Guangxi (; ;
alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an
autonomous region
An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy†...
of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, located 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 ...
and bordering
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
(
HÃ Giang
Hà Giang () is a city located on the banks of the Lô River in the Northeast region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Hà Giang Province. The city has an area of 135.33 km2 and a population of 55 559 inhabitants. The population is compose ...
,
Cao Bằng
Cao Bằng () is a city in northern Vietnam. It is the capital and largest settlement of Cao Bằng Province. It is located on the bank of the Bằng Giang river, and is around away from the border with China's Guangxi region. According to the ...
,
Lạng Sơn
Lạng Sơn () is a city in far northern Vietnam, which is the capital of Lạng Sơn Province. It is accessible by road and rail from Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, and it is the northernmost point on National Route 1.
History
Due to its ge ...
, and
Quảng Ninh Provinces) and the
Gulf of Tonkin
The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern ...
. Formerly a
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
, Guangxi became an autonomous region in 1958. Its current capital is
Nanning
Nanning (; ; za, Namzningz) is the capital and largest city by population of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of ...
.
Guangxi's location, in mountainous terrain in the far south of China, has placed it on the frontier of Chinese civilization throughout much of
Chinese history
The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...
. The current name "Guang" means "expanse" and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in 226 AD. It was given
provincial level status during the
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
, but even into the 20th century, it was considered an open, wild territory. The abbreviation of the region is "" (
Hanyu pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: ; Zhuang: ), which comes from the name of the city of
Guilin
Guilin ( Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the nort ...
, the provincial capital during both the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
and the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
.
Guangxi contains the largest population of China's ethnic minorities after
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
, in particular, the
Zhuang people
The Zhuang (; ; za, Bouxcuengh, italic=yes; ) are a Tai-speaking ethnic group who mostly live in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. Some also live in the Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou, and Hunan provinces. They form one of ...
, who make up 32% of the population. Various regional languages and dialects such as
Pinghua
Pinghua (; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Pìhng Wá''; sometimes disambiguated as /) is a pair of Sinitic languages spoken mainly in parts of the Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with some speakers in Hunan province. Pinghua ...
,
Zhuang,
Kam,
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣æ±è©±, s=广东è¯, first=t, cy=GwóngdÅ«ng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
,
Hakka
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
, and
Min
Min or MIN may refer to:
Places
* Fujian, also called MÇn, a province of China
** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian
* Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China
* Min River (Fujian)
* Min River (Sichuan)
* Mineola (Am ...
are spoken alongside
Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...
.
Name
"" () means 'expanse' or 'vast', and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. Guangxi and neighboring
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 capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
literally mean 'expanse west' and 'expanse east'. Together, Guangxi and Guangdong are called (; , vi, Lưỡng Quảng, QuangTay province). During the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
, the Two Guangs were formally separated as () and (), which became abbreviated as () and ().
History
Originally inhabited by a mixture of tribal groups known to the Chinese as the
Baiyue
The Baiyue (, ), Hundred Yue, or simply Yue (; ), were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of East China, South China and Northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. They were known for their short hair, ...
("Hundred Yue", vi, Bách Việt), the region first became part of China during the
Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦æœ, p=QÃn cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...
. In 214 BC, the
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
general
Zhao Tuo
Zhao Tuo () or Triệu Äà (Chữ Hán: 趙佗); was a Qin dynasty Chinese general and first emperor of Nanyue. He participated in the conquest of the Baiyue peoples of Guangdong, Guangxi and Northern Vietnam. After the fall of the Qin, he es ...
( vi, Triệu Äà ) claimed most of southern China for
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...
before the emperor's death. The ensuing civil war permitted Zhao to establish a separate kingdom at
Panyu
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 200 ...
known as
Nanyue
Nanyue (), was an ancient kingdom ruled by Chinese monarchs of the Zhao family that covered the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau, southern Fujian and central to northern Vietnam. Nanyue was establish ...
("Southern Yue"). Alternatively submissive to and independent of
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
control, Southern Yue expanded colonization and
sinicization
Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture, particularly the language, societal norms, cul ...
under its policy of "Harmonizing and Gathering the Hundred Yue" () until
its collapse in 111 BC during the
southward expansion of the Han dynasty
The southward expansion of the Han dynasty was a series of Chinese military campaigns and expeditions in what is now modern Southern China and Northern Vietnam. Military expansion to the south began under the previous Qin dynasty and continued ...
.
The name "Guangxi" can be traced to the "Expansive" or "Wide" province () of the
Eastern Wu
Wu ( Chinese: å³; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''Å‹uo'' < : ''*Å‹uÉ‘''), known in h ...
, which controlled southeastern China during the
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
period.
Guilin
Guilin ( Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the nort ...
formed one of its commanderies.
Under the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
, the Zhuang moved to support
Piluoge
Piluoge (; Classical Yi script: ; Nisu: ; 697–748), posthumous name King Guiyi (), was the founder of the Nanzhao kingdom in what is now Yunnan, China. He reigned from 728 or 738 through 748.
Issue and Ancestry
Piluoge was the son of Shen ...
's kingdom of
Nanzhao
Nanzhao (, also spelled Nanchao, ) was a dynastic kingdom that flourished in what is now southern China and northern Southeast Asia during the 8th and 9th centuries. It was centered on present-day Yunnan in China.
History
Origins
Nanzha ...
in
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
, which successfully repulsed imperial armies in 751 and 754. Guangxi was then divided into an area of Zhuang ascendancy west of Nanning and an area of Han ascendancy east of Nanning.
After the collapse of the Southern Zhao,
Liu Yan established the
Southern Han
Southern Han (; 917–971), officially Han (), originally Yue (), was one of the ten kingdoms that existed during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was located on China's southern coast, controlling modern Guangdong and Guangxi. The ...
