Guizhou (;
alternately Kweichow) is a landlocked
province
A province is almost always an administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unitArticle 3(1). , country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, first-level subdivision, as well as many similar terms, are g ...
in the
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 List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population of more than 1.4 billion ...

. Its capital and largest city is
Guiyang
Guiyang is the capital of Guizhou province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is located in the center of the province, situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, and on the north bank of the Nanming River, a branch of the W ...

, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of
Guangxi
Guangxi (; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region
An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, uni ...

to the south,
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 Kun ...

to the west,
Sichuan
Sichuan (; , ; Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China occupying most of the Sichuan Basin and the easternmost part of the Tibetan Plateau between ...

to the northwest, the municipality of
Chongqing
Chongqing ( Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese, in linguistics known as Standard Northern Mandarin, Standard Beijing Mandarin or simply Mandarin, is a Mandarin Chinese#Subgrouping, dialect of Mandarin that em ...

to the north, and
Hunan
Hunan () is a landlocked province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roma ...

to the east. The population of Guizhou stands at 38.5 million,
ranking 18th among the provinces in China.
The
Dian Kingdom
Dian () was an ancient kingdom established by the Dian people, a non-Han Chinese metalworking civilization that inhabited around the Dian Lake
Dianchi Lake (), also known as Lake Dian and Kunming Lake (), is a large lake located on the Yunnan-Gu ...
, which inhabited the present-day area of Guizhou,
was annexed by the
Han dynasty#REDIRECT Han dynasty
The Han dynasty () was the second Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 220 AD), established by the rebel leader Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. Preceded by the short-lived Qin dynas ...

in 106 BC. Guizhou was formally made a province in 1413 during the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , ''Mongolchuud'', ; ) are an East Asian ethnic group nativ ...

. After the
overthrow of the Qing in 1911 and following the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war in China fought between the Kuomintang (KMT)-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China (ROC) and forces of the Communist Party of China (CPC) lastin ...
, the
Communist Party of China
)
, anthem = "The Internationale
"The Internationale" (french: "L'Internationale", italic=no, ) is a left-wing anthem. It has been a standard of the socialism, socialist movement since the late nineteenth century, when the Second ...

took refuge in Guizhou during the
Long March
The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Chinese Red Army, Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. ...
between 1934 and 1935.
After the establishment 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 List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population of more than 1.4 billion ...

,
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the Proclamation of the P ...

promoted the relocation of
heavy industry
Heavy industry is an industry
Industry may refer to:
Economics
* Industry (economics)
In macroeconomics, an industry is a branch of an economy that produces a closely related set of raw materials, goods, or services. For example, one ...
into inland provinces such as Guizhou, to better protect them from potential foreign attacks.
Guizhou is rich in natural, cultural and environmental resources. Its natural industry includes timber and forestry, and the
energy
In , energy is the that must be to a or to perform on the body, or to it. Energy is a ; the law of states that energy can be in form, but not created or destroyed. The unit of measurement in the (SI) of energy is the , which is the ...
and
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable mineral
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occu ...

industries constitute an important part of its economy. Notwithstanding, Guizhou is considered a relatively undeveloped province, with the
fourth-lowest GDP per capita in China as of 2020. However, it is also one of China's fastest-growing economies. The Chinese government is looking to develop Guizhou as a data hub.
Guizhou is a mountainous province, with its higher altitudes in the west and centre. It lies at the eastern end of the
Yungui Plateau. Demographically, it is one of China's most diverse provinces. Minority groups account for more than 37% of the population, including sizable populations of the
MiaoMiao 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 b ...
,
Bouyei Bouyei can refer to:
*Bouyei language
*Bouyei people
{{disambig
Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...
,
Dong
Dong or DONG may refer to:
Places
* Dong Lake, or East Lake, a lake in China
* Dong, Arunachal Pradesh, a village in India
* Dong (administrative division)
Dong or DONG may refer to:
Places
* Dong Lake, or East Lake, a lake in China
* Dong, ...
,
Tujia and
Yi peoples, all of whom speak languages distinct from Chinese. The main language spoken in Guizhou is
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
Yunnan () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the ...
, a variety of
Mandarin
Mandarin may refer to:
* Mandarin (bureaucrat), a bureaucrat of Imperial China (the original meaning of the word)
** by extension, any senior government bureaucrat
A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration o ...
.
Name
The area was first organized as an
administrative region
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a not-for-profit organization, or government body.
Management includes th ...
of a
Chinese empire under the
Tang, when it was named Juzhou (), pronounced ''Kjú-jyuw'' in the
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of recorded in the ', a first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The Swedish linguist believed that t ...
of the period. During the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , ''Mongolchuud'', ; russian: Монголы, ) are an ethnic group to the , and the of Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of . The in Western Mongolia as well as the ...

