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
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 ...
in western
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 state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
,
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 ...
. It borders
Zhaoqing
Zhaoqing (), alternately romanized as Shiuhing, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province, China. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,113,594, with 1,553,109 living in the built-up (or metro) area made of Duanzhou, Dinghu ...
to the north,
Foshan to the east,
Jiangmen
Jiangmen (), alternately romanized in Cantonese as Kongmoon, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province in southern China. As of the 2020 census, its three urban districts, plus Heshan City being conurbated, with 2,657,662 inhabitants a ...
to the southeast,
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 S ...
to the south,
Maoming
Maoming, alternately romanized as Mowming, is a prefecture-level city located in southwestern Guangdong province, China. Facing the South China Sea to the city's south, Maoming city borders Zhanjiang to the west, Yangjiang to the east, and Y ...
to the southwest, and the
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
Guangxi to the west. The city spans an area of , and has a population of 2,383,400 according to a 2021 publication by the city government.
History
The area of present-day Yunfu belonged to 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, b ...
prior to the advent of the
Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...
, when much of Yunfu came under the jurisdiction of
Guilin Commandery Yulin Commandery () was a Chinese commandery that existed from Qin dynasty to Tang dynasty in the modern region of Guangxi.
History
Yulin Commandery was established as Guilin Commandery (桂林郡) in 214 BC, when the Qin dynasty conquered Lingnan. ...
, while some of the area belonged to
Nanhai Commandery Nanhai Commandery ( zh, 南海郡) was a Chinese commandery that existed from Qin dynasty to Tang dynasty. At the greatest extent, Nanhai's territories covered present-day Guangdong, Hainan, southeastern Guangxi and the southern tip of Fujian. The s ...
.
During portions of the
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 ...
, the area belonged to the kingdom of
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 establis ...
.
Following the fall of the Nanyue in 111 CE, the area of present-day
Xinxing County
Xinxing County, Postal romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Sunhing, is a county (China), county of the prefecture (China), prefecture-level prefecture-level city, city of Yunfu in the west of Guangdong province, China.
...
was incorporated into the
Western 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 war ...
as Linyun County ().
Jin dynasty
Under the
Jin dynasty, in 280 CE, the area of present-day
Yunan County
Yunan County ( postal: Watnam; ) is a county in the west of Guangdong Province, China, bordering Guangxi to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yunfu. As of 2020, Yunan County has a population of 532,679.
Admi ...
was organized as Duluo County ().
In 349 CE, the area of present-day Yunan County was reorganized as Jinhua County ().
Two years later, the area of present-day Xinxing County was reorganized as , which governed three counties: Xinxing County (), Nanxing County (), and Dandie County ().
During the final years of the Jin dynasty, from 416 CE to 420 CE, Longxiang County () and Furuan County () were established in present-day
Luoding
Luoding, alternately romanized as Loting, is a county-level city in the northwestern part of Guangdong province (粤北), South China. It is administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Yunfu.
History
As early as 10,000 years ago, ther ...
.
Northern and Southern dynasties
During the
Northern and Southern dynasties
The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered a ...
period, the area of present-day Yunfu was governed by the
Southern Song dynasty from 420 CE to 479 CE, then by the
Southern Qi dynasty from 479 CE to 502 CE, and finally by the
Liang dynasty
The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...
from 502 CE to 557 CE.
From 557 CE to 589 CE, the area was ruled by the
Chen dynasty.
Later dynasties
The area was incorporated into the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...
in 618 CE.,
Following the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...
, the area was conquered 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 ...
(not to be confused with the aforementioned Song dynasty which ruled portions of Southern China during the 5th century CE).
Republic of China
Shortly after the creation of the
Republic of China in 1912, republican officials reorganized the area multiple times.
In January 1914, Xining County was renamed to
Yunan County
Yunan County ( postal: Watnam; ) is a county in the west of Guangdong Province, China, bordering Guangxi to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yunfu. As of 2020, Yunan County has a population of 532,679.
Admi ...
(which it is still called today), and in May 1914 Dong'an County was renamed to Yunfu County.
People's Republic of China
Yunfu was promoted to a
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 ...
on April 5, 1994.
In September 2014, Yun'an was promoted from a
county
A county is a geographic 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 ...
to a
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, municipa ...
.
Geography
67.39% of Yunfu's area is forested.
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 Qujin ...
runs through Yunfu.
Climate
Yunfu is considered sub-tropical and enjoys fine weather year-round, characterized by mild air temperatures, plentiful rainfall and sunshine, with an annual average temperature of 22 °C, annual average rainfall of 1,580mm and annual average sunshine hours of 1,418. The time-space distribution of rainfall is uneven in a year. It is overcast and dry in spring, hot and rainy in the summer, cool in autumn, and dry and sunny in winter.
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 Yunfu administers 5
county-level divisions, including 2
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, municipa ...
, 1
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 county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...
and 2
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 ...
.
Demographics
According to the city government, 420,000
overseas Chinese hail from Yunfu.
Ethnicity
Yunfu is home to 39
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 ...
, which comprise a total population of 14,038.
The largest ethnic minorities in Yunfu are the
Zhuang,
Yao,
Dong, and the
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 ...
.
While many of Yunfu's ethnic minorities recently moved to the city due to marriage and work, there are large concentrations of indigenous minorities in two villages in Yunfu: Hejiang Village () in ,
Luoding
Luoding, alternately romanized as Loting, is a county-level city in the northwestern part of Guangdong province (粤北), South China. It is administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Yunfu.