(Nanhan) in Xingwangfu (modern
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 capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
). Although this state gained minimal control over Guangxi, it was plagued by instability and annexed by the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
in 971. The name "Guangxi" itself can be traced to the Song, who administered the area as the Guangnanxi ("West Southern Expanse")
Circuit. Harassed by both Song and the
Jiaozhi
Jiaozhi (standard Chinese, pinyin: ''JiÄozhÇ''), or Giao Chỉ (Vietnamese), was a historical region ruled by various Chinese dynasties, corresponding to present-day northern Vietnam. The kingdom of Nanyue (204–111 BC) set up the Jiaozhi Co ...
in modern
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, the Zhuang leader
Nong Zhigao
Nong Zhigao (modern Zhuang language: ; , vi, Nùng Trà Cao, links=no) (1025–1055?) is a hero admired by the Nùng people of Vietnam, and Zhuang people, Zhuang people of China. His father Nong Quanfu was head of the local Zhuang people in Gu ...
led a revolt in 1052 for which he is still remembered by the Zhuang people. His independent kingdom was short-lived, however, and the tattooed Song general
Di Qing
Di Qing (1008–1057), formerly romanized as Ti Ch'ing, was a Chinese military general of the Northern Song dynasty.
Biography
Di Qing was born to a poor family in Xihe, Fenzhou (汾州西河; present-day Fenyang, Shanxi). He sported tattoos ...
returned Guangxi to China.
The
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
established control over Yunnan during its conquest of the
Dali Kingdom
The Dali Kingdom, also known as the Dali State (; Bai: Dablit Guaif), was a state situated in modern Yunnan province, China from 937 until 1253. In 1253, it was conquered by the Mongols but members of its former ruling dynasty continued to a ...
in 1253 and eliminated the
Southern Song
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. ...
following the
Battle of Yamen
The naval battle, naval Battle of Yamen () (also known as the Naval Battle of Mount Ya; ) took place on 19 March 1279 and is considered to be the last stand of the Song dynasty against the invading Mongols, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. Although out ...
in 1279. Rather than ruling
Lingnan
Lingnan (; Vietnamese: LÄ©nh 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 ...
as a subject territory or military district, the Mongolians then established Guangxi ("Western Expanse") as a proper province. The area nonetheless continued to be unruly, leading the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
to employ the different local groups against one another. At the
Battle of Big Rattan Gorge
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
between the Zhuang and the
Yao in 1465, 20,000 deaths were reported.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, parts of Guangxi were ruled by the powerful
Cen () clan. The Cen were of Zhuang ethnicity and were recognized as ''
tusi
''Tusi'', often translated as "headmen" or "chieftains", were hereditary tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties of China, and the Later Lê and Nguyễn dynasties of Vietnam. They ruled certain et ...
'' or local rulers by the Chinese emperors.
The
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
left the region alone until the imposition of direct rule in 1726, but the 19th century was one of constant unrest. A
Yao revolt in 1831 was followed by the
Jintian Uprising, the beginning of the
Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It lasted fr ...
, in January 1851 and the
Da Cheng Rebellion in April 1854. The execution of St.
Auguste Chapdelaine by local officials in Guangxi provoked the
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...
in 1858 and the legalization of foreign interference in the interior. Although
Louis Brière de l'Isle
Louis Alexandre Esprit Gaston Brière de l'Isle (24 June 1827 – 19 June 1896) was a French Army general who achieved distinction firstly as Governor of Senegal (1876–81), and then as general-in-chief of the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps during th ...
was unable to invade its depot at
Longzhou
Longzhou County Zhuang: ''Lungzcouh Yen'') is a county of southwestern Guangxi, China, bordering Cao Bằng province, Vietnam. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Chongzuo.
Longzhou lies in a circular valley at ...
, the
Guangxi Army
The Guangxi Army was an army raised by the Qing dynasty ( China) to fight in the Sino-French War during the Tonkin Campaign
The Tonkin campaign was an armed conflict fought between June 1883 and April 1886 by the French against, variously, th ...
saw a great deal of action in the 1884
Sino-French War
The Sino-French War (, french: Guerre franco-chinoise, vi, Chiến tranh Pháp-Thanh), also known as the Tonkin War and Tonquin War, was a limited conflict fought from August 1884 to April 1885. There was no declaration of war. The Chinese arm ...
. Largely ineffective within Vietnam, it was still able to repulse the French from China itself at the
Battle of Zhennan Pass
The Battle of Bang Bo, known in China as the Battle of Zhennan Pass ( zh, 鎮å—關之役), was a major Chinese victory during the Sino-French War (August 1884 – April 1885). The battle, fought on 23 and 24 March 1885 on the Tonkin-Guangxi bo ...
(modern
Friendship Pass
Friendship Pass (), also commonly known by its older name Ải Nam Quan (), is a pass near the China-Vietnam border, between China's Guangxi and Vietnam's Lạng Sơn Province. The pass itself lies just inside the Chinese side of the border ...
) on 23 March 1885.
Following the
Wuchang Uprising
The Wuchang Uprising was an armed rebellion against the ruling Qing dynasty that took place in Wuchang (now Wuchang District of Wuhan), Hubei, China on 10 October 1911, beginning the Xinhai Revolution that successfully overthrew China's last i ...
, Guangxi seceded from the Qing Empire on 6 November 1911. The Qing governor,
Shen Bingdan, initially remained in place but was subsequently removed by a mutiny commanded by General
Lu Rongting
Lu Rongting (; September 9, 1859 – November 6, 1928), also spelled as Lu Yung-ting and Lu Jung-t'ing, was a late Qing/early Republican military and political leader from Wuming, Guangxi. Lu belonged to the Zhuang ethnic group.å´æŒ¯æ±‰. 〠...
