Taishanese people or Sze Yup people or Toisanese (,

Taishanese Taishanese (), alternatively romanized in Cantonese as Toishanese or Toisanese, in local dialect as Hoisanese or Hoisan-wa, is a dialect of Yue Chinese native to Taishan, Guangdong. Although it is related to Cantonese, Taishanese has littl ...

: Hlei Yip Gong Ong Ngin) are a

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 v ...

group coming from Sze Yup ( 四邑), which consisted of the four county-level cities of Taishan,

Kaiping Kaiping (), alternately romanized in Cantonese as Hoiping, is a county-level city in Guangdong Province, China. It is located ín the western section of the Pearl River Delta and administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Jiangmen. ...

Xinhui Xinhui, alternately romanized as Sunwui and also known as Kuixiang, is an urban district of Jiangmen in Guangdong, China. It grew from a separate city founded at the confluence of the Tan and West Rivers. It has a population of about 735,50 ...

and

Enping Enping, alternately romanized as Yanping, is a county-level city in Guangdong province, China, administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Jiangmen. Enping administers an area of and had an estimated population of 460,000 in 2005 ...

. Heshan has since been added to this historic region and the prefecture-level city of

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 inhabitant ...

administers all five of these county-level cities, which are sometimes informally called Ng Yap. Their ancestors are said to have arrived from what is today central China about less than a thousand years ago and migrated into

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 ...

around 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 ...

rule period and thus Taishanese as a dialect of

Yue Chinese Yue () is a group of similar Sinitic languages spoken in Southern China, particularly in Liangguang (the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces). The name Cantonese is often used for the whole group, but linguists prefer to reserve that name for ...

has linguistically preserved many characteristics of

Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...

. The Taishanese are part of the Yue Chinese family and have an identity that distinguishes themselves from the dominant

Cantonese people The Cantonese people () or Yue people (), are a Yue-speaking Han Chinese subgroup originating from or residing in the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi (collectively known as Liangguang), in Southern Mainland China. Although more accurat ...

. Among the Han Chinese, Taishanese are a source for many famous international Chinese celebrities and have produced the largest numbers of Chinese actors and singers of any region in mainland China. Despite their small population, Taishanese people have also produced a number of famous academics and historical figures. Sze Yup or Jiangmen is considered the home of Chinese Academicians, a title gifted by the world's largest research institution, the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...

. The total of academicians is 31 people, a city with over 20 is considered extremely rare in China. Among

Asian Americans Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...

, Taishanese are influential in politics and were the first Americans of Asian descent to be elected as governors (for example

Gary Locke Gary Faye Locke (born January 21, 1950) is an American politician and diplomat serving as the interim president of Bellevue College, the largest of the institutions that make up the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system. Locke se ...

), mayors and congressmen. The Taishanese were the first Chinese people to settle in America and the

language was the original lingua franca of Chinatowns. Taishanese as the lingua franca was later replaced with Cantonese after being overwhelmed by immigration from

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

and its satellite cities when the

Chinese Exclusion Act The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law excluded merchants, teachers, students, travelers, and diplo ...

was fully repealed under the

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart–Celler Act and more recently as the 1965 Immigration Act, is a federal law passed by the 89th United States Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The ...

. Taishanese American laundrymen and shopkeepers were a primary source of funding that helped launch Dr.

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 ...

's revolutionary activities while he was in exile and raising money from overseas countrymen.

