What's happening in Guangzhou this week?

When the Canton Fair is in session, it changes how the city works. The fair runs twice a year, in spring and autumn, with each session split into three phases at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Pazhou, Haizhu District. On fair days, Metro Line 8 around Pazhou and Xingangdong stations is packed from 8am with buyers wearing lanyards and dragging sample cases, and hotel rates near Pazhou and Zhujiang New Town can double on those days. Book in Yuexiu instead, near Beijing Road or Gongyuanqian station, where Lines 1 and 2 cross and you can reach most sights in about 30 minutes. The heat catches first-timers out in Guangzhou too: at 7pm on the latest reading it was still 30.2°C, with a heat index of 34.1°C and 57% humidity, and the air felt thick on your skin long after dark. Do your outdoor walking before 10am or after sunset. A 1.5-litre bottle of Nongfu Spring at FamilyMart costs about ¥4, or roughly 60 US cents at 6.6862 yuan to the dollar.

The daily routine that matters most is yum cha, the Cantonese morning tea. Guangzhou Restaurant on Wenchang South Road and Taotaoju on Dishifu Road in Liwan fill up by 7:30am on Saturdays and Sundays, when families take round tables and often stay until noon. Go Tuesday to Thursday and you'll usually get a table straight away. Most Guangzhou dim sum halls use tick-box paper menus or QR codes with photos, so order by picture. Har gow are translucent shrimp dumplings with a springy, slightly chewy skin, siu mai are the open-topped pork dumplings, and char siu bao are fluffy white buns filled with sweet red barbecue pork. Fung zao, braised chicken feet, are gelatinous and soft, so skip them if that texture worries you. Expect ¥80 to ¥120 a head. To thank someone for refilling your cup, tap two fingers on the table, and if you want more hot water, leave the teapot lid ajar.

Monday is when many Guangzhou museums close, so plan accordingly: Guangdong Museum in Zhujiang New Town shuts for the day, and its free entry slots for the rest of the week tend to book out on WeChat a day or two in advance. Shamian Island is the better way to spend a Monday. The old bank and consulate buildings lining Shamian Main Street sit under banyan trees whose shade keeps things a few degrees cooler, and while weekends bring wedding photo shoots that fill the lanes, a weekday is noticeably calmer. Fridays around 1pm, Huaisheng Mosque on Guangta Road, founded in AD 627, fills for Jumu'ah prayers, so non-Muslim visitors should plan for another day. Sacred Heart Cathedral on Yide Road draws Sunday morning masses that fill the granite nave with Cantonese hymns, so time your visit outside the service. On the 1st and 15th of each lunar month, incense smoke thickens at Guangxiao Temple and the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees as worshippers queue with bundles of joss sticks.

Evenings in Guangzhou pull toward the Pearl River. Canton Tower's lights come on from around 7pm, and the best place to take it in is either the Haixinsha riverbank or a night cruise departing from Tianzi Pier near Haizhu Square, roughly ¥100 to ¥150 for an hour-long loop. The breeze on the water is probably the coolest air you'll feel all day. Before paying for the Canton Tower observation deck, check the sky: on a clear night you can see out to Baiyun Mountain, but on a hazy one you mostly see your own reflection in the glass. Weekend evenings after 6pm, Beijing Road and the Shangxiajiu pedestrian streets are loud with shop speakers and smell of curry fish balls. Cantonese locals eat a late snack called siu yeh after 10pm, and on Baohua Road in Liwan that means congee and rice-noodle rolls, steam from the cheung fun trays fogging the shop windows until well past midnight.