Looks like it might have been some kind of business get-together.

*****

We went on a day tour from Hong Kong to the urban district of Panyu, situated on the Pearl River, and the city of Guangzhou, both part of China’s Guangdong Province. The trip was a disaster since Tim was sick for most of it and our tour guide switched places with another guide but took our group’s visas with him, as a result of which the authorities at the Guangzhou train station refused to let us leave the country, which was pretty scary. We finally got it resolved with the tour agency but insisted on leaving China that night, only possible on a ship heading for Hong Kong since the trains didn’t run overnight.

Transportation in Guangzhou, posted earlier: