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Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in
South China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...
on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) across a total area of about , Guangdong is the most populous province of China and the 15th-largest by area as well as the second-most populous country subdivision in the world (after Uttar Pradesh in India). Its economy is larger than that of any other province in the nation and the fifth largest sub-national economy in the world with a GDP (nominal) of 1.95 trillion USD (12.4 trillion CNY) in 2021. The Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, a Chinese megalopolis, is a core for high technology, manufacturing and foreign trade. Located in this zone are two of the four top Chinese cities and the top two Chinese prefecture-level cities by GDP; Guangzhou, the capital of the province, and Shenzhen, the first special economic zone in the country. These two are among the most populous and important cities in China, and have now become two of the world's most populous
megacities A megacity is a very large city, typically with a population of more than 10 million people. Precise definitions vary: the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in its 2018 "World Urbanization Prospects" report counted urban ...
and leading financial centres in the
Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...
region. The province of Guangdong surpassed Henan and
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
to become the most populous province in China in January 2005, registering 79.1 million permanent residents and 31 million migrants who lived in the province for at least six months of the year;English people.com.cn
the total population was 104,303,132 in the 2010 census, accounting for 7.79 percent of Mainland China's population.China NBS: 6th National Population Census – DATA
This makes it the most populous first-level administrative subdivision of any country outside of South Asia. Its population increase since the census has been modest, the province registering 108,500,000 people in 2015. The vast majority of the historical Guangdong Province is administered by the People's Republic of China (PRC). Pratas Island in the South China Sea is part of
Cijin District Cijin District (; Hokkien POJ: ''Kî-tin-khu'') is a district of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, covering Cijin Island () and islands in the South China Sea. It is the second smallest district in Kaohsiung City after Yancheng District, with an area of ...
,
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
, Taiwan (ROC); the island was previously part of Guangdong Province before the Chinese Civil War. Guangdong has a diversified economy. It was known as the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road of ancient China. Since 1989, Guangdong has topped the total GDP rankings among all provincial-level divisions, with Jiangsu and
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
second and third in rank. In 2020, Guangdong's GDP nominal was 11 trillion RMB (1.7 trillion USD), exceeding that of Canada (US$1.64 trillion) and South Korea (US$1.63 trillion), the world's 9th and 10th largest economy, respectively. Compared to a country, it would be the 9th-largest economy as of 2020 and the 11th most populous. The province contributes approximately 9% of the total economic output of mainland China and is home to the production facilities and offices of a wide-ranging set of Chinese and foreign corporations. Guangdong has benefited from its proximity to the financial hub of Hong Kong, which it borders to the south. Guangdong also hosts the largest import and export fair in China, the Canton Fair, hosted in the provincial capital of Guangzhou. After the unification of
Lingnan Lingnan (; Vietnamese: Lĩnh Nam) is a geographic area referring to the lands in the south of the Nanling Mountains. The region covers the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, and Macau, as well as modern northe ...
region in the Qin dynasty, the immigrants from the Central Plains moved in and formed the local culture with a unique style. With the outward movement of the Guangdong people, the Hakka and Cantonese
languages Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
, music,
cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...
, opera and tea ceremony have been spread throughout the nation, Southeast Asia and other countries. Guangdong was also the birthplace of the father of modern China and the founder of the Republic of China,
Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
where he later declared a
military government A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...
in the Warlord Era. The two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau fall within the scope of Guangdong cultural influence, and Guangdong culture still has profound influences on the
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
in Singapore and Malaysia. Guangdong is also one of the leading provinces in research and education in China. Guangdong hosts 160
institutions of higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completio ...
, ranking first in South Central China region and 2nd among all Chinese provinces/municipalities after Jiangsu. As of 2022, two major cities ranked in the top 30 cities in the world (Guangzhou 10th and Shenzhen 28th) by scientific research output, as tracked by the Nature Index.


Name

"''Guǎng''" () means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin (), an outpost established in Han dynasty near modern Wuzhou, whose name is a reference to an order by
Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally enshrined as Emperor Wu the Filial (), born Liu Che (劉徹) and courtesy name Tong (通), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign la ...
to "widely bestow favors and sow trust". Together, Guangdong and Guangxi are called '' Loeng gwong'' () During the Song dynasty, the Two Guangs were formally separated as ''Guǎngnán Dōnglù'' () and ''Guǎngnán Xīlù'' (), which became abbreviated as ''Guǎngdōng Lù'' () and ''Guǎngxī Lù'' (). "Canton", though etymologically derived from ' (the Portuguese transliteration of "Guangdong"), usually by itself refers to the provincial capital Guangzhou. Historically, Canton was also used for the province itself, but often either specified as a province (e.g. Canton Province), or written as ''Kwangtung'' in the Wade–Giles system and now most commonly as ''Guangdong'' in Pinyin. The local people of the city of Guangzhou (Canton) and their language are called Cantonese in English. Because of the prestige of
Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...
and its accent, Cantonese can also be used, in a wider sense, for the phylogenetically related residents and Chinese dialects outside the provincial capital.


