Sanyuanli, Historical neighborhood in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, China

Sanyuanli is a neighborhood in the Baiyun District of Guangzhou, in Guangdong province, known for its role in 19th-century Chinese history. The streets are lined with apartment buildings, local shops, and food stalls, sitting alongside older structures that date back several generations.

In 1841, residents of the area organized one of the first armed acts of resistance against British troops during the First Opium War. This uprising became a reference point in Chinese national memory and gave the neighborhood the political weight it still carries today.

The name Sanyuanli comes from a Ming-dynasty market called Sanyuan, meaning heaven, earth and man. The Sanyuan Ancient Temple, where villagers gathered before resisting British troops in May 1841, was later converted into the Sanyuanli Pingyingtuan site.

The neighborhood sits near Guangzhou Railway Station and is easy to reach by metro, making it a straightforward stop on a day in the city. Walking the side streets in the morning gives a better sense of daily life than visiting at peak hours.

The Sanyuanli Pingyingtuan site occupies the Sanyuan Ancient Temple, where the village militia gathered before confronting British troops in May 1841. The 1950 monument to the resistance martyrs stands on a hill nearby. Japanese explorers who had surveyed Kowloon Walled City before its 1993 demolition later came to Sanyuanli and drew comparisons between the two.