Maoming,
alternately romanized
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
as Mowming, is a prefecture-level city located in southwestern
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) ...
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 ...
, China. Facing the South China Sea to the city's south, Maoming city borders
Zhanjiang
Zhanjiang (), historically spelled Tsamkong, is a prefecture-level city at the southwestern end of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, facing Haikou city to the south.
As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,981,236 (6,994,832 ...
to the west,
Yangjiang
Yangjiang (, ), alternately romanized as Yeungkong, is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Guangdong Province in the People's Republic of China. It borders Maoming to the west, Yunfu to the north, Jiangmen to the east, and looks out to the ...
to the east, and
Yunfu
Yunfu (), formerly romanized as Wanfow, and historically known as Dong'an (), which was formerly romanized as Tong On, from 1578 to 1913, is a prefecture-level city in western Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Zhaoqi ...
to the northeast, and is from
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
and from
Zhanjiang
Zhanjiang (), historically spelled Tsamkong, is a prefecture-level city at the southwestern end of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, facing Haikou city to the south.
As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,981,236 (6,994,832 ...
. The Maoming Port is a Grade I port that handled 16.8 million tons of cargo in 2007.
Refined oil and aquatic products are the major export products from the city. Major export destinations include
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
,
Macao
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
and ASEAN member nations.
As of the 2020 census, Maoming had a population of 6,174,050 inhabitants, 2,539,148 of whom live in the built-up (or metro) area, which includes 2 urban districts (''
Maonan and
Dianbai'') largely being conurbated. The city's birth rate is 11.04‰, and its
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
(2012) was RMB 195.118 billion (US$31.81billion), up by 10.6% over the previous year.
According to government sources, Maoming's GDP ranked 7th among Guangdong's 21 cities, and ranked 79th of China's 656 cities in 2012.
Etymology
The city is named after
Jin Dynasty Taoist
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
scholar and doctor (290–371), born in
Gaozhou
Gaozhou is a county-level city in southwestern Guangdong Province, China. Formerly the primary city in the area, it is now administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Maoming. As of the 20210 census, Gaozhou had a population of 1,32 ...
. The local area was renamed by imperial decree in honour of Pan in 598 A.D. during the
Sui Dynasty
The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...
.
History
During the early development of Chinese civilization in the
Wei and
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...
valleys and across the
North China Plain
The North China Plain or Huang-Huai-Hai Plain () is a large-scale downfaulted rift basin formed in the late Paleogene and Neogene and then modified by the deposits of the Yellow River. It is the largest alluvial plain of China. The plain is bord ...
, the area around Maoming was held by 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, ...
. After the
Qin Qin may refer to:
Dynasties and states
* Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China
* Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC
* Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...
invaded
An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
in the late 3rd centuryBC, the area was divided into Nanhai, Xiang, and Guilin. was established under the
Sui. Under the
Qing
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-speaki ...
, it comprised part of
Gaozhou
Gaozhou is a county-level city in southwestern Guangdong Province, China. Formerly the primary city in the area, it is now administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Maoming. As of the 20210 census, Gaozhou had a population of 1,32 ...
Prefecture
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
.
[.] Following 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 ...
, Maoming became the primary community in the area and was raised to
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 ...
status in 1959.
In 2014, the city was the site of popular protests against
p-Xylene
''p''-Xylene ( ''para''-xylene) is an aromatic hydrocarbon. It is one of the three isomers of dimethylbenzene known collectively as xylenes. The ''p-'' stands for ''para-'', indicating that the two methyl groups in ''p''-xylene occupy the diamet ...
, a chemical based on
benzene
Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms, ...
that was being produced by local industry.
[ Since the 18th Party Congress and the ascension of Party general secretary ]Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...
, Maoming has been one of the "hardest hit" areas of the anti-corruption campaign. It was seen as a city where buying and selling official positions was rampant. The 2014 investigation by central inspection authorities found that some 159 local officials had taken various forms of bribes. The former Communist Party Secretary
A Party Committee Secretary () is the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organization in a province, city, village, or other administrative unit. In most cases, it is the ''de facto'' highest political office of its area of jurisdictio ...
of Maoming, Zhou Zhenhong, was sentenced to death
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
with a two-year reprieve for corruption in relation to the p-Xylene scandal. Two other former party secretaries, Liang Yimin
Liang Yimin (; born August 1964) is a former Chinese politician from south China's Guangdong province. From February 2013 to October 2014 he served as Communist Party Secretary of Maoming. He was indicted on corruption charges in March 2015.
Ea ...
and Luo Yinguo, were removed from office and sentenced to prison, respectively.
Demographics
The prefecture includes a large number of minority groups
The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...
, including the Yao, Zhuang, and 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 ...
, giving it diverse cultural activities and folk arts. The people of southern Maoming speak a Min
Min or MIN may refer to:
Places
* Fujian, also called Mǐn, 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 ...
dialect brought by Putianese immigrants which is especially closely related to the Leizhou dialect
Leizhou or ''Luichew'' Min (, ) is a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Leizhou city, Xuwen County, Mazhang District, most parts of Suixi County and also spoken inside of the linguistically diverse Xiashan District. In the classification of Yua ...
while the people of northern Maoming speak the Gaoyang dialect
Gao-Yang, or ''Gao-Lei'' or ''Gao-Yu'', is one of four principal Yue Chinese languages. It is spoken in around Maoming and Yangjiang in southwestern Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal pr ...
of Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng 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 ...
, as well as Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
. In addition, 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 ...
dialect is also spoken by a certain percentage of the Maoming people.
Administration
The prefecture-level city
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' ...
of Maoming administers 5 county-level divisions, including 2 districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
and 3 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 ...
.
* Defunct Maogang District Maogang () was a district of Maoming, Guangdong province, China. In 2014 it was merged with Dianbai County to form the new Dianbai District
Dianbai District, alternately romanized as Tinpak, is an urban district of the prefecture-level city o ...
Geography
Situated in the southwestern coastal area of Guangdong, Maoming has under its jurisdiction Maonan District, Maogang District, Dianbai County. The city administers the smaller cities of Xinyi, Gaozhou
Gaozhou is a county-level city in southwestern Guangdong Province, China. Formerly the primary city in the area, it is now administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Maoming. As of the 20210 census, Gaozhou had a population of 1,32 ...
, and Huazhou Huazhou may refer to:
*Huazhou, Guangdong (), a county-level city in Guangdong
*Huazhou District (), a district in Weinan, Shaanxi
**Huazhou Subdistrict, Weinan (), subdivision of Huazhou District
* Huazhou Subdistrict, Guangzhou ( zh; ), subdivisi ...
at the county level.
Maoming's coastline is 220 kilometers long. The "First Shoal of China" resort is from downtown Maoming.
Climate
Economy
Maoming was called one of "the top 100 developed cities in China" and the "National Garden City". Maoming is one of the largest petrochemical
Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sou ...
production areas in South China, and one of the largest fruit production areas. Other major industries include tilapia
Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...
culture and processing, winter-planted vegetable production, and other energy, material, and heavy-chemical industrial production.
Major Economic indicators (2012)
GDP: RMB 195.118 billion (US$31.81 million), 10.6% up
GDP Composition:
*Primary Industry (Agriculture) 19.1%
*Secondary Industry (Industry & Construction) 37.2%
*Tertiary Industry(Service) 43,7%
GDP Per Capita: RMB 33,537(US$5467.93), 8.9% up
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%
Fixed Asset Investment: RMB 18.01 billion (US$2,64 billion), 23.5% up
Utilized FDI: US$31 million, 44.2% down
Total Import & Export: US$673 million, 9.1% down
Export: US$532 million, 7.4% up
Import: US$141 million, 42.5% down
Sales of Consumer Goods: RMB 60.1 billion (US$8.8 billion), 20.3% up
Environmental issues
In March 2014, local people staged a protest over the production of paraxylene
''p''-Xylene ( ''para''-xylene) is an aromatic hydrocarbon. It is one of the three isomers of dimethylbenzene known collectively as xylenes. The ''p-'' stands for ''para-'', indicating that the two methyl groups in ''p''-xylene occupy the diamet ...
, a chemical used to make fabrics and plastic bottles at a plant run by the local government and state-owned Sinopec
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (中国石油化工股份有限公司) or Sinopec (), is a Chinese oil and gas enterprise based in Beijing. It is listed in Hong Kong and also trades in Shanghai.
Sinopec Limited's parent, Sinopec Gr ...
, China's biggest refiner.
Transport
Highway
Maoming can be reached by the Maozhan Expressway, which is linked to the Kaiyang Expressway and Fokai Expressway, which leads to the provincial capital, Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
. Guangzhou is a 5 - 6 hour commute from Maoming.