History


Prehistory

The Neolithic era began in the
Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Mac ...
() 7,000 years before present (BP), with the early period from around 7000 to 5000 BP (c. 5050–3050 BC), and the late period from about 5000 to 3500 BP (c. 3050–1550 BC). In coastal Guangdong, the Neolithic was likely introduced from the middle Yangtze River area (Jiao 2013). In inland Guangdong, the neolithic appeared in Guangdong 4,600 years before present (BP). The Neolithic in northern inland Guangdong is represented by the Shixia culture (), which occurred from 4600 to 4200 BP (c. 2650–2250 BC).


Imperial

Originally inhabited by a mixture of tribal groups known to the Chinese as the Baiyue ("Hundred Yue"), the region first became part of China during the Qin dynasty. Under the Qin Dynasty, Chinese administration began and along with it reliable historical records in the region. 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. The region was an independent kingdom as Nanyue between the fall of Qin and the reign of
Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally enshrined as Emperor Wu the Filial (), born Liu Che (劉徹) and courtesy name Tong (通), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign la ...
. The Han dynasty administered Guangdong, Guangxi, and northern Vietnam as
Jiaozhi Province Jiaozhi Province was a province of the Chinese Ming dynasty that existed during its brief rule of northern Vietnam from 1407 to 1427, known in historiography as the Fourth Era of Northern Domination. The province's name, Jiaozhi, was an earlie ...
; southernmost Jiaozhi Province was used as a gateway for traders from the west—as far away as the Roman Empire. Under the Wu Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms period, Guangdong was made its own province, the Guang Province, in 226 CE. Canton was a prosperous port city along a tropical frontier region beset by disease and wild animals, but rich in oranges, banyan, bananas, and lychee fruits. They traded slaves, silk and chinaware with Persians, Brahmans and
Malays Malays may refer to: * Malay race, a racial category encompassing peoples of Southeast Asia and sometimes the Pacific Islands ** Overseas Malays, people of Malay race ancestry living outside Malay archipelago home areas ** Cape Malays, a communit ...
in exchange for their renowned medicines and fragrant tropical woods.
Shi'a Muslims Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most n ...
who had fled persecution in
Khorasan Khorasan may refer to: * Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan * Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
and
Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
from India lived side by side in the thriving town each erecting their own houses of worship. A foreign quarter sprang up along the river where many traders of diverse backgrounds including Arabs and Singhalese took up residence. The port's importance declined after it was raided by Arabs and Persians in 758 and the foreign residents were at times troubled by the corrupt local officials, sometimes responding violently. During one incident in 684, for example, a merchant vessel's captain murdered a corrupt governor who had used his position to steal from the merchant. Together with
Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
, Guangdong was made part of
Lingnan Lingnan (; Vietnamese: Lĩnh Nam) is a geographic area referring to the lands in the south of the Nanling Mountains. The region covers the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, and Macau, as well as modern northe ...
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 Guangnan East Circuit or Guangnan East Province was one of the major circuits during the Song dynasty. Its administrative area corresponds to roughly the modern Chinese province of Guangdong (minus Leizhou Peninsula). Guangnan East Circuit and ...
() in 971 during the Song dynasty (960–1279). "Guangnan East" () is the source of the name "Guangdong" (). As time passed, the demographics of what is now Guangdong gradually shifted to (
Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
) Chinese dominance as the populations intermingled due to commerce along the great canals. From the fall of the Han dynasty onwards, it shifted more abruptly through massive migration from the north during periods of political turmoil and nomadic incursions. 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 the 740s–750s and 800s–810s. As more migrants arrived, the local population was gradually assimilated to Han Chinese culture or displaced. As Mongols from the north engaged in their conquest of China in the 13th century, the Southern Song court fled southwards from its capital in Hangzhou. The defeat of the Southern Song court by Mongol naval forces in The Battle of Yamen 1279 in Guangdong marked the end of the Southern Song dynasty (960–1279). During the Mongol Yuan dynasty, large parts of current Guangdong belonged to Jiangxi. 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 The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 500 mi (800 km) long and from 40 to 155 mi (65–250 km) wide, between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connec ...
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 The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...
, opening an era of Western imperialists' incursion and intervention in China. In addition to Macau, which was then a
Portuguese colony The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...
, Hong Kong was ceded to the British, and Kouang-Tchéou-Wan (modern day area of Zhanjiang) to the
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
. Due to the large number of people that emigrated out of the Guangdong province, and in particular the ease of immigration from Hong Kong to other parts of the British Empire (later British Commonwealth), many overseas Chinese communities have their origins in Guangdong and/or Cantonese culture. In particular, the Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew dialects have proportionately more speakers among overseas Chinese people than Mandarin-speaking Chinese. Additionally, many Taishanese-speaking Chinese
emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
to Western countries, with the results that many Western versions of Chinese words were derived from the Cantonese dialects rather than through the mainstream Mandarin language, such as "
dim sum Dim sum () is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cuis ...
". Some Mandarin Chinese words originally of foreign origin also came from the original foreign language by way of Cantonese. For example, the Mandarin word ' (), meaning "Lemon", came from Cantonese, in which the characters are pronounced as '. In the United States, there is a large number of Chinese who are descendants of immigrants from the county-level city of
Taishan __NOTOC__ Taishan may refer to: *Mount Tai or Taishan (), Shandong, China *Taishan District, Tai'an (), named after the Mount Tai, a district in Tai'an, Shandong, China *Taishan, Guangdong (), a county-level city of Jiangmen, Guangdong, China **Gre ...
(Toisan in Cantonese), who speak a distinctive dialect related to Cantonese called Taishanese (or Toishanese). During the 1850s, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, whose leader
Hong Xiuquan Hong Xiuquan (1 January 1814 – 1 June 1864), born Hong Huoxiu and with the courtesy name Renkun, was a Chinese revolutionary who was the leader of the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing dynasty. He established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdo ...
was born in Guangdong and received a pamphlet from a Protestant Christian missionary in Guangdong, was allied with a local Guangdong Red Turban Rebellion (1854–1856). Because of direct contact with the West, Guangdong was the centre of anti-Manchu and anti-imperialist activity. The generally acknowledged founder of modern China,
Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
, was also from Guangdong.