Language and identity

Taishanese is a

language that is distinguished from

Standard 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 ...

but non-specialists often use "Cantonese" in a broader sense for the entire Yue subgroup of Chinese rather than specifically the language of

. Cantonese speakers often find Taishanese difficult to understand and have an average intelligibility of only 30%. This is also true for other Yue Chinese variants such as the Goulou dialects.Cantonese speakers have been shown to understand only about 30% of what they hear in Taishanese Unlike most varieties of Chinese, Cantonese has de facto official status in

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 List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

and

Macau 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 has an independent tradition of the written vernacular. Taishanese, who make up one-third of the population of Hong Kong, may identify themselves with Cantonese instead of Taishanese. Since Hong Kong culture is heavily Cantonese-influenced and is a Cantonese-speaking society, Taishanese and other Han Chinese who are Hong Kong-born and raised, assimilate into the Cantonese identity of Hong Kong. Many Hong Kong activists are of Taishanese ancestry such as the late

Szeto Wah Szeto Wah (; 28 February 1931 – 2 January 2011) was a prominent Hong Kong democracy activist and politician. He was the founding chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, the Hong Kong Profes ...

who was a politician of the pan-democracy camp and sang democratic Cantonese songs with other activists to promote democracy in China.

Culture

Culturally, Taishanese people are similar to other Yue Chinese peoples. Today, many Sze Yup people have become successful in many areas such as the entertainment industry, business and politics. Hong Kongers of Sze Yup ancestry include:

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

Beyond (band) Beyond was a Hong Kong rock band formed in 1983. The band became prominent in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Mainland China, and Overseas Chinese communities.HKheadline.com.HKheadline.com" ''Beyond 一代搖滾班霸.'' Retrieve ...

Danny Chan Danny Chan Pak-Keung (; 7 September 1958 – 25 October 1993) was a Hong Kong singer, songwriter, records producer and actor. He is widely recognised as the first modern day pop idol in Hong Kong, gaining fame alongside performers Alan Tam, ...

Kenny Kwan Kenny Kwan Chi-Bun (born December 30, 1980) is a Philippine-born Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor, under the music label Emperor Entertainment Group. He was born in the Philippines but grew up in Hong Kong. At age 20, he and his friend, S ...

Joey Yung Joey Yung (, ; born 16 June 1980) is a Hong Kong singer and Cantopop diva signed to Emperor Entertainment Group. Since her debut in 1996, Yung has won numerous awards, including the JSG Most Popular Female Singer and Ultimate Best Female ...

, Ronnie Chan,

John Tsang John Tsang Chun-wah, GBM, JP (; born Mui; born 21 April 1951) is a Hong Kong former senior civil servant and government official who was the longest-serving Financial Secretary in the Special Administrative Region period to date. Born in ...

Andrew Li Andrew Li Kwok-nang (; born December 1948) is a retired Hong Kong judge, and a former Chief Justice of Hong Kong, who was the first to preside over the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, established on 1 July 1997. Li was succeeded by Geoffre ...

and many others. The Father of

Cinema, Lai Man-Wai also has ancestry from the Sze Yup region of province. As a result, Sze Yup people have dominated in the

entertainment industry Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousan ...

and play most major roles in the music and movie sectors. In many films,

can be heard, especially in many of Karl Maka's films such as Merry Christmas and

Aces Go Places ''Aces Go Places'', (), also known in the United States as ''Diamondfinger'' or ''Mad Mission'', is a 1982 Hong Kong action comedy film directed by Eric Tsang, and starring Samuel Hui and Karl Maka. It is the first installment in the ''Ac ...

. It is said that over a hundred famous people come from the Sze Yup region of

Guangdong Province 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) ...

, making the region famous for producing more stars than any other city/region in mainland China. As a result, the local government in

which administers the Sze Yup or Ng Yap cities of Taishan,

and Heshan, decided to build a Stars Park called Jiangmen star park (). Taishan county is famous for being the Birthplace of China's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

, that was brought to Taishan by

Overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, ref ...

and the city won many provincial and national championships. Taishanese are well known for their love for Volleyball and being China's champions. Premier Zhou En-Lai once stated, "Taishan is Half of the Country's (China) System."

