2017 the visit to Łódź was made by representatives of the medical community from Guangzhou. The delegation included representatives of the Medical Center for Women and Children in Guangzhou, Guangdong Hospital, University of Sun Yet Sena University Hospital, Jinan University Hospital, People's Qingyu Hospital, Guangdong Hospital Union, and Guangzhou Medical University.

During the visit, the Chinese side met with representatives of the Medical University of Łódź. The most important tasks of the Medical University and institutions subordinate to it were presented. In addition, the delegation had the opportunity to visit the Central Clinical Hospital of the Medical University in Łódź along with its didactic part.

This visit was a continuation of the academic cooperation between the Medical University of Łódź and the medical universities in Guangzhou established during the mission to Guangzhou in May 2017.

A group of Chinese from Guangzhou, participating in the international congress of librarians in Wroclaw, came to Łódź for a short visit.

They met with the deputy mayor of Łódź, Krzysztof Piątkowski. A film promoting Łódź and our candidacy in the efforts to organize the Expo 2022 exhibition was presented.

-We are on the eve of the restructuring of Łódź libraries. One cultural institution will be established from five municipal facilities located in 80 places, which will allow for better coordination and management of library resources, which are to remain as close as possible to the citizens - said the deputy mayor Krzysztof Piątkowski, thanking the Chinese delegation for a visit to Łódź.

Guangzhou, which is one of the three partner cities of Łódź in China, has one of the largest and most modern libraries in the Middle Kingdom, enjoying great interest. Every day, 24,000 users visit it, which shows that reading books and libraries have a future, as long as the system adapts to the requirements of modern times.

From 13 to 16 May to Academic and revitalization seminar in Guangzhou as well as talks between academics were organized.

The representatives of the City of Łódż Office and representatives of universities took part in an academic seminar organized by the Cantonese Library. During the seminar, Łódź universities presented their offer for potential candidates for studies. In addition, universities have presented their didactic bases, exchange offers for foreign students, an exchange of professors and the possibility of implementing joint research projects.

During the academic seminar, contacts were made with:

Jinan University

Dongguan University

Guilin University of Technology

Guangdong University

School of Architecture, South China University of Technology

Sun Yat Sen University

During the revitalization seminar the following presentations were delivered:

Mr. Krzysztof Piątkowski, Deputy Mayor of the City of Łódź

Prof. Hu Gang, Director of the Guangzhou Office for Revitalization and Transformation

Mr. Łukasz Majchrzak – Smart Engineering Cluster from Łódź

Mr. Jozef Ho – journalist, author of the article ,,Łódź, Polish Manchester”

Łódź University of Technology, Medical University and AHE

The revitalization seminar was an excellent opportunity to present Łódź in terms of completed revitalization projects in the field of architectural, urban, functional and social regeneration. The revitalization projects presented in Guangzhou provided an opportunity to exchange experiences between cities whose representatives declared joint support for future projects in that field. Guangzhou has already implemented many revitalization projects that oppose the degradation of urbanized space, so that is improving the inhabitants' living environment. In addition, the City of Guangzhou also declared support for the implementation of the project of the EXPO exhibition in Łódź.

In addition, the universities visited:

Shenzhen Science&Industry Park Corporation

Mindray Bio-medical Electronics Co.Ltd

During that meetings, universities were acquainted with modern solutions implemented at the Shenzhen Institute, methods of financing scientific research and patenting inventions. In Mindray the modern medical equipment was presented, which is used in medical facilities around the world. Both Shenzhen Park and Mindray were interested in cooperation with Łódź universities and the exchange of experiences in the field of new technologies.

Moreover, the meeting with the deputy mayor of Guzngzhou took place, during which the willingness to develop academic cooperation was declared. In addition, the issues of the participation of representatives of the Canton in the Łódź Forum of partner cities on the topic: “City Center Management, in the aspect of renovation of monuments, as well as sustainable economic, social and cultural development aimed at making city centers attractive places to live” were discussed.

On 5th April Mr. Chen Zhiying, the deputy mayor of the City of Guangzhou, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China in Guangzhou visited Łódź. The purpose of this visit was to broaden partner cooperation, especially in the realm of academic education, revitalization and logistics (cargo connection possibilities Łódź - China).The Cantonese Delegation met with the deputy mayor of the City of Łódź, Krzysztof Piątkowski and representatives of the logistics industry in Łódź such as Hatrans and Spedcont.

