Chebei Village: Evening Stroll Through Guangzhou‘s “Gentle Haven” | 14 Apr 2024

Описание: 14 April 2024, 6:00–8:00 p.m. Guangzhou—another urban village stroll, this time the area between Chebei and Chebei South stations.

Slightly east of the villages visited in October 2023 (Tangxia, Tangdong, Shangshe). Chebei Primary School nearby, a river to the east, Chebei Station to the north, Chebei South Station to the south. I don‘t know the exact name of this area. Let the immersion begin.

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Chebei, anciently called “Longxi” (Dragon Creek), is one of Guangzhou’s surviving millennium‑old villages.

Founded in the Southern Song dynasty, renamed Chebei in the Ming, now Tianhe District‘s largest urban village—5.6 square kilometers. Zhongshan Avenue, Huangpu Avenue, and Metro Line 5 form its transport network.

Affectionately called “Guangzhou’s gentle haven” by netizens. Over 300,000 people pass through, work, or live here daily, with more than 160,000 migrant residents. Some claim “30% of Guangzhou‘s office workers choose to live in Chebei”.

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Six p.m., sky not yet fully dark.

Walking south from Chebei Station into the maze. Streets narrow, “handshake buildings” close in, sky reduced to a slit. Air conditioners drip—on lanes, on shoulders. Delivery e‑bikes zip past, disappearing into unseen alleys.

Some call Chebei “Tianhe’s largest urban village”. Walking through, you feel its scale—deep lanes, countless forks, still inside after an hour.

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The river to the east: Chebei Yong (Chebei Creek).

18.6 kilometers long, Tianhe‘s largest river. Chebei village thrives along it; every Dragon Boat Festival, races are held here. Chebei’s dragon boat tradition spans at least 150 years, listed as Guangzhou intangible cultural heritage in 2017.

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Why do so many live here?

Prime location—a stone‘s throw from Zhujiang New Town. Complete amenities—markets, eateries, pharmacies. Affordable rent—800 yuan/month for a studio, most two‑bedrooms under 1,500 yuan. Truly a “gentle haven.”

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Evening to night.

Lights flicker on in the lanes. Food stalls queue up—young workers grabbing fried noodles, pig trotter rice. Children playing, elders fanning themselves. Narrow lanes, barely wide for one e‑bike, now filled with warm light.

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Chebei is quietly changing.

Recent “clean and orderly” campaigns removed over 50 tons of tangled cables, cleared trash, cleaned the creek. In 2024, the collective property redevelopment project was approved—300,000 sq m of commercial space, 2.5 billion yuan investment. This “gentle haven” is transforming.

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Where do we begin to understand a city?

With its urban villages—Chebei‘s handshake buildings, lights flickering on.
With its people—those queueing for stir‑fry, children running through lanes.
With its names—from “Longxi” to “Chebei,” from “gentle haven” to change underway.

#慢下来看世界 #SlowDownSeeTheWorld
#广州 #Guangzhou
#城中村 #UrbanVillage
#探索与发现 #ExplorationAndDiscovery
#分享给有艺术细胞的你 #ForTheArtisticSoul
#沉浸体验 #ImmersiveExperience
#听一个城市的声音 #ListenToTheCity
#拍出电影感 #Cinematic
#市井生活 #StreetLife
#纪录片 #Documentary
#人间烟火 #EarthlyVibes
#车陂 #Chebei

2024年4月14日，傍晚18:00到20:00。广州，又一个城中村穿行体验——这次是车陂和车陂南之间的这片区域。

比2023年10月去的棠下、棠东、上社更偏东一点点。有车陂小学，东侧有一条河，北侧是车陂地铁站，南侧是车陂南地铁站。这一片具体叫什么名字，我也说不上来。沉浸体验开始了。

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车陂，古称“龙溪”，是广州现存千年古村之一。

南宋始建，明代因属车陂堡改称车陂乡，现为天河区面积最大的城中村，辖区5.6平方公里。村内中山大道、黄埔大道及地铁五号线构成主要交通网络。

这里曾被网友亲切地誉为“广州年轻人的温柔乡”。有数据显示，每天在车陂过境、工作、生活的人超过30万，其中外来常住人口多达16万人。更有人夸张地评论，车陂村是一条“30%广州上班族都会选择居住”的城中村。

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傍晚六点，天还没黑透。

从车陂地铁站方向往南走，慢慢进入那片迷宫。街道开始变窄，握手楼开始密集，头顶的天空只剩一线。空调水滴答滴答，落在巷子里，落在行人肩上。外卖小哥的电动车从身边嗖嗖穿过，熟练地拐进看不见的岔路。

有人说，车陂是“天河区面积最大的城中村”。走在这里，确实能感受到它的“大”——巷子深，岔路多，走了半天还在村里。

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东侧那条河，应该是车陂涌。

全长18.6公里，是天河区流域面积最大的河流。车陂村沿涌而兴，每年端午都会在涌上进行龙舟赛。有史可考的车陂村龙舟，传承至今至少已有150余年，2017年被正式列为广州市非物质文化遗产。

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车陂为什么能住下这么多人？

原因有三：位置优越，距离珠江新城咫尺之遥；生活配套齐全，市场、食肆、药店应有尽有；租金亲民，复式单间租金仅800元/月，两房一厅大多不超过1500元/月。确实是“温柔乡”。

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从傍晚走到天黑。

巷子里的灯陆续亮起来。小吃摊前排起了队，刚下班的年轻人等着买炒粉、猪脚饭。有孩子在巷子里跑闹，老人在门口摇着蒲扇。那些窄得只能过一辆电动车的巷子，此刻被暖黄的灯光填满。

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车陂也在悄悄改变。

近年来，车陂推进“干净整洁平安有序”整治，剪除了50余吨各类网线导线，清理了垃圾，河涌水也变好了。2024年，车陂村集体物业复建项目通过备案，计划建设约30万㎡的商办物业，投资约25亿元。这片“温柔乡”，正迎来新的变化。

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我们从何处开始了解一座城市？

从它的城中村开始——从车陂的握手楼，从傍晚亮起的灯光。
从它的人开始——从那些排队买炒粉的年轻人，从巷子里跑闹的孩子。
从它的名字开始——从“龙溪”到“车陂”，从“温柔乡”到正在发生的改变。