20th century

During the early 1920s of the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
, Guangdong was the staging area for the Kuomintang (KMT) to prepare for the Northern Expedition, an effort to bring the various warlords of China back under a unified central government.
Whampoa Military Academy The Republic of China Military Academy () is the service academy for the army of the Republic of China, located in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung. Previously known as the the military academy produced commanders who fought in many of China's ...
was built near Guangzhou to train military commanders. At the end of the Chinese Civil War Guangdong became one of the Nationalist government's final footholds in Mainland China, with Guangzhou temporarily serving as the Kuomintang's provisional capitol. The
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
seized control of the province after the retreat of the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan. The new Chinese Communist Party administration issued harsh taxes, requisitioning between 22 and 60 percent of grain annually. However, the local party boss Fang Fang tried to moderate Chinese land reform policy in order to protect successful businesses in the
Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Mac ...
, landholdings by
overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...
seeking to eventually return to the country, and commercial relations with
British Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...
. In response Mao Zedong purged Fang and thousands of cadres from the province in 1952, sending
Tao Zhu Tao Zhu (; 16 January 1908 – 30 November 1969) was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party . Biography Born in Qiyang, Hunan, Tao Zhu was Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Commander of the ...
to implement a much harsher program under the slogan "Every Village Bleeds, Every Household Fights." After the Chinese economic reform, 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 ( Qinzhou, Lianzhou (now Hepu County),
Fangchenggang Fangchenggang ( ''The port of Fangcheng'') is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The city was formerly called "Fangcheng Pan-Ethnicities Autonomous County" (25 December 1978 – ...
and
Beihai Beihai (; Postal romanization: Pakhoi) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi, People's Republic of China. Its status as a seaport on the north shore of the Gulf of Tonkin has granted it historical importance as a port of internation ...
) 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 into its own province in 1988.


