Zhongshan 中山
—  Prefecture-level city  —
中山市
Cityscape of Zhongshan
Zhongshan Location in Guangdong
Zhongshan Location in China
Coordinates: 22°32′N 113°21′E / 22.533°N 113.35°E / 22.533; 113.35
Country	China
Province	Guangdong
Government
• CPC Committee Secretary	Xie Xiaofeng
• Mayor	Chen Maohui
Area
• Total	1,800 km2 (700 sq mi)
Population (2010)
• Total	3,120,884
• Density	1,700/km2 (4,500/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard Time (UTC+8)
Postal code	528400
Area code(s)	0760
License plate prefixes	粤T
GDP	¥140.85 billion (2008)
GDP per capita	¥56,106 (2008)
Website	www.ZhongShan.gov.cn (Chinese)

Zhongshan (Chinese: 中山; pinyin: Zhōngshān; Cantonese: Zung¹saan¹), also spelled Chungshan and historically known as Xiangshan or Siangshan, is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province in southern China. Zhongshan, one of the few cities in China with an eponymous name, is named after Dr. Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925) who was also known as Sun Zhongshan. Sun, the founding father of the Republic of China, was born in Cuiheng village in Nanlang Township of what was then Xiangshan County. After his death in 1925, Xiangshan was renamed Zhongshan in his honor.

Sunwen Lu (Road) West at dusk.

Names[link]

Prior to the 20^th century, Zhongshan was generally known as Xiangshan or Heung-san (Chinese: 香山; literally "Fragrant Mountain"), in reference to the many flowers that grew in the mountains nearby.^[1] The city was renamed in honor of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who often went by the name Zhongshan/Zungsaan. Sun is considered by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China to be the "Father of Modern China", and was from Cuiheng village – now part of Nanlang Town – just outside of downtown Zhongshan.

History[link]

Zhongshan was historically inhabited by the Yue peoples, a large family of non-Han tribes that once possessed most of southern China. After unifying China in 221 BC, the First Emperor of Qin dispatched a 500,000-man army to what is now southern China to conquer the Yue peoples and bring the area under Han Chinese control. The Qin Dynasty organized its territory into "Commanderies" (Chinese: 郡; pinyin: jùn) – roughly equivalent to a province or prefecture – and Zhongshan became part of the Nanhai Commandery (Chinese: 南海郡), which covered most of modern-day Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces. After the First Emperor's death in 210 BC, Han Chinese general Zhao Tuo was declared king of Nanyue, an autonomous state covering what was originally the Nanhai Commandery. Nanyue's capital – like that of the earlier Commandery – was at Panyu, a settlement now part of the provincial capital Guangzhou. Zhao Tuo's successors were unable to successfully resist Chinese re-integration for long, and were eventually re-conquered by the armies of Emperor Wu of Han in 111 BC. During the reign of Zhao Tuo, most government officials were Chinese army officers or their descendants, though they encouraged other Han Chinese settlers to adopt Yue customs. Han Chinese immigration to the region remained small until the War of the Eight Princes (291 – 307 AD), when large groups of Han Chinese fled from the Chinese heartland south to the region.

The Zhongshan area was part of Dongguan during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD), and was a significant sea salt producer. In 1082, during the Northern Song Dynasty, a fortified settlement called Xiangshan was founded in the area, marking the first official use of the name by which it would be known throughout most of its modern history. The prosperous settlement was then upgraded to a county in 1152. Much of the First Opium War took place in and around Zhongshan: in 1839, the famous official Lin Zexu arrived in Zhongshan and ordered the expulsion of Sir Charles Elliot and other British traders from the area. Qing Dynasty soldiers resisted British attacks on the area in 1840, but were ultimately overwhelmed.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Zhongshan was occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army which implemented Unit 8604 or Nami Unit, a secret military medical unit, related to Unit 731, that researched biological warfare and other topics through human experimentation. It was headquartered at Zhongshan Medical University (Hal Gold, Unit 731 Testimony, 2003, p. 50).

In 1983, Zhongshan was elevated in administrative status from a county to a county-level city and again in 1988 to a prefecture-level city.

Geography[link]

Zhongshan is located along the west side of the mouth of the Pearl River, directly opposite Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Zhongshan is directly south of Guangzhou and Foshan's north-south alluvial plains, and just north of Zhuhai and Macau's hilly coastlines.

Geological evidence suggests that before the 2^nd millennium BC, the area Zhongshan now occupies was mostly on the floor of the South China Sea. Like much of southern China, Zhongshan has many mountains and hills – most notably the Wugui Mountains (Chinese: 五桂山; Mandarin Pinyin: Wǔguī Shān; Jyutping: Ng⁵gwai³ Saan¹) – and these formed a system of steep islands. Like most river delta systems, the Pearl River and its tributaries gradually deposited silt on the ocean floor, causing its alluvial plain to reach further and further out into the sea. Zhongshan's northern flatland appeared around 1100 AD, and was settled soon after. The city's current geography is typical of southern China: numerous steep mountains and hills with alluvial plains in between down to the coastline. The main peak of the Wugui Mountains is the highest point in the city, at 531 metres (1,742 ft) above sea level.

Like nearly all of southern China, Zhongshan's climate is warm and humid most of the year, with an average temperature of 22 °C (72 °F) and 175 centimetres (69 in) of rainfall each year. Southern China experiences fairly frequent typhoons and thunderstorms, and most rain falls between April and September.

Zhongshan's location on the Pearl River Delta.

Cityscape[link]

Fufeng pagoda in Zhongshan Park.

Zhongshan is a city of numerous leafy parks, wide boulevards and various monuments. Notable sights include:

• Sunwen Road West (or Sunwen Xilu) in Zhongshan Old Town, a pedestrian mall lined with dozens of restored buildings from the colonial period in treaty port style. Several of these buildings were built in the 1920s. The seven story Fufeng Pagoda, built in 1608, which is visible from all over the city, is located on a hill in Zhongshan Park, which abuts the western end of Sunwen Road West immediately to its north. A Sun Yat-sen memorial pavilion stands near the pagoda.

• Sunwen Memorial Park, at the southern end of Xingzhong Road, is the site of the largest bronze sculpture of Sun Yat-sen in the world.

Administration[link]

Administration division of Zhongshan

Zhongshan is a prefecture-level city of the Guangdong province. An uncommon administrative feature is that it has no county-level division. The city government directly administers five district offices (corresponding to the urban area of Zhongshan proper), 18 towns and a development zone:

• Districts
  • Dongqu District (东区)
  • Nanqu District (南区)
  • Shiqi District (石岐区)
  • Xiqu District (西区)
  • Wuguishan District (五桂山区)
  • Torch Hi-tech Industrial Development District (火炬高技术产业开发区)

• Towns
  • Banfu Town (板芙镇)
  • Dachong Town (大涌镇)
  • Dongfeng Town (东凤镇)
  • Dongsheng Town (东升镇)
  • Fusha Town (阜沙镇)
  • Gangkou Town (港口镇)
  • Guzhen Town (古镇镇)
  • Henglan Town (横栏镇)
  • Huangpu Town (黄圃镇)
  • Minzong Town (民众镇)
  • Nanlang Town (南朗镇)
  • Nantou Town (南头镇)
  • Sanjiao Town (三角镇)
  • Sanxiang Town (三乡镇)
  • Shaxi Town (沙溪镇)
  • Shenwan Town (神湾镇)
  • Tanzhou Town (坦洲镇)
  • Xiaolan Town (小榄镇)

Economy[link]

Primary industries[link]

Primary productions are agricultural, such as rice, lychee, banana, and sugar cane. Added to this, horticulture in Xiaolan Town is famous throughout southern China for its blooming chrysanthemum.

Manufacturing industries[link]

Zhongshan, together with Dongguan, Nanhai and Shunde, are dubbed as Four Little Tigers in Guangdong. The proximity of Zhongshan to Hong Kong and Macau is an advantage to its economic development, especially on the manufacturing industries.

In the 1980s, Zhongshan had a relatively developed State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) sector that was used to stimulate Township and Village Enterprises (TVE) development in the countryside. Currently, the SOE sector is much weaker and the economy is dominated by foreign investment and TVEs, and also by various specialized manufacturing towns. Each of these towns is specialized in making a particular product. Most of the towns are so successful that they earn a reputation as a leading manufacturer in their own pillar industries. Indeed, "One Industry in One Town" has become a unique economic feature in Zhongshan.

Pillar industries in various specialized manufacturing towns in Zhongshan include:

• Dachong Town for mahogany furniture industry,
• Dongfeng Town for electric household appliance industry,
• Guzhen Town for lighting fitting products,
• Huangpu Town for food industry,
• Shaxi Town for casual wear manufacturing,
• Xiaolan Town for locks and hardware industry, as well as for electronic acoustics products

The government of Zhongshan encourages "Research and Design" in the region by setting up national level research centre and specialized industrial regions. For example, the Zhongshan National Torch High-Tech Industrial Development Zone (中山國家級火炬高技術產業開發區) was established in 1990 in the east of the city by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the governments of Guangdong province and Zhongshan. Zhongshan Port, which ranks among the top 10 ports nationwide in terms of container-handling capacity, is in the zone.^[2] Since 2001, it has contained Zhongshan Electronic Base of China (中国电子中山基地) for its reputation on the electronic acoustics industries. Following the possible development in Nansha, the city considers its eastern part, of which 400 km² of land is available, as a focus of development.

Currently, the city is trying to re-organize the fragmented industrialization. Meanwhile, the light and labour intensive industry characteristic of Zhongshan's economy imposes problem on shortage of land in Zhongshan.

Tourism[link]

Several hot spring resorts are located in Sanxiang Town. In future, the World Lamp King Museum, a lamp museum in form of a lamp will be the major tourist attraction.

• ormer Residence of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall The Sun Zhongshan memorial is the former residence of Sun Zhongshan jade as the main body of the Memorial Museum, is located in Guangdong Province, Zhongshan City Jade Village, in Zhongshan City East17.6 kilometers south of Canton (state ), beads ( SEA ) side of the main road.

• Happy Valley Happy Valley is located in Zhongshan City, five Shan hinterland silver pit, is a collection of leisure, vacation, entertainment, fitness, business conference as one of the natural ecological scenic spot.

• Jin Ju City, flap " Ju Jin valve" is the city of Zhongshan Xiaolan Town name. Town residents almost each and every family has the garden pavilion. The roof and balcony, streets and lanes, there are countless varieties of chrysanthemum planting.

Education[link]

Colleges and universities[link]

Statue of Sun Yat-sen in Sunwen Memorial Park.

• Zhongshan College
• Guangdong Pharmaceutical University

High schools[link]

• Zhongshan Memorial Middle School (Chinese: 中山纪念中学; pinyin: Zhōngshān Jìniàn Zhōngxúe) opened in 1932. It was established in memory of the Chinese revolutionist Sun Yat-sen, and built under the supervision of Soong Ching-ling, the widow of Sun Yat-sen.
• Zhongshan No.1 Middle School [1] (Chinese: 中山市第一中学; pinyin: Zhōngshānshì Dìyī Zhōngxúe) opened in 1908.
• Guangdong Zhongshan Experimental Middle School
• Guangdong Bowen International School
• Sanxin Bilingual School
• China Hong Kong English School

Transportation[link]

• Chu Kong Passenger Transport (CKS) connects Zhongshan with Hong Kong with multiple daily scheduled high speed ferry services to both Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal on Hong Kong Island and Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal in Kowloon. The trip by ferry takes about 1.5 hours.

• Guangzhou–Zhuhai Intercity Railway Multiple stations serve the city of Zhongshan.

Sister cities[link]

Zhongshan is an official sister city of two cities worldwide.

Country	City	County/District/Region/State	Date
Japan	Moriguchi	Osaka	1988
United States	Honolulu	Hawaii	1997

References[link]

1. ^ Tai Ping Huan Yu Ji 《太平寰宇记》, juan 157, 3019.
2. ^ RightSite.asia | ZhongShan National Torch High-Tech Industrial Development Zone

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zhongshan

• Zhongshan government website
• Zhongshan News website (in Simplified Chinese)
• Zhongshan News website (translated to English by Google)
• Zhongshan Overseas Friendship Association website (in Simplified Chinese)
• ZSRenn (English information for expats and tourists in Zhongshan)
• Map of Zhongshan

v t e Pearl River Delta Region Pearl River Delta Economic Zone Guangdong Province Guangzhou • Shenzhen • Zhuhai (Hengqin New Area) • Dongguan • Zhongshan • Foshan • Jiangmen • Huizhou (Huicheng • Huidong • Boluo) • Zhaoqing (Sihui • Gaoyao) Special Administrative Region  Hong Kong •  Macau

Coordinates: 22°32′N 113°21′E / 22.533°N 113.35°E / 22.533; 113.35

Mainland China
The highlighted orange area in the map is what is commonly known as "mainland China".
Traditional Chinese	中國大陸
Simplified Chinese	中国大陆
Literal meaning	Continental China
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Zhōnggúo Dàlù Min - Hokkien POJ Tiong-kok Tāi-lio̍k - Min-dong BUC Dṳ̆ng-guók Dâi-lṳ̆k Wu - Romanization tson平koh入 du去loh入 Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping jung1 gwok3 daai6 luk6
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	內地
Simplified Chinese	内地
Literal meaning	Inland
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Nèidì Wu - Romanization ne去di去 Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping noi6 dei6

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The term generally excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau.^[1][2]

There are two terms in Chinese for "mainland". Namely, Dalu (simplified Chinese: 大陆; traditional Chinese: 大陸), which means "continent", and Neidi (内地 / 內地), literally "inner land". In the PRC, the usage of the two terms are generally interchangeable and there is no prescribed method of reference in any jurisdiction. To emphasize "equal footing" in cross-strait relations, the term is used in official contexts with reference to Taiwan, with the PRC referring to itself as "the mainland side" (as opposed to "the Taiwan side"). But in its relations with Hong Kong and Macau, the PRC government refers to itself as "the Central People's Government".

Background[link]

By 1949, the Communist Party of China's (CPC) People's Liberation Army had largely defeated the Kuomintang (KMT)'s National Revolutionary Army in the Chinese Civil War on the mainland. This forced the Kuomintang to relocate the Government and institutions of the Republic of China to the relative safety of Taiwan, an island which was placed under the control of the Republic of China after the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II in 1945. With the establishment of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, the CPC-controlled government saw itself as the sole legitimate government of China,^[3] competing with the claims of the Republic of China, whose authority is now limited to Taiwan and other islands. This has resulted in a situation in which two co-existing governments compete for international legitimacy and recognition as the "government of China".

The phrase "mainland China" emerged as a politically neutral term to refer to the area under control of the Communist Party of China, and later to the administration of the PRC itself. Until the late 1970s, both the PRC and ROC envisioned a military takeover of the other. During this time the ROC referred to the PRC government as "Communist Bandits" (共匪) while the PRC referred to the ROC as "Chiang Bandits" (蔣匪). Later, as a military solution became less feasible, the ROC referred to the PRC as "Communist China"" (中共). With the democratization of Taiwan in the 1990s, the phrase mainland China soon grew to mean not only the area under the control of the Communist Party of China, but also a more neutral means to refer to the People's Republic of China government; this usage remains prevalent by the KMT today.

Due to their status as colonies of foreign states during the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the phrase "mainland China" excludes Hong Kong and Macau.^[4] Since the return of Hong Kong and Macau to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 and 1999, respectively, the two territories have retained their legal, political, and economic systems. The territories also have their distinct identities. Therefore "mainland China" generally continues to exclude these territories, because of the "One country, two systems" policy adopted by the PRC central government towards the regions.^[5] The term is also used in economic indicators, such as the IMD Competitiveness Report. International news media often use "China" to refer only to mainland China or the People's Republic of China.

Usage of the term[link]

In Taiwan[link]

In Taiwan, the term "mainland" is often used to refer to mainland China (Hong Kong and Macau excluded^{[citation needed]}), by the Kuomintang (KMT, "Chinese Nationalist Party") and its supporters, who share the view that China encompasses both sides of the Taiwan Strait.^[6] Since the KMT was the long-time ruling party in Taiwan, the term is in mainstream use in Taiwan and often has no political implications.^{[citation needed]} Government organizations and official and legal documents in Taiwan also use "the mainland" to refer to mainland China. In contrast, the pro-Taiwan independence Democratic Progressive Party use the term "the Chinese mainland" to imply that Taiwan is separate from China.^[6]

In Taiwan, under the concept of "Mainlander" another comparative term often used is waishengren (Chinese: 外省人; pinyin: wàishěngrén; literally "external province person(s)"), which are the people who immigrated to Taiwan from mainland China with the Kuomintang (KMT) around the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, as well as their descendants born in Taiwan. The status of waishengren in Taiwan is a divisive political issue. For many years certain groups of mainlanders were given special treatment by the KMT government which had imposed martial law on Taiwan. More recently, pro-Taiwan independence politicians calling into question their loyalty and devotion to Taiwan and pro-Chinese reunification politicians accusing the pro-independence politicians of playing identity politics.^[7] The term "Mainlander" mostly refers to daluren (simplified Chinese: 大陆人; traditional Chinese: 大陸人; pinyin: dàlùrén; literally "mainland person(s)"), meaning people who live in mainland China.

In the United States' Taiwan Relations Act, the ROC-controlled islands of Quemoy and Matsu were excluded from the definition of "Taiwan", and are regarded as parts of mainland China. The House Foreign Affairs Committee justified this exclusion on the grounds that "Quemoy and Matsu are considered by both Taipei and by Peking to be part of mainland China."^[8] Quemoy and Matsu are geologically part of the continental mainland.^[9]

In Hong Kong and Macau[link]

In Hong Kong and Macau, the terms "mainland China" and "mainlander" are frequently used for people from China mainland. This usage is not geographically accurate, however, as much of the land area of both Hong Kong and Macau are peninsulas connected to the continent. The Chinese term 內地, meaning the inland but still translated mainland in English, is commonly applied by SAR governments to represent non-SAR areas of PRC, including Hainan and coastal regions of mainland China, such as "Constitutional and Mainland Affairs" (政制及內地事務局)^[10] and Immigration Departments.^[11]

In the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (as well as the Mainland and Macau Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement) the CPG also uses the Chinese characters 内地 "inner land", with the note that they refer to the "customs territory of China".^[12]

In mainland China[link]

In the PRC, the term 内地 ("Inland") is often contrasted with the term 境外 ("outside of the border") for things outside of the mainland region. Examples include "Administration of Foreign-funded Banks" (中華人民共和國外資銀行管理條例) or the "Measures on Administration of Representative Offices of Foreign Insurance Institutions" (外國保險機構駐華代表機構管理辦法).^[5]

Hainan is an offshore island, therefore geographically not part of the continental mainland. Nevertheless, politically it is common practice to consider it part of the mainland because its government, legal and political systems do not differ from the rest of People's Republic of China in the geographical mainland. Nonetheless, Hainanese people still refer to the geographic mainland as "the mainland" and call its residents "mainlanders".

Others[link]

Other use of geography-related terms are also often used where neutrality is required.

See also[link]

• Mainland
• Mainlander
• Greater China
• Sinosphere
• Free China
• Free Area of the Republic of China
• Maritime China

References[link]

Sources[link]

• http://www.imd.ch/research/publications/wcy/World-Competitiveness-Yearbook-2008-Results.cfm
• www.imd.org. "THE WORLD COMPETITIVENESS SCOREBOARD 2011". IMD INTERNATIONAL. http://www.imd.ch/research/publications/wcy/upload/scoreboard.pdf. 

External links[link]

• Economic profile for mainland China at HKTDC

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2010)

Coordinates: 23°24′N 113°30′E / 23.4°N 113.5°E / 23.4; 113.5

Guangdong Province
Chinese : 广东省 Guǎngdōng Shěng Cantonese Jyutping: Gwong2 Dung1 Saang2 Cantonese Yale: Gwóngdūng Sáang
Abbreviations: simplified Chinese: 粤; traditional Chinese: 粵  (pinyin: Yuè, Jyutping: Jyut6, Yale: Yuht)
Origin of name	广 guǎng - "Wide" 东 dōng- "East" Lit. "The Eastern Expanse"
Administration type	Province
Capital (and largest city)	Guangzhou
CPC Ctte Secretary	Wang Yang
Governor	Zhu Xiaodan
Area	177,900 km2 (68,700 sq mi) (15th)
- Latitude	20° 13' to 25° 31' N
- Longitude	109° 40' to 117° 20' E
Population (2010)  - Density	104,303,132 (1st) 536 /km2 (1,390 /sq mi) (7th)
GDP (2011)  - per capita	CNY 5.30 trillion US$ 838.60 billion[1] (1st) CNY 50,295 US$ 7,787 (8th)
HDI (2008)	0.844 (high) (4th)
Ethnic composition	Han - 99% Zhuang - 0.7% Yao - 0.2%
Languages and dialects	Cantonese Hakka Teochew Leizhou Putonghua
Prefectural level	21 divisions
County level	121 divisions
Township level*	1642 divisions
ISO 3166-2	CN-44
Official website http://www.gd.gov.cn (Simplified Chinese characters)
Source for population and GDP data: 《中国统计年鉴—2005》 China Statistical Yearbook 2005 ISBN 7503747382 Source for nationalities data: 《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》 Tabulation on nationalities of 2000 population census of China ISBN 7105054255 *As at December 31, 2004
Template ■ Discussion ■ WikiProject China

Guangdong
Simplified Chinese	广东
Traditional Chinese	廣東
Cantonese Jyutping	Gwong2 Dung1
Cantonese Yale	Gwóngdūng
Hanyu Pinyin	Guǎngdōng
Transcriptions Hakka - Romanization Kóng-tûng [gong31 dung24] Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Guǎngdōng - Wade–Giles Kuang-tung  [Listen] (help·info) - IPA [kwɑ̀ŋtʊ́ŋ] - Postal Map Canton, Kwangtung Min - Hokkien POJ Kńg-tang - Min-dong BUC Guōng-dĕ̤ng Wu - Romanization kuaon tong Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping Gwong2 Dung1 - Yale Romanization Gwóngdūng

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province. It surpassed Henan and Sichuan to become the most populous province in China in January 2005, registering 79 million permanent residents and 31 million migrants who lived in the province for at least six months of the year.^[2][3] The provincial capital Guangzhou and economic hub Shenzhen are amongst the most populous and important cities in China.

Since 1989 Guangdong has topped the total GDP rankings among all provincial-level divisions, with Jiangsu and Shandong second and third in rank. According to provincial annual preliminary statistics,^[4] Guangdong's GDP in 2010 reached CNY 4,550 billion, or USD 689.02 billion, making its economy roughly the same size as that of Turkey or Indonesia.^[5] Guangdong has the fourth highest GDP per capita among all provinces of mainland China, after Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Liaoning. The province contributes approximately 12% of the PRC's national economic output, and is home to the production facilities and offices of a wide-ranging set of multinational and Chinese corporations. Guangdong also hosts the largest Import and Export Fair in China called the Canton Fair in Guangdong's capital city Guangzhou.

Name[link]

"Guang" itself means "expanse" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. "Guangdong" and neighbouring Guangxi literally mean "expanse east" and "expanse west". Together, Guangdong and Guangxi are called the "Dual-Guangs" (兩廣 liăng guăng). During the Song dynasty, the two Guangs were formally separated as Guangnan Dong lu (廣南東路) and Guangnan Xi lu (廣南西路), which became abbreviated as Guangdong lu (廣東路) and Guangxi lu (廣西路). The modern abbreviation 粤/粵 (Yue) is a shortened form of Baiyue (百越), a collective name for various peoples that lived in southern China in ancient times.

Prior to the introduction of Hanyu Pinyin, the province was known as Kwangtung Province. One should note that Canton, though etymologically derived from a Portuguese transliteration of "Guangdong", refers only to the provincial capital instead of the whole province, as documented by authoritative English dictionaries. The local people of the city of Guangzhou (Canton) and their language are still commonly referred to as Cantonese in English. Because of the prestige of Canton and its accent, Cantonese sensu lato can also be used for the phylogenetically related residents and Chinese dialects outside the provincial capital.

History[link]

Guangdong was far away from the centre of ancient Chinese civilization in the north China plain. It was populated by peoples collectively known as the Baiyue, who may have spoken Tai–Kadai languages and been related to the Zhuang people in modern Guangxi.

Chinese administration in the region began with the Qin Dynasty. After establishing the first unified Chinese empire, the Qin expanded southwards and set up Nanhai Commandery at Panyu, near what is now part of Guangzhou. It used to be independent as Nanyue between the fall of Qin and the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. The Han Dynasty administered Guangdong, Guangxi, and northern Vietnam as Jiaozhi Province. Under the Wu Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms period, Guangdong was made its own province, the Guang Province, in 226.

As time passed, the demographics of what is now Guangdong slowly shifted to (Han) Chinese-dominance, especially during several periods of massive migration from the north during periods of political turmoil and/or nomadic incursions from the fall of the Han Dynasty onwards. For example, internal strife in northern China following the rebellion of An Lushan resulted in a 75% increase in the population of Guangzhou prefecture between 740s-750s and 800s-810s.^[6] As more migrants arrived, the local population was gradually assimilated to Han Chinese culture,^[7] or displaced. From the tenth to twelfth century, Persian women were to be found in Guangzhou (Canton), some of them in the tenth century like Mei Zhu in the harem of the Emperor Liu Chang, and in the twelfth century large numbers of Persian women lived there, noted for wearing mulitiple earrings and "quarrelsome dispositions".^[8][9] Multiple women originating from the Persian Gulf lived in Guangzhou's foreign quarter, they were all called "Persian women" (波斯婦 Po-ssu-fu or Bosifu).^[10]

Together with Guangxi, Guangdong was made part of Lingnan Circuit (political division Circuit), or Mountain-South Circuit, in 627 during the Tang Dynasty. The Guangdong part of Lingnan Circuit was renamed Guangnan East Circuit guǎng nán dōng lù in 971 during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). "Guangnan East" is the source of "Guangdong".