Railway
Maoming is served by the Guangzhou-Maoming Railway, which runs east to the provincial capital, the Hechun-Maoming Railway, which runs west to the Litang-Zhanjiang Railway, and the Luoyang–Zhanjiang Railway, which runs north through eastern Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
and central 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 China's Central Plain.
Tourist attractions
Maoming is home to the No. 1 Shoal of China Vacation Area (), Chicken Island (Guangdong) () and Tianmashan () Eco-tourist Area, the Temple of Madam Xian ( ; ''Xiǎn Tài Miào'') in Gaozhou
Gaozhou is a county-level city in southwestern Guangdong Province, China. Formerly the primary city in the area, it is now administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Maoming. As of the 20210 census, Gaozhou had a population of 1,32 ...
, and the Genzi Litchi
Lychee (US: ; UK: ; ''Litchi chinensis''; ) is a monotypic taxon and the sole member in the genus ''Litchi'' in the soapberry family, '' Sapindaceae''.
It is a tropical tree native to Southeast and Southwest China (the Guangdong, Fujian, ...
Cultural Tourist Area.
The No.1 Shoal of China Vacation Area is from the downtown Maoming, in the Maogang District. With miles of fine beach outside the shelter belt, tourists can enjoy parachute gliding
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...
and sailboarding
Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...
. It is also a national training center for beach volleyball
Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...
, and often hosts national and international competitions.
Chicken Island is the largest island in Maoming, covering an area of 1.9 km2. This tourist resort is a diving center, boasting clear and pristine sea water. It is known for its coral reefs and recreational scuba diving
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...
. Skin diving, deep diving, and explorational diving are available as well.
The Temple of Madam Xian was constructed in 1535 in memory of Madam Xian
Lady Xian (or Hsien, ; Vietnamese: Tiển phu nhân; 512–602), also known as Lady of Qiao Guo (or Ch'iao Kuo; ), born as Xian Zhen (冼珍), was a noblewoman of the Li people, born to the chieftain of the Xian tribe in Southern China, in what is ...
, who was the female leader of the Baiyue Tribe. The temple is rich in cultural and historical objects, such as ancient statues, sculptures, and stone inscriptions.
Maoming is a famous litchi
Lychee (US: ; UK: ; ''Litchi chinensis''; ) is a monotypic taxon and the sole member in the genus ''Litchi'' in the soapberry family, '' Sapindaceae''.
It is a tropical tree native to Southeast and Southwest China (the Guangdong, Fujian, ...
production area. The Genzi Litchi Cultural Tourist Area is situated in Genzi, a small town in Maoming.
Maoming's most popular local specialty foods include Huazhou Huazhou may refer to:
*Huazhou, Guangdong (), a county-level city in Guangdong
*Huazhou District (), a district in Weinan, Shaanxi
**Huazhou Subdistrict, Weinan (), subdivision of Huazhou District
* Huazhou Subdistrict, Guangzhou ( zh; ), subdivisi ...
''Baiqie Chicken'' (), Gaozhou ''Salted Chicken'' ( ''yánjú jī''), '' Fenpi'' (), Genzi ''Beef Rice Noodles'' and Xinyi ''Huaixiang Chicken''.
Downtown Maoming is a comfortable walking city, great for just wandering into shops. A downtown park comes alive at night as couples and families stroll.
Maoming is accessible from Guangzhou (approximately four hours by train or a first class bus). Two train stations serve Maoming, one downtown that provides the connection to Guangzhou and points to the north, and one a few minutes south of town that connects to the south and west.
Notable people:
* jiang,mao shen( 江茂森), born in 1901, and died in 1982. historian, also a senior member of Chinese nationalist party( KMT )
*Tonyee chow hang tung( 鄒幸彤) : vice chairperson of Hong Kong alliance in support of patriotic movements of China
* Alexandra Wong fung yiu( 王鳳瑤), social activist of Hong Kong, ms Wong has a nickname: senior lady Wong( 王婆婆)
* Wong sun( 黃新): born in 1926, and died in November, 1999, Wong was a male actor of Hong Kong television broadcasting company ( TVB )
* chiu,miu ling ( 招妙玲), Hong Kong actress, she has a nickname: big sound woman ( 大聲婆), Chiu was died around 2013.
* Cheng,siu ping ( 鄭少萍 ): Hong Kong actress, Cheng migrated to USA around 1990s.
Notes
References
External links
Government website of Maoming
Bureau of Statistics of Maoming
China Knowledge
{{Authority control
Prefecture-level divisions of Guangdong