Architecture

In 2007,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

named the ''

Diaolou and Villages'' () in China as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. UNESCO wrote, "...the Diaolou … display a complex and flamboyant fusion of Eastern and Western structural and decorative forms. They reflect the significant role of émigré Kaiping people in the development of several countries in South Asia, Australasia, and North America, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the close links between overseas Kaiping and their ancestral homes. The property inscribed here consists of four groups of Diaolou, totaling some 1,800 tower houses in their village settings." Today, approximately 1,833 diaolou remain standing in

and approximately 500 in Taishan. Although the diaolou served mainly as protection against forays by bandits, a few of them also served as living quarters. Kaiping has traditionally been a region of major emigration abroad and a

melting pot The melting pot is a monocultural metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative being a homogeneous society becoming more heterogeneous throu ...

of ideas and trends brought back from

. As a result, many diaolou incorporate architectural features from China and from the West.

Tong Lau Tong lau or ke lau are tenement buildings built in late 19th century to the 1960s in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southern China, and Southeast Asia. Designed for both residential and commercial uses, they are similar in style and function to the shophouse ...

s which are mixed-used buildings where the ground floor is reserved for commercial use and the top floors for residential are also prominent in the region, as are traditional Lingnan architecture aesthetics which are commonly found throughout

Economy and business

Besides dominating the

, they are quite dominant and influential in Hong Kong's

Business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...

Industry, founding such companies as the

Bank of East Asia The Bank of East Asia Limited, often abbreviated to BEA, is a Hong Kong banking and financial services company, headquartered in Central, Hong Kong. It is currently the largest independent local Hong Kong bank, and one of two remaining family ...

(), Lee Kum Kee (),

Hang Lung Properties Hang Lung Properties, formerly Amoy Properties and currently subsidiary of Hang Lung Group, is a property developer in Hong Kong. It is a member of Hang Seng Index Constituent Stocks ( blue chip) and is headquartered in the Standard Chartered ...

, Maxim's Catering (),

Li & Fung Li & Fung Limited is a Bermuda-incorporated, Hong Kong-based supply chain manager. In 2020, it was reportedly struggling to turn its century-old business around for years. On 13 February 2017, it was removed from the blue chip index: Hang Seng ...

(), Beijing Air Catering Ltd,

Hysan Development Hysan Development Company Limited is a Hong Kong property investment, management and development company that is listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. The company was formed in Hong Kong in 1923, when businessman Lee Hysan acquired plots of ...

() and many others.

Lui Che-woo Lui Che Woo, GBM, MBE, JP () (born 9 August 1929, Jiangmen, China) is a Hong Kong business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is a member of the standing committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Jiangmen, P ...

once the second richest man in Asia. Famous overseas Taishanese businessmen includes

Loke Yew Loke Yew (), born Wong Loke Yew, CMG, LL.D. (1845–1917) was a Chinese-born, of Cantonese descent, business magnate. During his lifetime, he played a significant role in the development of Kuala Lumpur and was also one of the founding fath ...

, the richest man of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

in his time and who made significant impact in the growth of

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

and was one of founder fathers of Victoria institution.

Jack Yan Jack Yan (; born 1972) is a New Zealand publisher, designer and businessman. He is best known as the founder and publisher of '' Lucire''. He ran for mayor of Wellington in 2010, and again in 2013, but was unsuccessful in both elections. Backg ...

who founded his company

Lucire ''Lucire'' is a fashion magazine that originally began on the web in 1997, before adding a monthly print edition in its home country of New Zealand in 2004, and is now published seasonally, with a monthly for licensees. It is the first fashion p ...

, is a magazine publisher in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

and he also owns a software firm that created over 100 typeface designs himself for the firm and inspired other local typeface designers such as Kris Sowersby to pursue careers in that industry. Norman Kwong who is the lieutenant governor of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

, is also president and manager of

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

a Canadian football league.

Academics

Sze Yup or Jiangmen is considered the home of Chinese Academician town: The total of academicians is 31 people, a town with over 20 is considered extremely rare in China.

Wu Lien-teh Wu Lien-teh (; Goh Lean Tuck and Ng Leen Tuck in Minnan and Cantonese transliteration respectively; 10 March 1879 – 21 January 1960) was a Malayan physician renowned for his work in public health, particularly the Manchurian plague of 191 ...