. General Lu's
Old Guangxi clique
After the founding of the Republic of China, Guangxi served as the base for one of the most powerful warlord cliques of China: the Old Guangxi Clique. Led by Lu Rongting (陆è£å»·), the clique was able to take control of neighbouring Hunan and G ...
overran
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
and
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 capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
as well and helped lead the
National Protection War
The National Protection War (), also known as the Anti-Monarchy War, was a civil war that took place in China between 1915 and 1916. Only three years earlier, the last Chinese dynasty, the Qing dynasty, had been overthrown and the Republic of C ...
against
Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912, later becoming the Emperor of China. H ...
's attempt to re-establish an imperial government. Zhuang's loyalty made his
Self-Government Army {{Unreferenced, date=September 2008
The Self-Government Army was a regional army in Guangxi during the Warlord era of the early 1920s. The soldiers were primarily from the southwest of Guangxi and were largely Zhuang. Their commanders were warlo ...
cohesive but reluctant to move far beyond its own provinces. Subsequent feuding with
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 ...
led to defeat in the 1920 and 1921
Guangdong–Guangxi War. After a brief occupation by
Chen Jiongming
Chen Jiongming, (; 18 January 187822 September 1933), courtesy name Jingcun (ç«žå˜/競å˜), nickname Ayan (阿烟/阿煙), was a Hailufeng Hokkien revolutionary figure in the early period of the Republic of China.
Early life
Chen Jiongming wa ...
's Cantonese forces, Guangxi fell into disunity and profound banditry for several years until
Li Zongren
Li Zongren or Li Tsung-jen (; 13 August 1890 – 30 January 1969), courtesy name Telin (Te-lin; ), was a prominent Guangxi warlord and Kuomintang (KMT) military commander during the Northern Expedition, Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese C ...
's
Guangxi Pacification Army established the
New Guangxi clique dominated by Li,
Huang Shaohong
Huang Shaohong (1895 – August 31, 1966) was a warlord in Guangxi province and governed Guangxi as part of the New Guangxi Clique through the latter part of the Warlord era, and a leader in later years of the Republic of China.
Biography
...
, and
Bai Chongxi
Bai Chongxi (18 March 1893 – 2 December 1966; , , Xiao'erjing: ) was a Chinese general in the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China (ROC) and a prominent Chinese Nationalist leader. He was of Hui ethnicity and of the Musli ...
.
Successful action in Hunan against
Wu Peifu
Wu Peifu or Wu P'ei-fu (; April 22, 1874 – December 4, 1939) was a major figure in the struggles between the warlords who dominated Republican China from 1916 to 1927.
Early career
Born in Shandong Province in eastern China, Wu initi ...
led to the Zhuang GPA becoming known as the "Flying Army" and the "Army of Steel." After the death of Sun Yat-sen, Li also repulsed
Tang Jiyao
Tang Jiyao () (August 14, 1883 – May 23, 1927) was a Chinese general and warlord of Yunnan during the Warlord Era of early Republican China. He was military governor of Yunnan from 1913-27.
Life
Tang was born in Huize county in 1883 in ...
's
revolt
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
and joined the
Northern Expedition
The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...
establishing control over other warlords by 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 ...
. His was one of the few
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
units free from serious
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
(CCP) influence and was therefore employed by
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
for the
Shanghai massacre of 1927
The Shanghai massacre of 12 April 1927, the April 12 Purge or the April 12 Incident as it is commonly known in China, was the violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organizations and leftist elements in Shanghai by forces supportin ...
. Within the People's Republic of China, Guangxi is also noted for the
Baise Uprising, a failed CCP revolt led by
Chen Zhaoli
Chen may refer to:
People
*Chen (surname) (陳 / 陈), a common Chinese surname
*Chen (singer) (born 1992), member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band EXO
* Chen Chen (born 1989), Chinese-American poet
* (), a Hebrew first name or surname:
** ...
and
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
in 1929.
In 1937, the
Guangxi Women's Battalion was founded as a response to
Soong Mei-ling
Soong Mei-ling (also spelled Soong May-ling, ; March 5, 1898 – October 23, 2003), also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek or Madame Chiang, was a Chinese political figure who was First Lady of the Republic of China, the wife of Generalissimo and ...
's appeal for women to support the
Sino-Japanese War.
Reports on the size of the battalion vary from 130 students,
to 500, to 800.
Being in the far south, Guangxi did not fall during the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
, but joined the People's Republic in December 1949, two months after its founding.
In 1952, a small section of Guangdong's coastline (
Qinzhou
Qinzhou ( postal: Yamchow, , Jyutping: ''Jam1 zau1'' ( Canton) /''Ham1 zau1'' (Local) ) is a prefecture-level city in south-central Guangxi, southern China, lying on the Gulf of Tonkin and having a total population of 3,302,238 as of the 2020 c ...
, Lianzhou (now
Hepu County
Hepu (), alternately romanized as Hoppo, Hopu or Hop'u, is a county under the administration of Beihai City in southeastern Guangxi, China. It borders Lianjiang (Guangdong) to the southeast, Bobai County to the northeast, the Gulf of Tonkin to ...
),
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.
The
Guangxi Massacre
The Guangxi Massacre (), or Guangxi Cultural Revolution Massacre (), was a series of events involving lynching and direct massacre in Guangxi during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). The official record shows an estimated death toll from 10 ...
, during the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
, involved the killing of 100,000 to 150,000 in the province in 1967 and 1968.
While some development of
heavy industry
Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...
occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, the province remained largely a scenic tourist destination. Even the economic growth of the 1990s seemed to leave Guangxi behind. However, in recent years, there has been a growing amount of industrialization and increasing concentration on cash crops. Per capita GDP has risen as industries in Guangdong transfer production to comparatively lower-wage areas in Guangxi.
Geography
Located in the southern part of the country, Guangxi is bordered by
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
to the west,
Guizhou
Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...
to the north,
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
to the northeast, and
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 capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
to the east and southeast.
It is also bordered by
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
in the southwest and the
Gulf of Tonkin
The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern ...
in the south.
Its proximity to Guangdong is reflected in its name, with "Guang" () being used in both names.
Large portions of Guangxi are hilly and mountainous.
The northwest portion of Guangxi includes part of the
Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau,
the
Jiuwan Mountains and the
Fenghuang Mountains
''Fènghuáng'' (, ) are mythological birds found in Sinospheric mythology that reign over all other birds. The males were originally called ''fèng'' and the females ''huáng'', but such a distinction of gender is often no longer made and ...
both run through the north,
the
Nanling Mountains
The Nanling (), also known as the Wuling (), is a major mountain range in Southern China that separates the Pearl River Basin from the Yangtze Valley and serves as the dividing line between south and central subtropical zones. The main range ...
form the region's north-east border, and the
Yuecheng and
Haiyang Mountains The Haiyang Mountains (), in ancient times known as "''Yanghai Mountains''" () form a mountain range in the northeastern Guangxi separating West River drainage basin of the Xi River from the Xiang River drainage basin of the Yangtze River. The moun ...
both branch from the Nanling Mountains. Also in the north are the
Duyao Mountains. The
Duyang Mountains run through the west of Guangxi.
Near the center of the region are the
Da Yao and
Da Ming Mountains. On the southeastern border are the
Yunkai Mountains
The fictional world in which the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' novels by George R. R. Martin take place is divided into several continents, known collectively as The Known World.
Most of the story takes place on the continent of Westeros and in ...
. Guangxi's highest point is
Kitten Mountain
Kitten Mountain (also ''Mao'er Mountains''; ) is a mountain located on the border between Ziyuan County and Xing'an County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR) in the People's Republic of China that lies about from the prefecture-level city ...
, in the Yuecheng Mountains, at .
Karst landforms, characterized by steep mountains and large caverns,
are common in Guangxi, accounting for 37.8 percent of its total land area.
Guangxi is also home to several river systems, which flow into several different bodies of water: the
Qin River and the
Nanliu River both flow into the Gulf of Tonkin, several tributary rivers flow into the larger
Xiang River
The Xiang River is the chief river of the Lake Dongting drainage system of the middle Yangtze, the largest river in Hunan Province, China. It is the 2nd largest tributary (after Min River) in terms of surface runoff, the 5th largest tributar ...
in neighbouring Hunan province, and the
Xi River
The Xi River (; ) or Si-Kiang is the western tributary of the Pearl River in southern China. It is formed by the confluence of the Gui and Xun Rivers in Wuzhou, Guangxi. It originates from the eastern foot of the Maxiong Mountain in Qujing ...
system flows southeast through the autonomous region into the
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
.
Along the border with Vietnam there is the
Ban Gioc–Detian waterfall (), which separates the two countries.
About one-quarter of Guangxi's area is forested.
Human geography
Major cities in Guangxi include
Nanning
Nanning (; ; za, Namzningz) is the capital and largest city by population of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of ...
,
Liuzhou
Liuzhou (; , IPA Pronunciation:) is a prefecture-level city in north-central Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The prefecture's population was 3,758,700 in 2010, including 1,436,599 in the built-up area made of 4 urban ...
,
Guilin
Guilin ( Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the nort ...
, 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 ...
. Notable towns include ,
Sanjiang, and
Yangshuo
Yangshuo County () is a county under the jurisdiction of Guilin City, in the northeast of Guangxi, China. Its seat is located in Yangshuo Town. Surrounded by karst peaks and bordered on one side by the Li River it is easily accessible by bus or by ...
.
Xi River
The Xi River (; ) or Si-Kiang is the western tributary of the Pearl River in southern China. It is formed by the confluence of the Gui and Xun Rivers in Wuzhou, Guangxi. It originates from the eastern foot of the Maxiong Mountain in Qujing ...
system provides waterways to connect
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 ...
. Important seaports along Guangxi's short coastline on the
Gulf of Tonkin
The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern ...
include
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 ...
,
Qinzhou
Qinzhou ( postal: Yamchow, , Jyutping: ''Jam1 zau1'' ( Canton) /''Ham1 zau1'' (Local) ) is a prefecture-level city in south-central Guangxi, southern China, lying on the Gulf of Tonkin and having a total population of 3,302,238 as of the 2020 c ...
, and
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 – ...
. To connect Xi River system and coastal Guangxi, Chinese government started to construct
Pinglu Canal Pinglu may refer to:
*Pinglu County, in Shanxi, China
*Pinglu District
Pinglu District () is a district of the city of Shuozhou, Shanxi province, China, bordering Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, ...
.
Climate
Guangxi has a
subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...
climate.
Summers are generally long, hot, and humid, lasting from April to October.
Winters are mild, and snow is rare.
The autonomous region's average annual temperature ranges from to ,
with January temperatures typically ranging from to ,
and July temperatures typically ranging from to .
Due to frequent rain-bearing
monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
winds, average annual precipitation is quite high in Guangxi, ranging from in drier zones to in wetter zones.
The region also experiences monsoons, blowing from south-southwest from late April to the beginning of October. Most of the precipitation occurs between May and August.