-led
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a successor state
Successor is someone who, or something which succeeds or comes after (see success and succession)
Film and TV
* ''The Succe ...
, the character (''ju'', "carpenter's square") was changed to the more refined (''gui'', "precious or expensive"). The region formally became a province in 1413, with an eponymous capital then also called "Guizhou" but now known as
Guiyang
Guiyang is the capital of Guizhou province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is located in the center of the province, situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, and on the north bank of the Nanming River, a branch of the W ...

.
History
Evidence of settlement by humans during the
Middle Palaeolithic
The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic or Palæolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age, is a period in human prehistory distinguished by the original devel ...

is indicated by stone artefacts, including
Levallois pieces, found during archaeological excavations at Guanyindong Cave. These artefacts have been dated to approximately 170,000–80,000 years ago using
optically stimulated luminescence
In physics, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) is a method for measuring doses from ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation (ionising radiation) consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that have sufficient energy to ionizatio ...
methods.
From around 1046 BCE to the emergence of the
State of Qin
Qin () was an during the . Traditionally dated to 897 BC, it took its origin in a reconquest of western lands previously lost to the ; its position at the western edge of permitted expansion and development that was unavailable to its rivals in ...
, northwest Guizhou was part of the
State of Shu.
During the
Warring States period
The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period
The Spring and Autumn period was a period i ...
, the Chinese state of
Chu
Chu or CHU may refer to:
Chinese history
* Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty
* Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu
* Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the Han ...
conquered the area, and control later passed to the
Dian Kingdom
Dian () was an ancient kingdom established by the Dian people, a non-Han Chinese metalworking civilization that inhabited around the Dian Lake
Dianchi Lake (), also known as Lake Dian and Kunming Lake (), is a large lake located on the Yunnan-Gu ...
. During the Chinese
Han Dynasty#REDIRECT Han dynasty
The Han dynasty () was the second Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 220 AD), established by the rebel leader Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. Preceded by the short-lived Qin dynas ...

(206 BCE–220 CE), to which the Dian was tributary, Guizhou was home to the
Yelang
Yelang, also Zangke, was an ancient political entity first described in the 3rd century BC in what is now western Guizhou
Guizhou (; alternately Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. ...
collection of tribes, which largely governed themselves before the Han consolidated control in the southwest and established the
Lingnan
Lingnan (; Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group n ...
province.
[ During the ]Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the states of Cao Wei, Wei, Shu Han, Shu, and Eastern Wu, Wu. The Three Kingdoms period started with the End of the Han dynasty, end of the Han dynasty#East ...

period, parts of Guizhou were governed by the Shu Han
Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ; often shortened to Shu ; pinyin
''Hanyu Pinyin'' (), often abbreviated to pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin Chinese in mainland C ...
state based in Sichuan
Sichuan (; , ; Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China occupying most of the Sichuan Basin and the easternmost part of the Tibetan Plateau between ...

, followed by Cao Wei
Wei (220–266), also known as Cao Wei or Former Wei, was one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the ...
(220–266) and the Jin Dynasty (266–420).[
During the 8th and 9th centuries in the ]Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an interregnum
An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organizat ...
, Chinese soldiers moved into Guizhou (Kweichow) and married native women. Their descendants are known as ''Lǎohànrén'' (), in contrast to new Chinese who populated Guizhou at later times. They still speak an archaic dialect. Many immigrants to Guizhou were descended from these soldiers in garrisons who married these pre-Chinese women.
Kublai Khan
Kublai (; also spelled Qubilai or Kübilai; mn, Хубилай, Khubilai ; ; 23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his as Emperor Shizu of Yuan, was the fifth - of the , reigning from 1260 to 1294, although after the this ...

