兩百年前，廣州是中國唯一的通商口岸，澳門則是唯一允許外國人居住的地方。那時，珠江三角洲河流縱橫，陸路不便，廣州與澳門之間的交通仰賴水路，有兩條水運航道蜿蜒在這片水鄉。

 

內河航道，全長約160公里，如同一條蜿蜒的絲帶，連接著香山、順德等煙火旺盛的縣城。十九世紀的外商們駛入這條航道，仿佛踏上一段探索南方風土人情的旅程。他們筆下的文字和畫作，至今仍是研究本土歷史文化的珍貴資料。隨著時間流逝，內河航道因無法承載大噸位船隻，加之陸路交通的日益便捷，逐漸被遺忘。

 

外河航道，主要用於貨運，航行於珠江出海口。從廣州到澳門，約130公里的航程，曾是中國近代貿易史上的命脈，是通向世界的南大門。1840年前，這片海域因鴉片走私而烽煙四起，引發中英鴉片戰爭。戰爭的硝煙散去，香港成為英國殖民地，廣州與澳門的繁華也隨著海禁的開放，逐漸轉移至香港和其他港口。

 

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Two hundred years ago, Guangzhou was China’s only trading port, while Macau was the only place where foreigners were allowed to reside. At that time, the Pearl River Delta, crisscrossed by rivers, made land routes difficult, so travel between Guangzhou and Macau relied mainly on waterways, with two shipping routes winding through this watery region.

 

The west passage, also called ‘the broadway’ by foreign merchants, stretching approximately 160 kilometers, was like a meandering ribbon connecting bustling towns like Xiangshan and Shunde. In the 19th century, foreign merchants navigated this route as if embarking on a journey to explore the customs and scenery of the southern lands. Their writings and artworks remain valuable resources for studying local history and culture. As time passed, the west passage, unable to accommodate large vessels and with the rise of convenient land transportation, gradually faded into the dust of history.

 

The east passage, primarily used for cargo transport, ran along the Pearl River estuary. The 130-kilometer journey from Guangzhou to Macau was once the lifeline of modern China's trade history, serving as the southern gateway to the world. Before 1840, opium smuggling in these waters sparked the Opium War between China and Britain. After the war’s smoke cleared, Hong Kong became a British colony, and the commercial prosperity of Guangzhou and Macau gradually shifted to Hong Kong and other ports with the lifting of maritime restrictions.