The transformation of the Xinhepu Canal from a nondescript drainage waterway to an attractive public space, and associated changes to the street environment and appeal, are evident in this formerly wall-lined section of the canal which is now rapidly opening up to a range of more active and interesting land uses along the street, including some pedestrian alleyway connections reaching deeper into the adjacent blocks.
This part of the tree-lined canal features a building which housed the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China from April 1923, when it moved from Shanghai to Guangzhou. Early Party luminaries living and working in the Xinhepu Road building now known as Chun Yuan (Spring Garden) on the other side of the canal from the cache included Mao Zedong, Sun Yat-sen often visited the area to meet representatives of the Soviet Government in Guangzhou. Chun Yuan was restored in 2006 and in March 2013 declared a National Key Protected Cultural Relic Unit. Admission is free to look around inside during opening hours.
This part of Dongshankou, though historical, has resisted the approach of simply walling off the streetfronts and is increasingly opening up to mixed-use developments which enliven the area. The streets along the canal are improved with the addition of a bike lane and the traffic lanes reduced to one winding lane instead of two, but it needs some traffic calming to slow down the cars. The two words of the hint apply separately.