During the meeting, Łódź presented its previous activities aimed at obtaining the title of organizer EXPO 2022 - City Re: Invented, completed revitalization projects and its investment offer. Representatives of the City Hall of Guangzhou also visited the transshipment station Łódź Olechów, from where cargo trains to Chengdu and Xiamen leave.

During aforementioned meetings, the agenda of the academic mission to Guangzhou in May 2017 and the scope of cooperation between Łódź and Guangzhou universities were also discussed.

Guangzhou Partner Cities Round Table Forum took place between 27-29 October. The delegation of  Łódź presented profile of the city, its potential in the field of revitalization along with the Mia100 Kamienic and EC1 projects. Moreover, Łódź representatives presented its academic and economic potential as well as innovative solutions implemented in the city - nanotechnology or graphene. During the conference, examples of cooperation with Kanton were presented along with plans for future joint projects, especially in the field of logistics, revitalization and academic exchange. In addition, examples of cooperation with other partner cities of Łódź (economic exchange, logistics, design, art, Festival of Light, civic projects) were presented. During the meeting there was also an opportunity to promote Łódź in terms of EXPO 2022 - City Re: Invented. The city of Guangzhou has already implemented many revitalization projects, preventing degradation of urban space and thus improving the living environment of the inhabitants of Guangzhou.

During the visit in Guangzhou, a meeting with Mrs. Joanna Skoczek, the Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Guangzhou was also organized. At the meeting, the issues of extending academic cooperation between Łódź and Cantonese universities were discussed.

The 3^rd Poland-China Regions Forum in Łódź (28-29 June) was attnded by over half a thousand entrepreneurs and representatives of local government. Discussions and panels on economic, scientific and cultural exchange took place as well as cooperation agreements were signed. Grzegorz Schetyna, Minister of Foreign Affairs, came to the forum, and the authorities of Łódź and the Łódzkie Region were represented by: the mayor Hanna Zdanowska and marshal Witold Stępień. Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education prof. Daria Lipińska-Nałęcz signed the documents facilitating the exchange of students between Polish universities and universities in the Henan province, which was also important for the University of Łódź and our city, which already works very closely with the city of Chengdu. Both centers are connected by a cargo railway, and yesterday the Chinese opened their office and official representation in Łódź.

The 3^rd Partner Cities Forum (September 9-10) was devoted to the topic of revitalization in the city centres. Participants from Lyon, Stuttgart, Szeged and Tampere spoke about their experiences
in revitalization of city centers. Forum participants had the opportunity to take part in the Congress of Polish Town Planning "Return to the Center", organized by the Association of Polish Town Planners. On this occasion, specialists from all over Europe exchanged their experiences in the field of spatial planning, revitalization, visited Łódź and got acquainted with the project of Łódź's efforts to organize EXPO 2022 exhibition. Diplomats from France and Finland will support this candidacy.

Video coverage regarding Łódź's efforts for EXPO from the Forum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phP7gtpELH0

On 19th October 2015 the delegation from Guangzhou visited Łódź. The purpose of the visit was to exchange experiences and best practices, mainly regarding the care system for the elderly and children, nursing and rehabilitation. The delegation took part in meetings at the Bednarska Multigenerational House, Nursing Home and the University of the Third Age in Łódź. It was the second visit of the Guangzhou representatives in Łódź this year. The previous delegation participated in the 3^rd Regional Forum Poland - China (28-30 June 2015).

On August 20th, 2014 a partnership agreement was signed between Łódź and Guangzhou.

The representatives of the Guangzhou Municipal Office and City Council paid a visit to Łódź. The visit focused on the subjects of urbanization and revitalization. Guests from China visited the flagship Łódź revitalization projects, such as the area of EC-1, the New Center of Łódź, Art_Inkubator and Priests Mill. They also saw how “from the inside” looks the modernization of the historic building at Piotrkowska Street 243 as part of the City of the Historic Houses (Mia100 Kamienic) programme.

- We will take wit us interesting experiences regarding revitalization. We are also struggling with problems concerning old buildings - assured the head of the delegation Li Li, vice-chairman of the Committee on Foreign Cooperation of the City of Guangzhou.