Geography

Guangdong faces the South China Sea to the south and has a total of of coastline. The
Leizhou Peninsula The Leizhou Peninsula, alternately romanized as the Luichow Peninsula, is a peninsula in the southernmost part of Guangdong province in South China. History Qing naval forces were stationed at the Leizhou Peninsula. During the 19th century ...
is on the southwestern end of the province. There are a few inactive
volcanoes A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...
on Leizhou Peninsula. The
Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Mac ...
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 Nan Mountains (Nan Ling). The highest peak in the province is Shikengkong with an elevation of 6,240 feet (1,902 meters) above sea level. Guangdong borders Fujian to the northeast, Jiangxi and Hunan to the north,
Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
autonomous region to the west, and Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions to the south. Hainan is offshore across from the
Leizhou Peninsula The Leizhou Peninsula, alternately romanized as the Luichow Peninsula, is a peninsula in the southernmost part of Guangdong province in South China. History Qing naval forces were stationed at the Leizhou Peninsula. During the 19th century ...
. Pratas Island, which were traditionally governed as part of Guangdong, are part of
Cijin District Cijin District (; Hokkien POJ: ''Kî-tin-khu'') is a district of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, covering Cijin Island () and islands in the South China Sea. It is the second smallest district in Kaohsiung City after Yancheng District, with an area of ...
, Kaoshiung, Taiwan (ROC). Cities around the
Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Mac ...
include Dongguan,
Foshan Foshan (, ), alternately romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the ...
, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, Shunde,
Taishan __NOTOC__ Taishan may refer to: *Mount Tai or Taishan (), Shandong, China *Taishan District, Tai'an (), named after the Mount Tai, a district in Tai'an, Shandong, China *Taishan, Guangdong (), a county-level city of Jiangmen, Guangdong, China **Gre ...
, Zhongshan, and Zhuhai. Other cities in the province include
Chaozhou Chaozhou (), alternatively Chiuchow, Chaochow or Teochew, is a city in the eastern Guangdong province of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, and the Sou ...
, Chenghai,
Nanhai Nanhai () may refer to: *''Nanhai'', the Chinese name for the South China Sea, one of the Four Seas *Nanhai Commandery, the former Chinese administration over Liangguang *''Nanhai'', the Chinese name for the South China Sea Islands *The '' Nanhai I ...
,
Shantou Shantou, alternately romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 2020 census (5,391,028 in 2010) and an administrative ...
, Shaoguan, Zhanjiang, Zhaoqing,
Yangjiang Yangjiang (, ), alternately romanized as Yeungkong, is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Guangdong Province in the People's Republic of China. It borders Maoming to the west, Yunfu to the north, Jiangmen to the east, and looks out to the ...
, and
Yunfu Yunfu (), formerly romanized as Wanfow, and historically known as Dong'an (), which was formerly romanized as Tong On, from 1578 to 1913, is a prefecture-level city in western Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Zhaoqi ...
. Guangdong has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
( Köppen ''Cfa'' inland, ''Cwa'' along the coast). 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 and , although the humidity makes it feel hotter in summer. Frost is rare on the coast but may happen a few days each winter.


Economy

In 2021, the gross regional product (GRP) of Guangdong was about 12.4 trillion CNY ($1.95 trillion), with a per capita GDP of 98,700 RMB ($15,570 in nominal and $ 23,598 in PPP). It is the richest province in South Central China region and the fourth richest among all provinces after Jiangsu, Fujian and Zhejiang by GDP per capita. Guangdong has been the largest province by GDP since 1989 in Mainland China. In 2020, Guangdong's GDP nominal was 11 trillion RMB (1.7 trillion USD), exceeding that of Canada (US$1.64 trillion) and South Korea (US$1.63 trillion), the world's 9th and 10th largest economy, respectively. Guangdong's GDP by nominal is greater than the GDPs of all other BRICS states, except India. Compared to country subdivisions in dollar terms, Guangdong's GDP in nominal is larger than all but four country subdivisions: California, Texas, New York State, and England. Compared to country subdivisions in PPP terms, Guangdong's GDP is larger than all, except California. By Purchasing power parity (PPP) term, as of 2021, Guangdong's economy has a gross regional product (GRP) of $2.98 trillion, ranking between the United Kingdom and Italy with a GDP of $3.34 trillion and US$ $2.71 trillion respectively, the 10th and 11th largest in the world respectively. After the communist revolution and until the start of the Deng Xiaoping reforms in 1978, Guangdong was an economic backwater, although a large underground, service-based economy has always existed. Economic development policies encouraged industrial development in the interior provinces which were weakly joined to Guangdong via transportation links. The government policy of economic autarky made Guangdong's access to the ocean irrelevant. Deng Xiaoping's open door policy radically changed the economy of the province as it was able to take advantage of its access to the ocean, proximity to Hong Kong, and historical links to
overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...
. In addition, until the 1990s when the Chinese taxation system was reformed, the province benefited from the relatively low rate of taxation placed on it by the central government due to its post-Liberation status of being economically backward. Guangdong's economic boom began with the early 1990s and has since spread to neighboring provinces, and also pulled their populations inward. The economic growth of Guangdong province owes much to the low-value-added manufacturing which characterized (and in many ways still defines) the province's economy following Deng Xiaoping's reforms. Guangdong is not only China's largest exporter of goods, it is the country's largest importer as well. The province is now one of the richest in the nation, with the most billionaires in mainland China, the highest GDP among all the provinces, although wage growth has only recently begun to rise due to a large influx of migrant workers from neighboring provinces. By 2015, the local government of Guangdong hopes that the service industry will account for more than 50 percent of the provinces GDP and high-tech manufacturing another 20 percent. In 2021, Guangdong's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth RMB 500 billion (US$77.5 billion), RMB 5 trillion (US$0.78 trillion), and RMB 6.91 trillion (US$1.07 trillion), respectively. Guangdong contributes approximately 9% of the total national economic output. Now, it has three of the six Special Economic Zones: Shenzhen,
Shantou Shantou, alternately romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 2020 census (5,391,028 in 2010) and an administrative ...
and Zhuhai. The affluence of Guangdong, however, remains very concentrated near the
Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Mac ...
.


Economic and technological development zones

* Shenzhen Export Processing Zone * Shenzhen
Futian Futian District () is one of the nine districts comprising the city of Shenzhen, China. The district is home to the government and Municipal Committee of Shenzhen, as well as the city's central business district (CBD). Name There are two theori ...
Free Trade Zone * Shenzhen Hi-Tech Industrial Park * Yantian Port Free Trade Zone *
Foshan Foshan (, ), alternately romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the ...
National New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone * Guangzhou Development District * Guangzhou Export Processing Zone * Guangzhou Free Trade Zone * Guangzhou Nansha Economic and Technical Development Zone * Guangzhou Nanhu Lake Tourist Holiday Resort (Chinese Version) * Guangzhou New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone * Huizhou Dayawan Economic and Technological Development Zone * Huizhou Export Processing Zone * Huizhou Zhongkai Hi-Tech Development Zone * Nansha Free Trade Zone *
Shantou Shantou, alternately romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 2020 census (5,391,028 in 2010) and an administrative ...
Free Trade Zone *
Shatoujiao Shatoujiao () is a subdistrict of Yantian District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, located on the border of Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The population is mainly composed of migrant workers from all parts of China along with a small number of Russians. ...
Free Trade Zone * Zhanjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone (Chinese Version) * Zhuhai National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone * Zhuhai Free Trade Zone * Zhongshan Torch High-tech Industrial Development Zone


Demographics

Guangdong officially became the most populous province in 2005. Official statistics had traditionally placed Guangdong as the fourth-most populous province of China with about 80 million people, though an influx of migrants, temporary workers, and newly settled individuals numbered around 30 million. The massive influx of migrants from other provinces, dubbed the "floating population", is due to Guangdong's booming economy and high demand for labor. If Guangdong were an independent nation, it would rank among the twenty largest countries of the world by population.


Urbanization

Guangdong's population is 70.7% urban and 29.3% rural.


Recent trends

Guangdong's 2021 year end population has reache
126.84 million
adding 600 thousand people, or less than 1/2 a percent. It marks a huge change from rampant population growth of yesteryears, it had been among the fastest growing province due to migration, however in 2021, Zhejiang grew more, addin
720 thousand people


Genealogy

Guangdong is the ancestral home of large numbers of
overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...
. Most of the railroad laborers in Canada, the Western United States and Panama in the 19th century came from Guangdong, especially the Siyi area. Many people from the region also traveled to California and other parts of the United States during the
gold rush of 1849 The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
, and also to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
during its gold rush a decade or so later.


Languages and ethnicities

The majority of the province's population is Han Chinese. Within the Han Chinese, the largest subgroup in Guangdong are the
Cantonese people The Cantonese people () or Yue people (), are a Yue-speaking Han Chinese subgroup originating from or residing in the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi (collectively known as Liangguang), in Southern Mainland China. Although more accurately, ...
. Two other major groups are the Teochew people in Chaoshan and the Hakka people in Huizhou, Meizhou, Heyuan, Shaoguan and Zhanjiang.
Shaozhou Tuhua Shaozhou Tuhua (traditional: 韶州土話; simplified: 韶州土话 ''Sháozhōu Tǔhuà'' "Shaoguan Tuhua"), or simply Tuhua, is an unclassified Chinese variety spoken in the northern region of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, China. It is mutua ...
is spoken in Shaoguan and
Leizhou Min Leizhou or ''Luichew'' Min (, ) is a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Leizhou city, Xuwen County, Mazhang District, most parts of Suixi County and also spoken inside of the linguistically diverse Xiashan District. In the classification of Yuan ...
is spoken in the Leizhou Peninsula. There is a small Yao population in the north. Other smaller
minority groups The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...
include
She She most commonly refers to: *She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English. She or S.H.E. may also refer to: Literature and films *'' She: A History of Adventure'', an 1887 novel by H. Rider Hagga ...
,
Miao Miao may refer to: * Miao people, linguistically and culturally related group of people, recognized as such by the government of the People's Republic of China * Miao script or Pollard script, writing system used for Miao languages * Miao (Unicode ...
, Li, and Zhuang.


Gender ratio

Guangdong has a highly unbalanced gender ratio that is among the highest of all provinces in China. According to a 2009 study published in ''The British Medical Journal'', in the 1–4 age group, there are over 130 boys for every 100 girls.


Religion

According to a 2012 survey only around 7% of the population of Guangdong belongs to organised religions, the largest groups being
Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
with 6.2%, followed by
Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
with 1.8% and
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
with 1.2%. Around 90% of the population is either irreligious or may be involved in Chinese folk religion worshipping nature gods, ancestral deities, popular sects, Taoist traditions, Buddhist religious traditions & Confucian religious traditions. According to a survey conducted in 2007, 43.71% of the population believes and is involved in
ancestor veneration The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...
, the traditional Chinese religion of the lineages organised into
lineage church A Chinese kin, lineage or sometimes rendered as clan, is a patrilineal and patrilocal group of related Chinese people with a common surname sharing a common ancestor and, in many cases, an ancestral home. Description Chinese kinship tend to b ...
es and ancestral shrines.


Politics

Guangdong is governed by a dual-party system like the rest of China. The Governor is in charge of provincial affairs; however, the Communist Party Secretary, often from outside of Guangdong, keeps the Governor in check.


Relations with Hong Kong and Macau

Hong Kong and Macau, while historically parts of Guangdong before becoming colonies of the United Kingdom and Portugal, respectively, are special administrative regions (SARs). Furthermore, the Basic Laws of both SARs explicitly forbid provincial governments from intervening in local politics. As a result, many issues with Hong Kong and Macau, such as border policy and water rights, have been settled by negotiations between the SARs' governments and the Guangdong provincial government.


Media

Guangdong and the greater Guangzhou area are served by several
Radio Guangdong Radio Guangdong is a provincially-owned radio station in Guangdong, owns nine radio channels and two newspapers. Radio Guangdong is a part of Guangdong Radio and Television, and is a member of World Radio Network. History Radio Guangdong sta ...
stations, Guangdong Television,
Southern Television Guangdong {{Infobox Company , name = Television Southern (TVS){{nobold, 广东南方电视台 (南方台) , company_logo = TVS Logo.png , type = Satellite television , foundation = {{start date and age, 2001, 7, 1, df=y , de ...
,
Shenzhen Television Shenzhen Media Group () is a media company based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China. It owns twelve TV channels and four radio stations which broadcast Chinese music, report news and Chinese talk shows. Channels and stations Television cha ...
, and
Guangzhou Television The Guangzhou Broadcasting Network (), also known as GZBN, is a municipally-owned television network in Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China. The television department made its first broadcast on 10 January 1988, while radio depart ...
. There is an English programme produced by
Radio Guangdong Radio Guangdong is a provincially-owned radio station in Guangdong, owns nine radio channels and two newspapers. Radio Guangdong is a part of Guangdong Radio and Television, and is a member of World Radio Network. History Radio Guangdong sta ...
which broadcasts information about this region to the entire world through the WRN Broadcast.


