Abstract: Urban recreational business district (RBD) has become a very important part of the urban tourism system, offering tourism for tourists, and leisure, entertainment and shopping experience to local and peripheral residents. Based on the research on RBD at home and abroad, this paper uses the RBD in Tianhe Plaza, Guangzhou City, as well as its neighbors Hongcheng Plaza, Tianhe Sports Center and Guangzhou Bookstore as the subjects of the study. The RBD of Guangzhou City gradually matured after Tianhe Plaza started business. As a result, it brought very good profit to the commerce of Guangzhou, especially to the business development in Tianhe. In 1996, the total amount of consumption in Tianhe district was ￥5.227 billion, with a 40% increase from the ￥3.73 billion in 1995. In 1997, the total consumption went up to ￥6.41, with a 22.63% increase from the previous year. The RBD improved further the business status of Tianhe district, bringing about a new network of retail shops. Back in 1990, the business center of the city was in the old part of the city. Since 1996 when Tianhe Plaza came into being, a new business center emerged in the eastern part of the city. As a result, there formed a new network of two business centers of retail shops, one new, one old, in the eastern and western part of the city. The success of Guangzhou's RBD came from the fact that people's need for consumption was satisfied in a very good shopping environment. Furthermore, this helped to bring about the business environment where people are the focus. The RBD stimulated the need for entertainment and introduced a new way for leisure. More and more residents went Tianhe district for leisure. Even those who were there shopping, got used to taking advantage of recreational facilities there. The development of RBD changed the way people spend money and time, giving them a more positive attitude to life. The development of RBD also attracted a lot of tourists, which had an impact on the flow and volume of the traffic. The most obvious change was in the increase of buses. The increase in buses in turn helped Tianhe district's development. The convenience in transportation made it easy for people to live in Tianhe. Consequently, the real estate in the district enjoyed very good sale. The new RBD in Tianhe attracted residents in the old part of the city to Tianhe district, expediting the development of the new district. In the mean time, the recreational facilities and leisurely environment makes the RBD very appealing. This diverted the traffic to the city center, and relieved the tension on the city's traffic. The formation and development of RBD has brought a new trend in the urban development: a new urban area with multiple functions can draw people to it, making it more competitive than an area with just one function.