Microbursts
In meteorology, a downburst is a strong downward and outward gushing wind system that emanates from a point source above and blows Rotational symmetry, radially, that is, in straight lines in all directions from the area of impact at surface l ...
can also occasionally occur in the extreme south of the region, from July to September.
This is caused by
typhoon
A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
s blowing from the
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
.
Image gallery
File:漓江山水.jpg, Li River, Guangxi
The Li River or Li Jiang () is the name for the upper reaches of the Gui River in northwestern Guangxi, China. It is part of the Xijiang River system in the Pearl River Basin. The river flows from Xing'an County to Pingle County, where the ka ...
File:Paddy field Longsheng.JPG, Longsheng Rice Terrace
The Longsheng Rice Terraces ("Dragon's Victory") (), also called the Longji Rice Terraces ("Dragon's Backbone") (), are located in the town of Longji in Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County, about from Guilin, China.
The terrace ...
File:Yulong.JPG, Yulong River
The Yulong River () is a small tributary of the larger Li River in Southeastern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region that runs through the major city of Guilin to Yangshuo. The Yulong starts in Northern Yangshuo County near Litang and runs for over ...
File:Thác Bản Giốc.jpg, Ban Gioc Duc Thien– Banyue Detian Falls
Administrative divisions
Guangxi is divided into fourteen
prefecture-level divisions: all
prefecture-level cities
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure.
During the Republican era, many of China' ...
:
These 14 prefecture-level cities are in turn subdivided into 111
county-level division
The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times, due to China's large population and geographical area. The constitution of China provides for three levels of government. However in practice, there a ...
s (41
district
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 ...
s, 10
county-level cities
A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...
, 48
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
, and 12
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 ...
). At the year-end of 2021, the total population is 48.85 millio
Urban areas
Demographics
![Zhuang people of Longzhou Guangxi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Zhuang_people_of_Longzhou_Guangxi.jpg)
The
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
are the largest ethnic group in Guangxi. Han Chinese populations in Guangxi largely live along the autonomous region's southern coast and eastern portions.
Of these, the main subgroups are those that speak
Yue Chinese, Yue and
Southwestern Mandarin
Southwestern Mandarin (), also known as Upper Yangtze Mandarin (), is a Mandarin Chinese language spoken in much of Southwest China, including in Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Guizhou, most parts of Hubei, the northwestern part of Hunan, the northe ...
varieties of
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 ...
. Qinzhou and Goulou Yue are spoken in the southern and eastern regions, respectively.
Pinghua
Pinghua (; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Pìhng Wá''; sometimes disambiguated as /) is a pair of Sinitic languages spoken mainly in parts of the Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with some speakers in Hunan province. Pinghua ...
is spoken in Nanning and Guilin. There are Hakka-speaking regions in
Luchuan County
Luchuan County (; za, Luzconh Hen) is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Yulin city.
Climate
References
Counties of Guangxi
Yulin, Guangxi
{{Guangxi-geo-stub ...
,
Bobai County
Bobai (; Zhuang: ') is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Yulin city.
Bobai was the home town of the linguist Wang Li, who described the Bobai dialect with its unusually large number of tones.
Transportation
The c ...
and in some areas bordering Vietnam.
Guangxi has over 14 million
Zhuangs, the largest minority ethnicity in China. Over 90 percent of Zhuang in China live in Guangxi, especially in the central and western regions. High concentrations of Zhuang people can be found in
Nanning
Nanning (; ; za, Namzningz) is the capital and largest city by population of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of ...
,
Liuzhou
Liuzhou (; , IPA Pronunciation:) is a prefecture-level city in north-central Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The prefecture's population was 3,758,700 in 2010, including 1,436,599 in the built-up area made of 4 urban ...
,
Chongzuo
Chongzuo (; za, Cungzcoj) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region near the Sino-Vietnamese border. It is home to one of China's largest Zhuang populations.
Geography and climate
Chongzuo is located in sout ...
,
Baise
Baise (; local pronunciation: ), or Bose, is the westernmost prefecture-level city of Guangxi, China bordering Vietnam as well as the provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan. The city has a population of 4.3 million, of which 1.4 million live in the urba ...
,
Hechi
Hechi () is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, bordering Guizhou to the north. In June 2002 it gained city status.
Geography and climate
Hechi is located in northwestern ...
, and
Laibin
Laibin (, Zhuang: Laizbinh) is a prefecture-level city in the central part of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.
History
Laibin is an ancient town with more than 2000 years of history. The area was settled in prehistoric times, more tha ...
.
The highest concentration of ethnic Zhuang people is found in the
county-level city
A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a Administrative divisions of China#County level (3rd), county-level administrative divi ...
of
Jingxi, with a 2021 publication by the People's Government of Guangxi stating that Jingxi's population is 99.7% Zhuang.
The autonomous region also has sizable populations of indigenous
Yao,
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 ...
,
Kam,
Mulam,
Maonan,
Hui
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=HuÃzú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, ХуÑйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...
,
Gin,
Yi,
Sui and
Gelao peoples.
Other
ethnic minorities
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 ...
in Guangxi include the
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
,
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
,
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or ChosÅn'gÅl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
,
Tibetan
Tibetan may mean:
* of, from, or related to Tibet
* Tibetan people, an ethnic group
* Tibetan language:
** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard
** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...
,
Hlai, and
Tujia people.
Religion
The predominant religions in Guangxi among the
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
are
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...
s,
Taoist traditions and
Chinese Buddhism
Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=æ±‰ä¼ ä½›æ•™, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hà nchuán Fójià o) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...
. The large
Zhuang population mostly practices the
Zhuang folk religion centered around the worship of their ancestral god ''Buluotuo'' (布洛陀). According to surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, 40.48% 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 ...
, while 0.26% of the population identifies as Christian.