– First Han Chinese and Malaysian Chinese to be nominated for a Nobel prize in physiology or Medicine, Chu Ching-wu – Selected as the Best Researcher in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report in 1990., GUO Jing-Kun – pioneer and one of academic leaders in the field of Materials Research Nancy Ip – member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the World Academy of Sciences., Vivian Wing-Wah Yam – she was a 2011 L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science laureate "for her work on light-emitting materials and innovative ways of capturing solar energy. Huan Yong – China's modern plant taxonomy founder, Chen Haozhu – Career in medicine for many years, has won the national, military science and technology progress award more than 20 other awards Albert Chan (professor) – a Hong Kong professor of chemistry and traditional Chinese medicine. Huang Cuifen one of the founders, successive Chinese Academy of Military Medical Institute of Basic Medical researcher Liang Sili – Chinese Engineer. Chief Designer of inertial guidance platforms for Chinese ballistic missiles. Chen Guoda – Expertise in Mechanical Engineering Huang Benli – Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen University, Professor, Huang has won many awards: 2 2nd-class Major Science and Technology Achievements Awards of Chinese Academy of Science Zhangyou Qi – Computational mechanics, civil engineering experts Xue Shepu – Researcher in cell proliferation and differentiation Huan Yong – Is one of the founders of modern science of plant classification. His lifelong hard work, rigorous scholarship on China Plant Science has made outstanding contributions. Li Chunxuan – Aerospace aircraft design, high-speed collision mechanics specialist. Chen Hao Zhu – Medical experts in cardiovascular disease. member of China Engineering Academy. TANG Zhao – Former director of the International Union Against Cancer Cai Ruixian – Received the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology Progress Award, Chinese Academy of Natural Science Award I Guocong – Former China Engineering Thermophysics director, China Power Engineering Society executive director; China Energy Research Association executive director. Kuang Yu Ping – 1989 was awarded the First Prize in Physics Wu Xun, 2003 was elected to the Academy of Mathematics and Physics Academy of Sciences. Henry NC Wong – University of London and then to Harvard University postdoctoral research. Albert Chan – An organic chemist, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Huang Cuifen – University of London and then to Harvard University postdoctoral research. Li Shaozhen – improve cataract surgery quality in the introduction of technology and innovation Huangyao Xiang – Zhongshan University Department of Physics. Chen Yong-Su – Research on a new target of cancer chemotherapy drugs and biochemical modulation Maisong Wei – 1965–1969 any Associate Professor University of Western Ontario in Canada. Ye Danian – 1991 was elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences Division of Earth Sciences and in 2001 as Peking University professor of Earth and Space Sciences. Feng Peide – well-known experts in the field of aviation.

Overseas

Because the history of going abroad is long and there are many people sojourning widely in various districts, Taishan is called the "No.1 Homeland of

". The Taishanese diaspora is distributed in 91 countries and regions of the five continents including US,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Taishanese have had a large influence in the course of Asian-American history, as they were the first Asian Americans to be elected as Governors, Mayors and U.S congressmen in the continental United States. The first international celebrity of Asian descent and America's first ace in World War II. They also represented the largest Asian community in America and made a significant contribution in building the

First transcontinental railroad North America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the " Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail netwo ...

of United States. The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) is the former name of the railroad network built between

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. About 12,000 such emigrant workers were employed as laborers by the Central Pacific Railroad representing 90 percent of the entire work force.Kraus, "Chinese Laborers and the Construction of the Central Pacific," p. 49. J. O. Wilder, a Central Pacific-Southern Pacific employee, commented that “The Chinese were as steady, hard-working a set of men as could be found. With the exception of a few whites at the west end of Tunnel No. 6, the laboring force was entirely composed of Chinamen with white foremen. A single Irish foreman with a gang of 30 to 40 Chinese men generally constituted the force at work at each end of a tunnel; of these, 12 to 15 worked on the heading and the rest on the bottom removing material. When a gang was small or the men needed elsewhere, the bottoms were worked with fewer men or stopped so as to keep the headings going.” The laborers usually worked three shifts of 8 hours each per day, while the foremen worked in two shifts of 12 hours each, managing the laborers. The Sun Ning Railway (AKA Sunning Railway and Xinning Railway) 新寧鐵路 (

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 fo ...