and Möngke Khan
Möngke ( mn, ' / Мөнх '; ; 11 January 1209 – 11 August 1259) was the fourth khagan
Khagan or Qaghan ( otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣, Kaɣan, mn, Xаан or ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ, Khaan, ota, خواقين, Ḫākan, or خوان ''Ḫān'', tr, ...
conquered the Chinese southwest in the process of defeating the Song during the Mongol invasion of China
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , ''Mongolchuud'', ; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia
Mongolia (, Mongolian language, Mongolian: , Mongolian script, Traditional Mongolian: ') is a landlocked country in East ...
, and the newly established Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a successor state
Successor is someone who, or something which succeeds or comes after (see success and succession)
Film and TV
* ''The Succe ...
(1279–1368) saw the importation of Chinese Muslim administrators and settlers from Bukhara
Bukhara (; Uzbek language, Uzbek: /; Tajik language, Tajik: Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, fifth-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 247,644 , and the capital of Bukhara Region.
People have inhabited the region ...

in Central Asia.[
It was during the following ]Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , ''Mongolchuud'', ; ) are an East Asian ethnic group nativ ...

, which was once again led by Han Chinese
The Han Chinese (), or the Han people (), is an East Asian
East Asia is the east
East is one of the four cardinal direction
The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the directions north
North is one of the four ...
, that Guizhou was formally made a province in 1413. The Ming established many garrison
Garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is the collective term for any body of troop
A troop is a military sub-subunit
Sub-subunit or sub-sub-unit is a subordinated element below platoon lev ...

s in Guizhou from which to pacify the Yao
Yao or YAO may refer to:
* Yao (surname), the transliteration of Chinese family names 姚, 銚, and 么
* Yao (ruler), a mythical Chinese ruler and emperor
* Yao Ming, Chinese Basketball All-Star that played for the Houston Rockets
* Euphrasie Kouas ...
and MiaoMiao 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 b ...
minorities during the Miao RebellionsThere have been several Miao rebellions in Chinese history:
*Miao rebellions under the Ming dynasty (14th–15th centuries)
*Bozhou rebellion (1589–1600)
*Miao Rebellion (1735–36)
*Miao Rebellion (1795–1806)
*Miao Rebellion (1854–73)
{{set ...
.[ Chinese-style agriculture flourished with the expertise of farmers from Sichuan, ]Hunan
Hunan () is a landlocked province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roma ...

and its surrounding provinces into Guizhou. Wu Sangui
Wu Sangui (), courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere
The East Asian ...

was responsible for the ousting the Ming in Guizhou and Yunnan during the Manchu conquest of China
The transition from Ming to Qing, Ming–Qing transition, or Manchu conquest of China from 1618 to 1683 saw the transition between two major dynasties
A dynasty (, ) is a sequence of rulers from the same family
In human society, f ...
. During the governorship-general of the Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty, officially the Great Qing (), was the last dynasty
A dynasty (, ) is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press
Oxford University Pr ...
's nobleman Ortai
Ortai (; ) (1680–1745) was the first Earl Xiangqin. He was an eminent Manchu
The Manchu (; ) are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym and endonym, exonym for a h ...
, the ''tusi
''Tusi'' (; mnc, ᠠᡳᠮᠠᠨ ᡳ ᡥᠠᡶᠠᠨ; vi, Thổ ty), often translated as "headmen" or "chieftains", were hereditary tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the , , and dynasties of China, and the and dynasties o ...

'' system of indirect governance of the southwest was abolished, prompting rebellions from disenfranchised chieftains and the further centralization of government. After the Second Opium War
The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, government
A gov ...
, criminal triads set up shop in Guangxi and Guizhou to sell British opium
Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex
Latex is a stable dispersion (emulsion
An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally Miscibility, immiscible (unmixable or unblendable) o ...

. For a time, Taiping Rebels took control of Guizhou, but they were ultimately suppressed by the Qing.[ Concurrently, Han Chinese soldiers moved into the Taijiang region of Guizhou, married Miao women, and their children were brought up as Miao.
More unsuccessful Miao rebellions occurred during the Qing, in ]1735
Events
January–March
* January 2
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – The Roman legion
The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 4,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the ...
, from 1795–1806 and from 1854–1873. After the overthrow of the Qing in 1911 and following Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war in China fought between the Kuomintang (KMT)-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China (ROC) and forces of the Communist Party of China (CPC) lastin ...
, the Communists
Communism (from Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken in the area around Rome, known as Latium. Through the power of the ...

took refuge in Guizhou during the Long March
The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Chinese Red Army, Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. ...
(1934–1935).[ While the province was formally ruled by the ]warlord
A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of hi ...
, the Zunyi Conference
The Zunyi Conference () was a meeting of the Communist Party of China
)
, anthem = "The Internationale
"The Internationale" (french: "L'Internationale", italic=no, ) is a left-wing anthem. It has been a standard of the socialis ...
in Guizhou established Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the Proclamation of the P ...

as the leader of the Communist Party. As the Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific War, Pac ...
pushed China's Nationalist Government to its southwest base of Chongqing
Chongqing ( Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese, in linguistics known as Standard Northern Mandarin, Standard Beijing Mandarin or simply Mandarin, is a Mandarin Chinese#Subgrouping, dialect of Mandarin that em ...