As Mongols from the north engaged in their conquest of China in the 13th century, the Southern Song Dynasty retreated southwards, eventually ending up in today's Guangdong. The Battle of Yamen 1279 in Guangdong marked the end of the Southern Song Dynasty (960-1279).

During the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, large part of current Guangdong belongs to Jiangxi Province.^[11] Its present name, "Guangdong Province" was given in early Ming Dynasty.

Since the 16th century, Guangdong has had extensive trade links with the rest of the world. European merchants coming northwards via the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea, particularly the Portuguese and British, traded extensively through Guangzhou. Macau, on the southern coast of Guangdong, was the first European settlement in 1557.

In the 19th century, the opium traded through Guangzhou triggered the First Opium War, opening an era of foreign incursion and intervention in China. In addition to Macau, which was then a Portuguese colony, Hong Kong was ceded to the British, and Kwang-Chou-Wan to the French.

Guangdong was also the major port of exit for labourers to Southeast Asia and the West in the 19th century, i.e. United States and Canada. As a result, many overseas Chinese communities have their origins in Guangdong. The Cantonese language therefore has proportionately more speakers among overseas Chinese people than mainland Chinese. In the US, there is a large number of Chinese who are descendants of immigrants from the city of Taishan (Toisan in Cantonese), who speak a distinctive dialect related to Cantonese called Taishanese (or Toishanese).

During the 1850s, the Taiping Rebellion, whose leader Hong Xiuquan was born in Guangdong and received a pamphlet from a Protestant Christian missionary in Guangdong, became a widespread civil war in southern China. Because of direct contact with the West, Guangdong was the center of anti-Manchu and anti-imperialist activity. The generally acknowledged founder of modern China, Sun Yat-sen, was also from Guangdong.

During the early 1920s of the Republic of China, Guangdong was the staging area for Kuomintang (KMT) to prepare for the Northern Expedition, an effort to bring the various warlords of China back under the central government. Whampoa Military Academy was built near Guangzhou to train military commanders.

In recent years, the province has seen extremely rapid economic growth, aided in part by its close trading links with Hong Kong, which borders it. It is now the province with the highest gross domestic product in China.

In 1952, a small section of Guangdong's coastline was given to Guangxi, giving it access to the sea. This was reversed in 1955, and then restored in 1965. Hainan Island was originally part of Guangdong but it was separated as its own province in 1988.

Geography[link]

Pearl River and Humen Bridge

Guangdong faces the South China Sea to the south and has a total of 4,300 km of coastline. Leizhou Peninsula is on the southwestern end of the province. There are a few inactive volcanoes on Leizhou Peninsula. The Pearl River Delta is the convergent point of three upstream rivers: the East River, North River, and West River. The river delta is filled with hundreds of small islands. The province is geographically separated from the north by a few mountain ranges collectively called the Southern Mountain Range (南岭). The highest peak in the province is Shikengkong 1,902 meters above sea level.

Guangdong borders Fujian province to the northeast, Jiangxi and Hunan provinces to the north, Guangxi autonomous region to the west, and Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions to the south. Hainan province is offshore across from the Leizhou Peninsula. Certain of the Pratas Islands which have traditionally been regarded as part of Guangdong Province are administered by the Government of the Republic of China on Taiwan.^[12]

Cities around the Pearl River Delta include Dongguan, Foshan, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, Shunde, Taishan, Zhongshan and Zhuhai. Other cities in the province include Chaozhou, Chenghai, Kaiping, Nanhai, Shantou, Shaoguan, Xinhui, Zhanjiang, Zhaoqing, Yangjiang and Yunfu.

Guangdong has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa inland, Cwa along the coast), though nearing a tropical climate in the far south. Winters are short, mild, and relatively dry, while summers are long, hot, and very wet. Average daily highs in Guangzhou in January and July are 18 °C (64 °F) and 33 °C (91 °F) respectively, although the humidity makes it feel much hotter in summer. Frost is rare on the coast but may happen a few days each winter well inland.

Economy[link]