The reports did not give figures for other types of religion; 59.26% of the population may be either irreligious or involved in Chinese folk religion, worship of nature deities, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Chinese salvationist religions, folk religious sects. The
Yao, another numerous ethnic group inhabiting the province, mostly practices a form of Yao Taoism, indigenised and conservative Taoism.
Today, there are 21 mosques in Guangxi This may include:
* Nanning Mosque
* Chongshan Street Mosque, Guilin Chongshan Mosque
* Guilin Ancient Mosque
* Liuzhou Mosque
* Baise Mosque
Politics
; Secretaries-General of the Kuomintang, KMT Guangxi Provincial Senate
#Ou Wenxiong (): 1938–1942
#Huang Kunshan (): 1942–1946
#Sun Renlin (): 1946-1949
; Chairmen of the Senate
#Li Renren (): 1938-1942
#Huang Xuchu (): 1942-1949
; Secretaries of the Communist Party of China, CPC Guangxi Committee
#Zhang Yunyi: 1949–1953
#Chen Manyuan (): 1953–1957
#Liu Jianxun (): 1957–1961
#Wei Guoqing: 1960–1966
#Qiao Xiaoguang (): 1966–1967
#Wei Guoqing: 1970–1975
#An Pingsheng (): 1975–1977.
#Qiao Xiaoguang (): 1977–1985
#Chen Huiguang (): 1985–1990
#Zhao Fulin (): 1990–1997
#Cao Bochun: 1997–2006
#Liu Qibao: 2006–2007
#Guo Shengkun: 2007–2012
#Peng Qinghua: 2012–2018
#Lu Xinshe (): 2018 – 2021
#Liu Ning (): 2021 - present
; Chairmen of Government
#Zhang Yunyi: 1949–1953
#Chen Manyuan: 1953–1958
#Wei Guoqing: 1958–1975
#An Pingsheng (): 1975–1977
#Qiao Xiaoguang: 1977–1979
#Qin Yingji (): 1979–1983
#Wei Chunshu (): 1983–1990
#Cheng Kejie: 1990–1998
#Li Zhaozhuo: 1998–2003
#Lu Bing: 2003 – December 2007
#Ma Biao (politician), Ma Biao: December 2007 – 2013
#Chen Wu (politician), Chen Wu: March 2013 – October 2020
#Lan Tianli (): October 2020 - present
Economy
![Nanning skyline 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Nanning_skyline_2008.JPG)
Important crops in Guangxi include rice, maize and sweet potatoes. Cash crops include sugar cane, peanuts, tobacco, and kenaf.
85 percent of the world's star anise is grown in Guangxi. It is a major ingredient in the antiviral oseltamivir.
Guangxi is one of China's key production centers for nonferrous metals. The province holds approximately 1/3 of all tin and manganese deposits in China.
Liuzhou is the main industrial center and a major motor vehicle manufacturing center. General Motors have a manufacturing base here in a joint venture as SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile. The city also has a large steel factory and several related industries. The local government of Guangxi hopes to expand the province's manufacturing sector, and during the drafting of China's Five Year Plan in 2011, earmarked 2.6 trillion RMB for investment in the province's Beibu Gulf Economic Zone(See Below).
In recent years Guangxi's economy has languished behind that of its wealthy neighbor and twin,
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 capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
. Guangxi's 2017 nominal GDP was about 2039.63 billion yuan (US$302.09 billion) and ranked 17th in China. Its per capita GDP was 38,102 yuan (US$5,770).
Due to its lack of a major manufacturing industry in comparison to other provinces, Guangxi is the fourth most energy efficient province in China, helping to further boost its green image.
Economic and technological development zones
![桂林东西巷 04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/%E6%A1%82%E6%9E%97%E4%B8%9C%E8%A5%BF%E5%B7%B7_04.jpg)
* Beihai Silver Beach National Tourist Holiday Resort
* Beihai Export Processing Zone
Approved by the State Council, Beihai Export Processing Zone (BHEPZ) was established in March 2003. Total planned area is . The first phase of the developed area is . It was verified and accepted by the Customs General Administration and eight ministries of the state, on 26 December 2003. It is the Export Processing Zone nearest to ASEAN in China and also the only one bordering the sea in western China. It is situated next to Beihai Port.
* Dongxing Border Economic Cooperation Area
* Guilin National New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone
Guilin Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was established in May 1988. In 1991, it was approved as a national-level industrial zone. It has an area of . Encouraged industries include electronic information, biomedical, new materials, and environmental protection.
* Nanning Economic & Technological Development Area
Established in 1992, Nanning Economic and Technological Development Zone was approved to be a national-level zone in May 2001. Its total planned area of . It is located in the south of Nanning. It has become the new developing zone with fine chemical engineering, auto parts, aluminum processing, biological medicine and other industries.
* Nanning National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone
Nanning Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was established in 1988 and was approved as a national-level industrial zone in 1992. The zone has a planned area of , and it encourages industries that do electronic information, bioengineering and pharmaceutical, mechanical and electrical integration, and the new materials industry.
* Pingxiang Border Economic Cooperation Zone
In 1992, Pinxiang Border Economic Cooperation Zone was established. It has a total area of . It focuses on the development of hardware mechanical and electrical products, daily-use chemical processing, services, and the international logistics-based storage and information industry.
* Yongning Economic Development Zone
Investment
Seventy-one Taiwanese ventures started up in Guangxi in 2007, with contracts bringing up to US$149 million of investment, while gross exports surpassed US$1 billion. There are a total of 1182 Taiwan ventures in Guangxi, and by the end of 2006, they have brought a total of US$4.27 billion of investment into the autonomous region. During the first half of 2007, 43 projects worthy of RMB2.6 billion (US$342 million) have already been contracted between Guangxi and Taiwan investors. Cooperation between Guangxi and Taiwan companies mainly relates to manufacturing, high-tech electronic industries, agriculture, energy resources, and tourism.