, transportation infrastructure improved as Guizhou was linked with the Burma Road
200px, The "Twenty-Four Bends" (25.821725°N, 105.202600°E), often mistaken for a segment of the Burma Road, is actually in Qinglong County, Guizhou, Qinglong County, Guizhou, Guizhou Province. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Western suppli ...
. After the end of the War, a 1949 Revolution swept Mao into power, who promoted the relocation of heavy industry into inland provinces such as Guizhou, to better protect them from Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a socialist state
A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country, sometimes referred to as a workers' state or workers' republic, is a sovere ...
and American attacks. The 1957 influenza pandemic started in Guizhou and killed a million people around the world. After the Chinese economic reform
The Chinese economic reform or reform and opening-up, known in the West
250px, A compass rose with west highlighted in black
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass
The points of the compass are the ...
began in 1978, geographical factors led Guizhou to become the poorest province in China, with a GDP growth average of 9 percent from 1978–1993.
Geography
Guizhou is a mountainous province, although its higher altitudes are in the west and centre. It lies at the eastern end of the Yungui Plateau. At above sea level, Jiucaiping is Guizhou's highest point.
Guizhou 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, generally between latitude
In geography
Geograp ...
. There are few seasonal changes. Its annual average temperature is roughly 10 to 20 °C, with January temperatures ranging from 1 to 10 °C and July temperatures ranging from 17 to 28 °C.
Like in China's other southwest provinces, rural areas of Guizhou suffered severe drought during spring 2010. One of China's poorest provinces, Guizhou is experiencing serious environmental problems, such as desertification and persistent water shortages. From 3–5 April 2010, China's Premier Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942), also spelled as Wen Chia-pao, is a retired Chinese politician who served as the sixth Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local govern ...

went on a three-day inspection tour in the southwest drought-affected province of Guizhou, where he met villagers and called on agricultural scientists to develop drought-resistant technologies for the area.
Biodiversity
The border mountains of Guizhou, Guangxi, and Hunan have been identified as one of the eight plant diversity hotspots in China. The main ecosystem types include evergreen broad-leaved forest, coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest, and montane elfin forest. Plant species endemic
Endemism is the state of a species
In biology
Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their anatomy, physical structure, Biochemistry, chemical processes, Molecular biology, molecular interact ...
to this region include '' Abies ziyuanensis'', '' Cathaya argyrophylla'', and '' Keteleeria pubescens''. In broad terms, the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau
Using a wider definition, the Yunnan–Guizhou Highlands make up the light green area on the lower part of this map
The Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau or Yungui Plateau () is a highland region located in southwest China. The region is primarily sprea ...
is one of the vertebrate diversity hotspots of China. At the level of counties, Xingyi is one of nine Chinese vertebrate (excluding birds) diversity hotspots. Animals only known from Guizhou include Leishan moustache toad, Kuankuoshui salamander, Shuicheng salamander
The Shuicheng salamander (''Pseudohynobius shuichengensis'') is a species of salamander
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by a lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of Squamata, squamate reptiles, with over 6 ...
, Guizhou salamander, and Zhijin warty newt.
Caohai Lake with its surroundings is a wetland that is an important overwintering site for many birds. It is a National Nature Reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a natural reserve, wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area), is a protected area of importance for flora, faun ...
and an Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the cl ...
identified by BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitat
Ibex in an alpine habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and bio ...
.
Politics
Administrative divisions
Guizhou is divided into nine prefecture-level divisions: six prefecture-level cities
A road sign shows distance to the "Huangshi urban area" () rather than simply " Yangxin County from the neighboring Xianning), but still from the Huangshi main urban area.
A prefectural-level municipality (), prefectural-level city or prefectu ...
and three autonomous prefecture
Autonomous prefectures () are one type of autonomous administrative divisions of China, existing at the prefectural level, with either ethnic minorities
A minority group, by its original definition, refers to a group of people whose practices ...
s:
These nine prefecture-level divisions are in turn subdivided into 88 county-level division
Due to China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.4 billion. Covering ...
s (14 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 County, counties, several Municipality, municipal ...
s, 7 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
China, ...
, 55 counties
A county is a geographical region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
, and 11 autonomous counties and one special district).
Urban areas
Economy
As of the mid-19th century, Guizhou exported mercury
Mercury usually refers to:
* Mercury (planet)
Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System and the closest to the Sun. Its orbit around the Sun takes 87.97 Earth days, the shortest of all the Sun's planets. It is named after the Roman g ...