: Xinning Tielu) was a

standard-gauge railway A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...

in the

Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Ma ...

founded in 1906 by a man of Taishanese origin

Chin Gee Hee Chin Gee Hee (June 22, 1844
, Bureau of Archives of Taishan City. , death_place = , death_cause = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , burial_place ...

(Taishan, Guangdong) – is a Cannes Film Festival and five-time Hong Kong Film Award-winning Chinese film and television actor *

(Taishan, Guangdong) – Very popular Hong Kong actor, singer and songwriter; his hometown is Sijiu, Taishan. * Hung Sin-nui (

, Guangdong) – a national treasure level Cantonese opera master and movie actress in China and Hong Kong *

(Kaiping, Guangdong) – Hong Kong actor and singer; former member of Hong Kong boy band Boy'z *

Gillian Chung Gillian Chung Ka-lai (born Chung Tik-shan, 21 January 1981), known by her stage name Chung Yan-tung, is a Hong Kong actress and singer. She is a member of the Cantopop duo Twins, along with Charlene Choi. Early life Chung was born in Hong K ...

(Xinhui, Guangdong) – Hong Kong actress and singer; a member of Hong Kong music group Twins *

(Taishan, Guangdong) – The most famous Hong Kong rock band; all of its band members have Taishanese ancestry. The band became the first band from Hong Kong to have a multinational fan base, being popular in Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, China. * Karl Maka (Taishan, Guangdong) – is a popular Hong Kong producer, director, actor and presenter; his hometown is Chonglou, Taishan. *

Donnie Yen Donnie Yen Chi-tan (; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Yen is one of Hong Kong's top action stars. Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream Asian cinema by cho ...

(Taishan, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong martial artist, actor, film director, action choreographer and film producer *

Alfred Cheung Alfred Cheung '' (; born 28 December 1955) is a Chinese actor, director, writer and producer. Early life Cheung's mother, with one suitcase and two children, left their hometown in China in order to find better opportunities in Hong Kong. Cheu ...

(Kaiping, Guangdong) – Chinese actor, director, writer and producer *

Raymond Wong (film presenter) Raymond Wong Pak-ming (Chinese: 黃百鳴, born 8 April 1946; sometimes transliterated as Raymond Wong Bak-ming) is a Hong Kong film producer, playwright, director and actor. He is one of the most successful producers in Hong Kong cinema, ...

( Heshan, Guangdong) – Hong Kong actor, film director, producer, screenwriter and presenter *

Ekin Cheng Ekin Cheng is a Hong Kong actor and singer. Early in his career, he used the name Dior as a first name (because that was what it sounded like when his younger sister tried to call him 二哥 in Cantonese). He has also been referred to as Noodl ...

(Enping, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong actor and Cantopop singer *

Kenny Bee Chung Chun-to (born 23 February 1953), also known by his stage name Kenny Bee, is a Hong Kong singer, musician and actor. He is best known as the singer of the group the Wynners, and as a solo artist who has been active in the Hong Kong ente ...

(Xinhui, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong singer, musician and actor; a member of the Hong Kong English pop and Cantopop band

the Wynners The Wynners are a Hong Kong pop band formed in the 1970s. The group consists of Alan Tam (lead vocals), Kenny Bee (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards), Bennett Pang (lead guitar), Danny Yip (bass), and Anthony Chan (drums). History Beginnin ...

Alan Tam Alan Tam Wing-lun MH (; born 23 August 1950) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. He played a major role in developing the Cantopop scene in the 1980s as he was known for singing romantic ballads with modern arrangements. From 1983 to 1987, Alan Tam ...