Power
Guangxi Power Grid invested 180 million yuan in 2007 in projects to bring power to areas that still lacked access to electricity. The areas affected include
Nanning
Nanning (; ; za, Namzningz) is the capital and largest city by population of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of ...
,
Hechi
Hechi () is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, bordering Guizhou to the north. In June 2002 it gained city status.
Geography and climate
Hechi is located in northwestern ...
, Bose, Guangxi, Bose and Guigang. Around 125,000 people have gained access to electricity. The money has been used to build or alter 738 10-kilovolt distribution units with a total length of wire reaching 1,831.8 kilometers.
Due to a lack of investment in construction in the power grid net in rural areas, more than 400 villages in Guangxi Province were not included in the projects. Around 500,000 cannot participate in the policy known as "The Same Grid, the Same Price." Guangxi Power Grid will invest 4.6 billion yuan in improving the power grid during the 11th Five Year Plan.
Guangxi Power Grid invested 2.5 billion yuan in building an electric power system in the first half of 2007. Of the total investment, 2.3 billion yuan has been put into the project of the main power grid. So far, four new transformer substations in Guangxi are in various stages of completion. Wenfu substation went into operation in the city of Hechi in January 2007, and since then it has become a major hub of the electrical power system of the surrounding three counties. When the Cangwu substation was completed, it doubled the local transformer capacity. In June 2007, the new substation in Chongzuo passed its operation tests. And in the same month, Qiulong commenced production too. This shall support the power supply system of Qiulong City, as well as the northern part of Guangxi province, and facilitate the nationwide project to transmit power from west to east.
Beibu Gulf Economic Zone
In late February 2008, the central government approved China's first international and regional economic cooperation zone in Guangxi. The construction of the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone began in 2006. With the approval, the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone will be formally incorporated into national development strategies.
The Beibu Gulf Economic Zone covers six coastal cities along the Beibu Gulf. It integrates the cities of
Nanning
Nanning (; ; za, Namzningz) is the capital and largest city by population of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of ...
, the region's capital,
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 ...
,
Qinzhou
Qinzhou ( postal: Yamchow, , Jyutping: ''Jam1 zau1'' ( Canton) /''Ham1 zau1'' (Local) ) is a prefecture-level city in south-central Guangxi, southern China, lying on the Gulf of Tonkin and having a total population of 3,302,238 as of the 2020 c ...
,
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 – ...
,
Chongzuo
Chongzuo (; za, Cungzcoj) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region near the Sino-Vietnamese border. It is home to one of China's largest Zhuang populations.
Geography and climate
Chongzuo is located in sout ...
and Yulin, Guangxi, Yulin. The state will adopt policies and measures to support mechanism innovation, rational industry layout, and infrastructure construction in the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone.
Guangxi has pledged a 100 billion yuan (US$14 billion) investment over the next five years for building and repairing railways to form a network hub in the area. Beibu Gulf Zone will serve as the logistics base, business base, processing and manufacturing base, and information exchange center for China-ASEAN cooperation. Beibu Gulf Zone promises broad prospects for further development and its growth potential is rapidly released. But the shortage of talent and professionals in petrochemicals, iron and steel, electricity, finance, tourism, port planning, logistics and marine (ocean), marine industries are bottlenecks.
The regional government is also working on speeding up key cooperation projects including Transport in the People's Republic of China, transportation, the marine industry, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy development, cross-border tourism, and environmental protection. Beibu Gulf has already attracted several major projects such as Qinzhou oil refinery projects and Stora Enso, a Fortune 500 forest products company based in Finland. In January 2008 trade import and export in the Beibu Gulf zone exceeded US$1.3 billion, a record high.
Bauxite reserves
In September 2007, China's Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Commerce said that it has found 120 million tons of new bauxite reserves in Guangxi. The ministry said that the new reserves, which are located in Chongzhou in the southern region of Youjiang, have very high-quality bauxite, a raw material for making aluminum. Currently, the proven reserves of bauxite in Guangxi are about 1 billion tons, making the province one of the country's biggest bauxite sources.
Transport
Rail
![DF7D Train 2304](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/DF7D_Train_2304.jpg)
The Hunan–Guangxi Railway, Hunan–Guangxi Railway (Xianggui Line), which bisects the autonomous region diagonally from Quanzhou County, Quanzhou in the northeast on the border with
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
to Pingxiang, Guangxi, Pingxiang in the southwest on the border with
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, passes through Guangxi's three principal cities,
Nanning
Nanning (; ; za, Namzningz) is the capital and largest city by population of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of ...
,
Liuzhou
Liuzhou (; , IPA Pronunciation:) is a prefecture-level city in north-central Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The prefecture's population was 3,758,700 in 2010, including 1,436,599 in the built-up area made of 4 urban ...
and
Guilin
Guilin ( Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the nort ...
. Most other railways in Guangxi are connected to the Xianggui Line.
From Nanning, the Nanning–Kunming Railway heads west through
Baise
Baise (; local pronunciation: ), or Bose, is the westernmost prefecture-level city of Guangxi, China bordering Vietnam as well as the provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan. The city has a population of 4.3 million, of which 1.4 million live in the urba ...
to Kunming,
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
and the Nanning–Fangchenggang Railway runs south to
Qinzhou
Qinzhou ( postal: Yamchow, , Jyutping: ''Jam1 zau1'' ( Canton) /''Ham1 zau1'' (Local) ) is a prefecture-level city in south-central Guangxi, southern China, lying on the Gulf of Tonkin and having a total population of 3,302,238 as of the 2020 c ...