, gold, iron, lead, tobacco, incense and drugs.
Its natural industry includes timber and forestry. Guizhou is also the third largest producer of tobacco in China, and home to the well-known brand Guizhou Tobacco.[http://thechinaperspective.com/topics/province/guizhou-province/] Other important industries in the province include energy (electricity generation
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For electric utility, utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its Electricity delivery, delivery (Electric power transmiss ...
) - a large portion of which is exported to Guangdong and other provinces - and mining, especially in coal, limestone
Limestone is a common type of carbonate
In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of Salt (chemistry), salts; salt in its nat ...

, arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element
Image:Simple Periodic Table Chart-blocks.svg, 400px, Periodic table, The periodic table of the chemical elements
In chemistry, an element is a pure substance consisting only of atoms that all have the same num ...

, gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineralThe sulfate minerals are a class of mineral
In geology
Geology (from the Ancient Greek γῆ, ''gē'' ("earth") and -λoγία, ''-logia'', ("study of", "discourse")) is an Earth science concerned with the ...

, and oil shale
Oil shale is an organic-rich containing (a solid mixture of ) from which liquid s can be produced, called . Shale oil is a substitute for conventional crude oil; however, extracting shale oil is costlier than the production of conventional ...

. Guizhou's total output of coal was 118 million tons in 2008, a 7% growth from the previous year. Guizhou's export of power to Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternately romanized as Canton Province or Kwangtung, is a coastal province
A province is almost always an administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unitArticle 3(1). , country subdivision, admin ...

equaled 12% of Guangdong's total power consumption. Over the next 5 years Guizhou hopes to increase this by as much as 50%.
Transportation
In 2017, Sun Zhigang, the governor of Guizhou, has announced the plans to build 10,000 kilometers of highways, 17 airports, of inland waterways, and of high-speed rail lines in three years, in an effort to boost the tourism in the province.
Rail
Guizhou's rail network consists primarily of a cross formed by the Sichuan–Guizhou, Guangxi–Guizhou and Shanghai–Kunming railways, which intersect at the provincial capital, Guiyang
Guiyang is the capital of Guizhou province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is located in the center of the province, situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, and on the north bank of the Nanming River, a branch of the W ...

, near the center of the province. The Liupanshui–Baiguo, Pan County West and Weishe–Hongguo railways form a rail corridor along Guizhou's western border with 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 Kun ...

. This corridor connects the Neijiang–Kunming railway, which dips into northwestern Guizhou at Weining, with the Nanning–Kunming railway
The Nanning–Kunming railway, or Nankun railway (), is a single-track electrified
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion
Image:Leavi ...
, which skirts the southwestern corner of Guizhou at Xingyi.
As of 2018, Shanghai–Kunming and Guiyang–Guangzhou high-speed railways are operational. Chengdu–Guiyang high-speed railway is under construction.
Demographics
In 1832, the population was estimated at five million.[
Guizhou is demographically one of China's most diverse provinces. Minority groups account for more than 37% of the population and they include ]MiaoMiao 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 b ...
(including Gha-Mu and A-Hmao A-Hmao (''Big Flowery Miao'') are an ethnic group in China
China (), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC; ), is a country in . It is the world's , with a of more than 1.4 billion. China spans five geographical and 14 different ...
), Yao
Yao or YAO may refer to:
* Yao (surname), the transliteration of Chinese family names 姚, 銚, and 么
* Yao (ruler), a mythical Chinese ruler and emperor
* Yao Ming, Chinese Basketball All-Star that played for the Houston Rockets
* Euphrasie Kouas ...
, Yi, Qiang, Dong
Dong or DONG may refer to:
Places
* Dong Lake, or East Lake, a lake in China
* Dong, Arunachal Pradesh, a village in India
* Dong (administrative division)
Dong or DONG may refer to:
Places
* Dong Lake, or East Lake, a lake in China
* Dong, ...
, ZhuangZhuang may refer to:
*Zhuang people (or Bouxcuengh people), ethnic group in China
*Zhuang languages
*Zhuang logogram
*Zhuang Zhou, ancient Chinese philosopher
*Zhuang (surname) (庄/莊), a Chinese surname
{{disambiguation
Language and nationality ...
, Bouyei Bouyei can refer to:
*Bouyei language
*Bouyei people
{{disambig
Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...
, Bai, Tujia, Gelao and Sui. 55.5% of the province area is designated as autonomous regions for ethnic minorities. Guizhou is the province with the highest fertility rate
The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if:
# she was to experience the exact current age-specific rates (ASFRs) through her lifetime
# she was to live from ...
in China, standing at 2.19 (Urban-1.31, Rural-2.42).
Religion
The predominant religions in Guizhou are Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion, is a general term covering a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese
The Han Chinese (), or the Han people (), is an East Asian
East Asia is the ...
s, Taoist traditions and Chinese Buddhism
Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature
Literature broadly is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings speci ...