(Xinhui, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong Cantopop and English pop singer and actor * Kenny Ho (Enping, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong and Taiwanese actor *

Hacken Lee Lee Hak Kan (; born 6 December 1967), better known as Hacken Lee, is a Hong Kong singer, television host and actor, active from the 1980s until today. In 2013, Lee's song "House of Cards" swept multiple awards in many Hong Kong award ceremonies, in ...

(Xinhui, Guangdong) – is a

based

Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...

singer and lyricist, actor, Master of Ceremonies and

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

sportscaster *

Tiffany Lam Tiffany Lam or Tiffany Lam Man Lei (, born 25 October 1980) is a former beauty queen from San Francisco. She held the title of Miss Hong Kong 2002 and Miss Chinese International 2003 runner up. Early life Lam was born in Hong Kong in 1980. Durin ...

(Xinhui, Guangdong)the former Hong Kong TVB female artistes, won the 2002 Miss Hong Kong winner and 2003 Miss Chinese International runner-up. His cousin Liu Qianting for the year 2009 Miss Hong Kong winner *

Justin Lo Justin Lo (, stage name ; born 1 July 1976) is a Hong Kong American singer-songwriter, actor and record producer working in Hong Kong. Biography Lo was born in Syracuse, New York, and moved to Hong Kong with his parents when he was two years ...

(Kaiping, Guangdong) – American singer-songwriter, actor and record producer working in Hong Kong. *

George Lam George Lam Tsz-Cheung (born 12 October 1947), also known professionally by his surname Lam, is a Hong Kong-based veteran Cantopop singer, singer-songwriter, music producer and actor, with a career that has so far lasted more than four decades. Lam ...

(Xinhui, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong-based veteran Cantopop singer and actor *

Gigi Lai Gigi Lai (born 1 October 1971) is a Hong Kong actress and singer. Entering the entertainment industry in 1985, Lai was under a contract with the television station TVB from 1991 until she retired in 2008. Nicknamed by the Hong Kong media as the ...

(Xinhui, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong actress and singer. *

Bobby Au-Yeung Robert Au-yeung Tsan-wah (born 28 July 1960) is a Hong Kong actor best known for his comedic roles in many TVB television dramas. He gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Ben Yu in the 1991 legal drama '' File of Justic ...

(Xinhui, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong actor best known for his comedic roles in many TVB television dramas. *

Adam Cheng Adam Cheng Siu-chow (born 24 February 1947) is a Hong Kong TVB actor and Cantopop singer. Career Cheng started his career in the 1970s, where he gained a reputation for playing the lead roles in TVB ''Wuxia'' drama series based on the works ...

(Taishan, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong TVB actor and

singer; husband of Lydia Shum () *

Joyce Cheng Joyce Cheng Yan-yee (born 30 May 1987) is a Hong Kong Canadian singer and actress based in Hong Kong. She is the daughter of late Hong Kong comedian Lydia Shum and singer/actor Adam Cheng. Career Cheng is of Sze Yup ancestry through her fathe ...

(Taishan, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong musician, writer, actor and performer. She is the daughter of famous Hong Kong comedian Lydia Shum and veteran actor

. *

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(Taishan, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong actor, best known for specializing in comedic roles in films such as

Infernal Affairs ''Infernal Affairs'' is a 2002 Hong Kong action thriller film co-directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. Jointly written by Mak and Felix Chong, it stars Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Sammi Cheng and Kelly Chen. The film fo ...

and

Initial D is a Japanese street racing manga series written and illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno. It was serialized in Kodansha's '' seinen'' manga magazine '' Weekly Young Magazine'' from 1995 to 2013, with the chapters collected into 48 ' ...

. *

Jaime Chik Jaime Chik Mei-chun (, born 5 January 1962) is a Hong Kong TVB actress and was named as one of the Five Beauties of TVB. Personal life Chik met Hong Kong actor Michael Miu Michael Miu Kiu-wai ( 苗僑偉) (born 18 June 1958) is a Hong Kong acto ...