History
As early as 10,000 years ago, ther ...
, and Dalin Village () in ,
Yunan County
Yunan County ( postal: Watnam; ) is a county in the west of Guangdong Province, China, bordering Guangxi to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yunfu. As of 2020, Yunan County has a population of 532,679.
Admi ...
.
Language
Several languages are commonly spoken in Yunfu, including the
Yunfu Dialect () 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 ar ...
,
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 ...
,
Min-nan, and the
Taigu Dialect ().
The Yunfu Dialect is the most commonly spoken in Yunfu, followed by Hakka.
The city's Min-nan speakers are concentrated in certain areas, including the
towns
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
of and in
Yunan County
Yunan County ( postal: Watnam; ) is a county in the west of Guangdong Province, China, bordering Guangxi to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yunfu. As of 2020, Yunan County has a population of 532,679.
Admi ...
, Zhaitang Village () in the town of ,
Yun'an District, and the towns of , , , and in
Luoding
Luoding, alternately romanized as Loting, is a county-level city in the northwestern part of Guangdong province (粤北), South China. It is administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Yunfu.
History
As early as 10,000 years ago, ther ...
.
Speakers of the Taigu Dialect are largely concentrated in the
township-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 of , , Taiping, Luoping, , , , , and in Luoding.
Economy
Natural resources
Yunfu has a total land area of ,
including 1,868,200
mu cultivated land, 1,353,700 mu paddy field. In the total area, the mountainous area takes up 60.5%, the hilly area takes up 30.7%, making Yunfu a typical mountainous city. The city's total population is 2,600,900 people, of which the nonagricultural population is 887,000 people and the agricultural population 1,713,900 people, the per capita cultivated area is 0.718 mu.
More than 670 types of plants used in
traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...
are found in Yunfu.
Yunfu's city government states that there are over 50 types of mineral resources in Yunfu, including
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
,
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
,
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
,
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
,
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
,
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
,
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, and
pyrite
The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral.
Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue giv ...
.
Other proven minerals in Yunfu include tin, lead, zinc and manganese, sillimanite, dolomite, barite, talc, kaolin, limestone, clay, rammell, potassium feldspar, and mineral water. The area's particularly large deposits of pyrite makes it
China's
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 ...
largest
sulfide producing region.
Yunfu serves as a regional center of stone mining and stone carving.
By the end of 2002, there were totally 254 certified mines throughout the city.
Tourism
Major tourist attractions in the city include the
Sixth Patriarch's Hometown Tourist Resort (), Jinshuitai Hot Springs Scenic Area (), Tianlu Mountain Tourist Resort (), and Panlong Cave Scenic Area ().
Education
Yunfu is home to three
tertiary education
Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...
institutions, enrolling 13,000 students.
The city has 121
secondary schools, including 15
vocational school
A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the task ...
s, enrolling 164,100 students.
Yunfu also has 174
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
s with 258,600 students.
Culture
The city has 6 art galleries and cultural centers, 6 public libraries, and 5 museums.
Healthcare
Yunfu has 89 medical institutions, with 10,364 beds.
Transportation
With 324 National Highway running through the whole prefecture, cement-paved roads are accessible to each single township and village. Guangzhou-Wuzhou Expressway linking Guangdong and Guangxi is also connected to Yunfu which will further be united with Yulin and Wuzhou in Guangxi as well as the expressway network in southwest China. Sanshui-Maoming Railway also passes the whole municipality, which will be eventually linked to Luoyang-Zhanjiang Railway in 2008.
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 Qujin ...
has 100 kilometers of waterway, enabling direct cargo freight to Hong Kong. The Yunfu New Port (), along the Xi River, serves as
Guangdong's largest
inland port
An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port.
Examples
The United States Army Corps of Engineers pub ...
.
Notable people
* Gan Zhuotang,
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
politician
*
Cai Tingkai
Cai Tingkai (; 1892–1968) was a Chinese general.
Cai was in overall command of the 19th Route Army of the Republic of China's National Revolutionary Army and other Chinese forces responsible for holding off the Imperial Japanese Army during th ...
,
National Revolutionary Army general
*
Ye Jizhuang, Communist Party politician
* ,
Second Guangzhou Uprising
The Second Guangzhou (Canton) Uprising, known in Chinese as the Yellow Flower Mound Uprising or the Guangzhou Xinhai Uprising, was a failed uprising took place in China led by Huang Xing and his fellow revolutionaries against the Qing dynasty i ...
protestor
*
Huineng
Dajian Huineng (); (February 27, 638 – August 28, 713), also commonly known as the Sixth Patriarch or Sixth Ancestor of Chan (traditional Chinese: 禪宗六祖), is a semi-legendary but central figure in the early history of Chinese Chan Buddhi ...
,
Chan Buddhist
Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and So ...
patriarch
*
Deng Fa
Deng Yuanzhao or Deng Fa () (March 7, 1906 – April 8, 1946) was an early leader of the Chinese Communist Party. He was born in Yuncheng District, Yunfu, Guangdong, and participated in the Canton–Hong Kong strike and the Guangzhou Uprising ...
, Communist Party politician
References
External links
Government website of Yunfu(in Simplified Chinese)
Government website of Yunfu Tourism Department(in Simplified Chinese)
{{Authority control
Prefecture-level divisions of Guangdong
Autonomous regions of China
Western Han dynasty emperors