Culture

The central region, which is also the political and economic center, is populated predominantly by Yue Chinese speakers, though the influx in the last three decades of millions of
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
-speaking immigrants has slightly diminished Cantonese linguistic dominance. This region is associated with
Cantonese cuisine Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine, also known as Yue cuisine ( or ) is the cuisine of Guangdong province of China, particularly the provincial capital Guangzhou, and the surrounding regions in the Pearl River Delta including Hong Kong and Maca ...
. Cantonese opera is a form of
Chinese opera Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more tha ...
popular in Cantonese speaking areas. Related Yue dialects are spoken in most of the western half of the province. The area comprising the cities of
Chaozhou Chaozhou (), alternatively Chiuchow, Chaochow or Teochew, is a city in the eastern Guangdong province of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, and the Sou ...
,
Shantou Shantou, alternately romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 2020 census (5,391,028 in 2010) and an administrative ...
and Jieyang in coastal east Guangdong, known as Chaoshan, forms its own cultural sphere. The Teochew people here, along with Hailufeng Min people in Shanwei, speak Hokkien, which is a Min dialect closely related to mainstream
Southern Min Southern Min (), Minnan (Mandarin pronunciation: ) or Banlam (), is a group of linguistically similar and historically related Sinitic languages that form a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Fujian (especially the Minnan region), most of Taiwan ( ...
(Hokkien) and their cuisine is Teochew cuisine.
Teochew opera Teochew opera or Chaozhou opera, Chiuchow opera (especially in Hong Kong), is one of the many variants of Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Chaoshan region. It is popular in eastern Guangdong, southern Fujian, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailan ...
is also well-known and has a unique form. The Hakka people live in large areas of Guangdong, including Huizhou, Meizhou, Shenzhen, Heyuan, Shaoguan and other areas. Much of the Eastern part of Guangdong is populated by the Hakka people except for the Chaozhou and Hailufeng area. Hakka culture include Hakka cuisine, Han opera (), Hakka ''Hanyue'' and ''sixian'' (traditional instrumental music) and Hakka folk songs (). The outcast Tanka people traditionally live on boats throughout the coasts and rivers of Guangdong and much of Southern China. Zhanjiang in southern Guangdong is dominated by the
Leizhou dialect Leizhou or ''Luichew'' Min (, ) is a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Leizhou city, Xuwen County, Mazhang District, most parts of Suixi County and also spoken inside of the linguistically diverse Xiashan District. In the classification of Yua ...
, a variety of Minnan; Cantonese and Hakka are also spoken there. Mandarin is the language used in education and government and in areas where there are migrants from other provinces, above all in Shenzhen. Cantonese maintains a strong and dominant position in common usage and media, even in eastern areas of the province where the local languages and dialects are non-Yue ones. Guangdong Province is notable for being the birthplace of many famous Xiangqi (Chinese chess) grandmasters such as
Lü Qin Lü Qin (; born 10 August 1962) is one of the world's best players in Xiangqi (Chinese chess). Lü Qin's major achievements in Xiangqi include the following: * Winner of Chinese National Xiangqi Individual Championship in 1986, 1988, 1999, ...
, Yang Guanli, Cai Furu and
Xu Yinchuan Xu Yinchuan (; born 5 August 1975) is one of the world's best players in Xiangqi (Chinese chess). Xu was born in Huilai, Guangdong Province, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is th ...
.


Education

As of 2022, Guangdong hosts 160 institutions of higher education, ranking first in South Central China region and 2nd among all Chinese provinces/municipalities after Jiangsu (168). Guangdong is also the seat of 14 adult higher education institutions. Many universities and colleges are located in major cities like Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, hosts 83 institutions of higher education (excluding adult colleges), ranking 1st in
South China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...
region and 2nd (tie) nationwide after Beijing. Guangdong Province Department of Education is the department of the provincial government that oversees education. As of 2022, two major cities in the province ranked in the top 30 cities in the world (Guangzhou 10th and Shenzhen 28th) by scientific research output, as tracked by the Nature Index.


Colleges and universities


National

* Sun Yat-sen University * South China University of Technology *
Jinan University Jinan University (JNU, ) is a public research university based in Guangzhou, China. "Jinan" literally means "reaching southward", indicating the university's original mission to disseminate Chinese learning and culture from North to South when i ...
* South China Agricultural University * Guangdong University of Foreign Studies * Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine


Provincial

*
Dongguan Institute of Technology Dongguan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the so ...
*
Dongguan University of Technology Dongguan University of Technology (DGUT; 东莞理工学院) is a college in Dongguan, Guangdong, China. History * Planned 1990 * Formed 1992 * First undergraduates 2002 * First graduates 2006 Academic It has two campuses: Songshan Lake ...
*
Foshan University Foshan University (FOSU, ) is a designated full-time comprehensive university in Foshan, Guangdong province, China. History The university is a merger between its predecessor and Foshan Agriculture & Animal Husbandry College approved by the Chine ...
* Guangdong Education and Research Network *
Guangdong General Hospital Guangdong General Hospital ( meaning "Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital") is a large hospital, founded in 1946, located in Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a cou ...
*
Guangdong Institute of Education Guangdong Institute of Education () is a provincial higher education institution based in Guangzhou, Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the So ...
* Guangdong Institute of Science and Technology *
Guangdong Medical College Guangdong Medical University () is a medical school in Guangdong province, China. History Guangdong Medical College, the former Zhanjiang Branch of the Sun Yatsen Medical College, was established on May23, 1958. In February 1964, the college wa ...
* Guangdong Ocean University *
Guangdong Petrochemical Academy Guangdong (, ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal Provinces of China, province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a ...
* Guangdong Pharmaceutical University * Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University * Guangdong Radio and TV University * Guangdong University of Finance & Economics *
Guangdong University of Finance Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) a ...
* Guangdong University of Technology * Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts *
Guangzhou Education College Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
* Guangzhou Medical College *
Guangzhou Normal University Guangzhou University (GU; ) is a state university in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, China. The university is made up of two campuses. The major campus is located in Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center (HEMC, geographically called ...
*
Guangzhou Sports University Guangzhou Sport University () is a provincial public university based in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. On June 9, 1956, the Guangzhou Sport University was established with the approval of the Guangzhou Municipal Government of Guangdong Guangdo ...
* Guangzhou University *
Hanshan Teachers College Hanshan may refer to: *Hanshan (poet) (寒山), a figure associated with a collection of poems from the Tang Dynasty *Hanshan Deqing (憨山德清), a Buddhist monk from the Chinese Ming Dynasty *''Mountain Cry'' (), 2015 Chinese film PR China * ...
*
Huizhou University Huizhou University () is a provincial undergraduate university in Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, southern China. History The school was established in 1921 as the Guangzhou Municipal Normal School. In March 2000 it was granted the status of ...
*
Panyu Polytechnic Panyu, alternately romanized as Punyu, is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China. It was a separate county-level city before its incorporation into modern Guangzhou in 2 ...
*
Shaoguan University Shaoguan University (abbreviated as SGU; ) is a public university based in Shaoguan, Guangdong, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies ...
*
Shenzhen Party School Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
* Shantou University * Shenzhen University * Shenzhen Technology University *
Shenzhen Polytechnic Shenzhen Polytechnic (SZPT; ) is a municipal public vocational college in Nanshan, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dep ...
*
Shunde University Shunde District, also known as Shuntak, is a district of the city of Foshan, Guangdong province, located in the Pearl River Delta. It had a population of 2,464,784 as of the 2010 census. Once a traditional agricultural county, it has become on ...
* South China Normal University * South University of Science and Technology of China *
Southern Medical University Southern Medical University (), formerly known as First Military Medical University, affiliated to the People's Liberation Army of China, is an institution of higher learning in Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province, China. It was f ...
*
Wuyi University Wuyi University (abbreviated as WYU; ) is a public university based in Jiangmen, Guangdong, China. Wuyi University ranked 79th in the world for Nature Index 2021 Young Universities (Leading 150 Young Universities) and 147th in China for Nature In ...
*
Xijiang University The Xi River (; ) or Si-Kiang is the western tributary of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River in South China, southern China. It is formed by the confluence of the Gui River, Gui and Xun River, Xun Rivers in Wuzhou, Guangxi. It originates fr ...
* Xinghai Conservatory of Music *
Zhanjiang Normal University Lingnan Normal University (LNU; () formerly Zhanjiang Normal University (ZNU; ) is an institution of higher learning in the Chikan District of Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province, China. The history of the university dates back to the "Leiyang Ac ...
* Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering *
Zhaoqing University Zhaoqing University () is a public university based in the Duanzhou District of the prefecture-level city of Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, China. It is a provincial comprehensive university that enrolls students in four-year degree programmes. H ...


Sports

List of current professional sports based in Guangdong:


Tourism

Notable attractions include
Danxia Mountain Mount Danxia () is a noted scenic mountainous area in Renhua County, in the northern part of Guangdong province. It is described on the local signage as a "world famous UNESCO geopark of China". It was inscribed as part of the China Danxia World H ...
in Shaoguan, Yuexiu Hill, Baiyun Mountain in Guangzhou, Star Lake and the Seven Star Crags, Dinghu Mountain in Zhaoqing, the
Huangmanzhai waterfalls The Huangmanzhai waterfalls are five waterfalls in Jiexi County, Jieyang, Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capit ...
in Jieyang, and the Zhongshan Sun Wen Memorial Park for
Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
in Zhongshan.


Administrative divisions

Guangdong is divided into twenty-one prefecture-level divisions: all prefecture-level cities (including two sub-provincial cities): The twenty-one
Prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
of Guangdong are subdivided into 119 county-level divisions (64
districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
, 20 county-level cities, 34 counties, and 3
autonomous counties Autonomous counties () and autonomous banners () are county-level autonomous administrative divisions of China. The two are essentially identical except in name. There are 117 autonomous counties and three autonomous banners. The latter are fo ...
). For county-level divisions, see the list of administrative divisions of Guangdong.


Urban areas


International relations

Guangdong is twinned with: *
Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...
, Japan * Hawai'i, United States of America * New South Wales, Australia * Gujarat, India


See also

* Governors of Guangdong * Major national historical and cultural sites in Guangdong


References


Citations


Sources


Economic profile for Guangdong
at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council


External links

*
Guangdong provincial government official website

Complete Map of the Seven Coastal Provinces
from 1821 to 1850
Pictures and comments about life in Guangdong
{{Authority control . Gulf of Tonkin Pearl River Delta Provinces of the People's Republic of China