. According to surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, 31.18% of the population believes and is involved in ancestor veneration
The veneration
Veneration in Noto St Conrad of Piacenza (San Corrado)
Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as havi ...
, while 0.99% of the population identifies as Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ (title), Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koi ...

, decreasing from 1.13% in 2004.
The reports did not give figures for other types of religion; 67.83% of the population may be either irreligious or involved in worship of nature deities, Buddhism, Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China
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 ...
, Taoism, folk religious sects, and small minorities of Muslim
Muslims () are people who follow or practice Islam
Islam (; ar, اَلْإِسْلَامُ, al-’Islām, "submission o God
Oh God may refer to:
* An exclamation; similar to "oh no", "oh yes", "oh my", "aw goodness", "ah gosh", ...

s. There are significant ethnic minority populations (the MiaoMiao 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 b ...
and the Buyei
The Bouyei (also spelled ''Puyi'', ''Buyei'' and ''Buyi''; self called: Buxqyaix, or "Puzhong", "Burao", "Puman"; ; vi, người Bố Y), otherwise known as the Zhongjia, are an ethnic group
An ethnic group or ethnicity is a grouping of peo ...
) who traditionally follow their autochthonous religions.
Cuisine
Guizhou is the home of the well-known Chinese liquor .
Tourism
The province has many covered bridge
A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may ...
s, called ''Wind and Rain Bridges''. These were built by the Dong people
The Kam people, officially known in China as Dong people (; endonym: , ), a Kam–Sui peoples, Kam–Sui people of Southern China, are one of the 56 List of ethnic groups in China, ethnic groups officially recognized by the China, People's Republic ...
.
The southeastern corner of the province is known for its unique Dong minority culture. Towns such as Rongjiang
Rongjiang County () is a county in southeastern Guizhou province, China. It is under the administration of the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture.
Administration
Rongjiang County is divided into 9 Towns of China, towns and 4 Townships ...
, Liping, Diping and Zhaoxing are scattered amongst the hills along the border with Guangxi.
Three recommended forms
The World Bank's "Strategic Environmental Assessment Study: Tourism Development in the Province of Guizhou, China" (May 25, 2007)[ (needs a direct cite)] points to three different forms of tourism that should be fostered and developed in Guizhou: Nature-based, heritage-based and rural. Heritage-based tourism provides ethnic minority groups with an opportunity to preserve their unique heritage while still making a living.
Colleges and universities
*Guizhou University
Guizhou University (; Pinyin
''Hanyu Pinyin'' (), often abbreviated to pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin Chinese in mainland China, Taiwan (ROC), and Singapore. It is often used to teach Sta ...
(Guiyang)
* Guizhou Normal University (Guiyang)
* Guiyang Medical University (Guiyang)
* Guizhou Nationalities University (Guiyang)
* Guizhou Institute of Technology (Guiyang)
* Zunyi Medical College (Zunyi)
* Moutai University (Zunyi)
Media
*'' Guizhou Daily''
Notable people
* Shi Jinmo (1881-1969), founder of medical colleges
* Chuan He
Chuan He () is a Chinese-American chemical biologist, and is currently the John T. Wilson Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is best known for his work in di ...
(1972-), scientist
* Huang Xiaoyun (1998-), singer and actress
See also
* Major national historical and cultural sites in Guizhou
* 2020 Guizhou bus crash
Notes
References
Citations
Works cited
*
External links
Guizhou government website
Guiyang Government website
Township level administrative map of Guizhou
{{Authority control
Provinces of the People's Republic of China
South China
Western China