(Kaiping, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong TVB actress. She is married to

Michael Miu Michael Miu Kiu-wai ( 苗僑偉) (born 18 June 1958) is a Hong Kong actor and businessman. His career has been met with popular success in his youth, followed by a resurgence in middle age after a period of hiatus. He is considered one of the most ...

. * William So (Xinhui, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer * Stephanie Cheng (Enping, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer *

Edmond Leung Edmond Leung Hon-man (; born 5 November 1971) is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter, record producer, actor and television host. Background Born in British Hong Kong on 5 November 1971, he was a youth development footballer and coach until 17. At ag ...

(Taishan, Guangdong) – Hong Kong singer-songwriter, record producer, actor, TV host *

Wong He Wong He (born 27 July 1967), sometimes credited as Wong Hei, is a Hong Kong actor, singer, and presenter. He is best known for his firefighter roles in TVB's ''Burning Flame'' trilogy. As a former police officer, Wong has acted primarily in la ...

(Taishan, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong Chinese Actor and Model and former Hong Kong Policeman *

Myolie Wu Myolie Wu Hang-yee (born 6 November 1979) is a Hong Kong actress and singer. She is previously managed by Hong Kong TVB television station and Neway Star. In 2011, she won Best Actress for her role in '' Curse of the Royal Harem'', Most Favou ...

(Taishan, Guangdong) – Hong Kong actress and singer *

Ti Lung Ti Lung (born 19 August 1946) is a Hong Kong actor, known for his numerous starring roles in a string of Shaw Brothers Studio's films, particularly '' The Blood Brothers'', ''The Avenging Eagle'', ''Clans of Intrigue'', '' The Duel'', ''The Sentim ...

(Xinhui, Guangdong) – Hong Kong actor known for his martial roles and gangster *

Maggie Cheung Ho-yee Maggie Cheung Ho-yee (; born 20 March 1969) is a Hong Kong actress. Career Maggie Cheung Ho-yee competed in TVB's 1994 Miss Hong Kong beauty pageant, reaching the final five but not placing. However she did gain a special award for best "po ...

(Taishan, Guangdong) – Hong Kong actress * Bosco Wong (

, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong actor under TVB management and singer under East Asia Music. *

Gigi Leung Gigi Leung Wing-kei (Chinese: 梁詠琪, born 25 March 1976) is a Hong Kong singer and actress. Early life She was born at Tsan Yuk Hospital in Sai Ying Pun on 25 March 1976 and was given the name Leung Pik-chi () for superstitious reasons; as ...

(Xinhui, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong singer and actress *

Moses Chan Moses Chan Ho (born 16 April 1971) is an actor from Hong Kong. Career and personal life Chan lived and studied in Australia (Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney) for 10 years prior to returning to Hong Kong to embark on his acting career. On 17 Nov ...

(Taishan, Guangdong) – Hong Kong actor * Michelle Yim (Xinhui, Guangdong) – Hong Kong actress *

Deep Ng Deep Ng is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor. He is the winner of the 21st annual New Talent Singing Awards Hong Kong Regional Finals. Deep was well received by the viewers since the New Talent Singing Awards in 2002. His first EP ''Deep' ...

(Xinhui, Guangdong) – Hong Kong Actor, singer and songwriter * Christine Ng (Taishan, Guangdong) – Hong Kong actress *

Flora Chan Flora Chan Wai-shan (Traditional Chinese:陳慧珊, born May 30, 1970 in Hong Kong), is an American actress active primarily in Hong Kong television and film. Along with Maggie Cheung Ho-yee, Kenix Kwok, Jessica Hsuan, and Ada Choi, she is kno ...

(Taishan, Guangdong) – Hong Kong actress *

Pakho Chau Pakho Chau Pak-ho (; born 12 November 1984), is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, songwriter, and actor. He signed with Warner Music Group and officially entered the Hong Kong music industry in 2007. He left Warner Music in July 2017 and subsequent ...

