“San” means “3.” In Cantonese “San” has a similar pronunciation to “sheng”, which means living and vibrant. Many places in Guangdong are named with “San,” such as San Ke Song, San Yuan Li, San Bao Xu and San Yuan Gang.

San Yuan Gong, the largest Taoism Temple in GuangZhou.

There is a Sanyu Road in Guangzhou’s former Dongshan District. It is famous for being the location of Guangzhou’s three richest and most powerful families in the past.

There is a well-known masterpiece written by Ouyang Shan called “San Jia Xiang.” The story was set to the background of Guangzhou’s Xiguan (now Liwan District) in the 1930s.