,
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 ...
on the coast. From Liuzhou, the Guizhou–Guangxi Railway extends northwestward through
Hechi
Hechi () is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, bordering Guizhou to the north. In June 2002 it gained city status.
Geography and climate
Hechi is located in northwestern ...
to
Guizhou
Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...
and the Jiaozuo–Liuzhou Railway runs due north to
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
, and eventually Hubei and Henan in South Central China, central China. From Litang, Guangxi, Litang Township on the Xianggui Line between Nanning and Liuzhou, the Litang–Qinzhou Railway runs south to
Qinzhou
Qinzhou ( postal: Yamchow, , Jyutping: ''Jam1 zau1'' ( Canton) /''Ham1 zau1'' (Local) ) is a prefecture-level city in south-central Guangxi, southern China, lying on the Gulf of Tonkin and having a total population of 3,302,238 as of the 2020 c ...
on the coast and the Litang–Zhanjiang Railway, Litang–Zhanjiang Railway (Lizhan Line) extends southeastward through Guigang and Yulin, Guangxi, Yulin to Zhanjiang,
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 capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
.
The Luoyang–Zhanjiang Railway, Luoyang–Zhanjiang Railway (Luozhan Line), which intersects with the Xianggui Line on the Hunan side of the border at Yongzhou, runs south through Hezhou and Wuzhou in eastern Guangxi and joins the Lizhan Line at Yulin. At Cenxi, a branch of the Luozhan Line heads east to Maoming, Guangdong, forming a second rail outlet from Guangxi to Guangdong.
Roads
Aviation
Guangxi has 7 airports in different cities: Nanning, Guilin, Beihai, Liuzhou, Wuzhou, Baise, and Hechi.
Culture
![Pagodas en el lago Shanhu guilin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Pagodas_en_el_lago_Shanhu_guilin.jpg)
"Guangxi" and neighbouring
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 capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
literally mean "Western Expanse" and "Eastern Expanse". Together, Guangdong and Guangxi are called the "Two Expanses" ().
Its culture and language are reflected in this. Though now associated with the
Zhuang ethnic minority, Guangxi's culture traditionally has had a close connection with Cantonese. Cantonese culture and language followed the Xi River valley from Guangdong and are still predominant in the eastern half of Guangxi today. Outside of this area, there is a huge variety of ethnicities and language groups represented.
Guangxi is known for its ethnolinguistic diversity. In the capital of
Nanning
Nanning (; ; za, Namzningz) is the capital and largest city by population of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of ...
, for example, three varieties of Chinese are spoken locally:
Southwestern Mandarin
Southwestern Mandarin (), also known as Upper Yangtze Mandarin (), is a Mandarin Chinese language spoken in much of Southwest China, including in Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Guizhou, most parts of Hubei, the northwestern part of Hunan, the northe ...
,
Yue Chinese, Yue (specifically Cantonese language, Cantonese), and
Pinghua
Pinghua (; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Pìhng Wá''; sometimes disambiguated as /) is a pair of Sinitic languages spoken mainly in parts of the Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with some speakers in Hunan province. Pinghua ...
, in addition to various Zhuang languages and others.
Tourism
![Cormorant Fisherman on the Li River](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Cormorant_Fisherman_on_the_Li_River.jpg)
The major tourist attraction of Guangxi is
Guilin
Guilin ( Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the nort ...
, a city famed across China and the world for its spectacular setting by the Li River (Guangxi), Li Jiang (Li River) among karst peaks. It also used to be the capital of Guangxi and Jingjiang Princes' City, the old princes' residence, is open to the public. South of Guilin down the river is the town of
Yangshuo
Yangshuo County () is a county under the jurisdiction of Guilin City, in the northeast of Guangxi, China. Its seat is located in Yangshuo Town. Surrounded by karst peaks and bordered on one side by the Li River it is easily accessible by bus or by ...
, which has become a favourite destination for foreign tourists.
The variety of visible cultures in Guangxi, such as the
Zhuang and Dong people, Dong, are also a draw for tourists. The northern part of the province, bordering
Guizhou
Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...
, is home to the
Longsheng Rice Terrace
The Longsheng Rice Terraces ("Dragon's Victory") (), also called the Longji Rice Terraces ("Dragon's Backbone") (), are located in the town of Longji in Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County, about from Guilin, China.
The terrace ...
s, some of the steepest in the world. Nearby is Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County.
Many Chinese tourists visiting Nanning also visit Ban Gioc–Detian Falls on the China-Vietnam border.
Education
*Guilin University of Technology
*Guangxi Arts University
*Guangxi University
*Guangxi Medical University
*Guangxi Normal University
*Guilin University of Electronic Technology
*Guangxi University for Nationalities
*Guangxi Chinese Medical University
Sister regions
* – Kumamoto Prefecture (1982)
* – Carinthia (state), Carinthia (1987)
* – Rio Grande do Norte (1995)
* – Newport, Wales, Newport (formerly) (1996–2019)
* – Voronezh Oblast (1997)
* – Montana (1999)
* – Poitou-Charentes (2002)
* – Surat Thani Province (2004)
* – Podkarpackie (2015)
See also
* Major national historical and cultural sites (Guangxi), Major national historical and cultural sites in Guangxi
* List of twin towns and sister cities in China
* 2017 China floods#Guangxi, 2017 Guangxi floods
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
Economic profile for Guangxiat Hong Kong Trade Development Council, HKTDC
External links
Guangxi Government website
*
{{Coord, 23.6, N, 108.3, E, type:adm1st_region:CN-45, display=title
Guangxi,
South China, .
Autonomous regions of China
Zhuang autonomous areas
Gulf of Tonkin
States and territories established in 1958