(Kaiping, Guangdong) – Hong Kong singer *

David Li Sir David Li Kwok-po (; born 13 March 1939, London, England) is a Hong Kong banker and politician. He is the Executive Chairman of the Bank of East Asia and Pro-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong. He was a member of the Legislative ...

( Heshan, Guangdong) – Chairman and Chief Executive of the

(); his grand father founded the Bank * Ronnie Chan (Taishan, Guangdong) – One of the top 10 HK Billionaire; he is the chairman of Hang Lung Group and Hang Lung Properties *

Victor Fung Victor Fung Kwok-king (; sometimes Victor K. Fung; born 1945, Hong Kong) is the Group Chairman of Li & Fung group of companies. Together with his brother William, he owns a controlling stake of 32% in the business, which was founded by his gra ...

( Heshan, Guangdong) – is the Group Chairman of

() group of companies; his grand father founded the company *

Lee Hysan Lee Hysan or Lee Hy-san (1879 – 30 April 1928) was a Hong Kong businessman who was involved in the opium trade and refinery, as well as land development in British Hong Kong during the early 1900s. He was nicknamed the ''Opium King'' in Hong ...

(Xinhui, Guangdong) – was a renowned land developer and entrepreneur in Hong Kong who founded modern-day Hysan Development Company Limited (). He was known as the Li Ka-shing or the wealthiest man in HK in the early 20th century. *Dr.

James Tak Wu James Tak Wu, GBS, (; 1922 – 29 October 2020) was a Hong Kong businessman who co-founded Maxim's Catering (now a major subsidiary of Dairy Farm International Holdings) and co-founded a chain of restaurants, nightclubs, fast-food outlets, cake ...

(Taishan, Guangdong) – founder of Maxim's Catering (); which is Hong Kong's largest food & beverage corporation and restaurant chain * Annie Wu Suk-ching (Taishan, Guangdong) – is a Hong Kong-based Chinese businesswoman and activist who founded Beijing Air Catering Ltd, the first joint venture company in the People's Republic of China; she is the daughter of Dr. James Tak Wu.

Artists

* Alan Chin – San Francisco Bay Area contemporary artist *

Tyrus Wong Tyrus Wong (October 25, 1910 – December 30, 2016) was a Chinese-born American artist. He was a painter, animator, calligrapher, muralist, ceramicist, lithographer and kite maker, as well as a set designer and storyboard artist. One of the mo ...

– painter, muralist, ceramicist, lithographer, designer and kite maker *

James Hong James Hong (; born February 22, 1929) is an American actor, producer and director. He has worked in numerous productions in American media since the 1950s, portraying a variety of roles. With more than 650 film and television credits as of 20 ...

– former president of the Association of Asian/Pacific American Artists (AAPAA)

Actors

* Brandon Soo Hoo, Chinese American actor *Kevin Han Yee, Chinese American actor *

Hayden Szeto Hayden Chun Hay Szeto (born September 11, 1985; ) is a Canadian actor of Hong Kong descent, known for his role as Erwin Kim in the comedy-drama film ''The Edge of Seventeen'' (2016). In 2017, he portrayed Ken Luang in the NBC comedy series ''Th ...

, A Chinese Canadian actor *Jason Yee, Actor, director, Won numerous martial arts championships and became the first American to medal at the First World San-Shou Free-Fighting Championship.

Business

* Kwong Sue Duk – A merchant in Australia, respected and influential amongst the Chinese and European communities *

Wong Ah Fook Wong Ah Fook J.P., (; 12 March 1837 – 12 September 1918), also known as ''Wong Fook'' or ''Wong Fook Kee'', was a Chinese immigrant, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who left an indelible imprint on the state of Johor in present-day Malaysi ...

– A builder of many famous Johor heritage buildings *

Chin Gee Hee Chin Gee Hee (June 22, 1844
, Bureau of Archives of Taishan City.