) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

near modern

Wuzhou Wuzhou ( zh, s= , p=Wúzhōu, j=Ng⁴zau¹, postal: Wuchow; ), formerly Ngchow, is a prefecture-level city in the east of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. Geography and climate Wuzhou is located in eastern Guangxi ...

, whose name is a reference to an order by

Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), born Liu Che and courtesy name Tong, was the seventh Emperor of China, emperor of the Han dynasty from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years – a record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi ...

to "widely bestow favors and sow trust". Together, Guangdong and Guangxi are called '' Loeng gwong'' ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t=兩廣, s=两广 , p=liǎng guǎng) During the Song dynasty, the Two Guangs were formally separated as ''Guǎngnán Dōnglù'' ( zh, first=t, t=廣南東路, s=广南东路, l=East Circuit in Southern Guang , labels=no) and ''Guǎngnán Xīlù'' ( zh, first=t, t=廣南西路, s=广南西路, l=West Circuit in Southern Guang , labels=no), which became abbreviated as ''Guǎngdōng Lù'' ( zh, first=t, t=廣東路, s=广东路 , labels=no) and ''Guǎngxī Lù'' ( zh, first=t, t=廣西路, s=广西路 , labels=no). "''Dōng''" ( zh, first=t, t=東, s=东) means "east". "Canton", though etymologically derived from ' (the Portuguese

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or L ...

of "Guangdong"), usually by itself refers to the provincial capital

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

. Historically, Canton was also used for the province itself, but often either specified as a province (e.g. Canton Province), or written as ''Kwangtung'' in the

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles ( ) is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from the system produced by Thomas Francis Wade during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert Giles's '' A Chinese–English Dictionary'' ...

system and now most commonly as ''Guangdong'' in

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

. The local people of the city of

(Canton) and their language are called

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

in English. Because of the prestige of

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

and its accent, Cantonese can also be used, in a wider sense, for the phylogenetically related residents and Chinese dialects outside the provincial capital.

History

Prehistory

The

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

era began in the

Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region 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–Macao Greater Bay Area in official documents, ...

() 7,000 years before present (BP), with the early period from around 7000 to 5000 BP (c. 5050–3050 BC), and the late period from about 5000 to 3500 BP (c. 3050–1550 BC). In coastal Guangdong, the Neolithic was likely introduced from the middle Yangtze River area (Jiao 2013). In inland Guangdong, the Neolithic appeared in Guangdong 4,600 years before present (BP). The Neolithic in northern inland Guangdong is represented by the Shixia culture (), which occurred from 4600 to 4200 BP (c. 2650–2250 BC).

Imperial

Originally inhabited by a mixture of tribal groups known to the Chinese as the

Baiyue The Baiyue, Hundred Yue, or simply Yue, were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of southern China and northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. They were known for their short hair, body tattoos, fine swo ...

("Hundred Yue"), the region first became part of China during the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

. Under the Qin Dynasty, Chinese administration began and along with it, reliable historical records about the region. After establishing the first unified Chinese empire, the Qin expanded southwards and set up

Nanhai Commandery Nanhai Commandery ( zh, 南海郡) was an ancient Chinese commandery (China), 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 ...

Panyu Panyu, formerly romanized as Punyü, is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China. Since January 1975, Panyu County has been under Guangzhou's administration. In 1992, Panyu C ...

, near what is now part of Guangzhou. The region was later controlled by an independent kingdom known as

Nanyue Nanyue ( zh, c=南越 or 南粵, p=Nányuè, cy=, j=Naam4 Jyut6, l=Southern Yue, , ), was an ancient kingdom founded in 204 BC by the Chinese general Zhao Tuo, whose family (known in Vietnamese as the Triệu dynasty) continued to rule until ...

between the fall of Qin and the reign of

. The

administered Guangdong, Guangxi, and northern Vietnam as

Jiaozhi Province Jiaozhi Provincial Administration Commission (交趾等處承宣布政使司), commonly abbreviated as Jiaozhi (交趾), was a provincial-level administrative body established by the Ming dynasty in Vietnam during the Fourth Era of Northern Domi ...

; southernmost Jiaozhi Province was used as a gateway for traders from the west—as far away as the Roman Empire. Under the Wu Kingdom of the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period, Guangdong was made its own province, the Guang Province, in 226 CE. Canton was a prosperous port city along a tropical frontier region beset by disease and wild animals, but rich in oranges,

banyan A banyan, also spelled banian ( ), is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adjacent prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as ...

, bananas, and

lychee Lychee ( , ; ''Litchi chinensis''; ) is a monotypic taxon and the sole member in the genus ''Litchi'' in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. There are three distinct subspecies of lychee. The most common is the Indochinese lychee found in So ...

fruits. They traded slaves, silk and

chinaware Chinese ceramics are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. They range from construction materials such as bricks and tiles, to hand-built pottery vessels fired in bonfires or kilns, to the sophisticated Chinese ...

with

Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...

Brahmans Brahmin (; ) is a '' varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). The traditional occ ...

and Malays in exchange for their renowned medicines and fragrant tropical woods.

Shi'a Muslims Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...

who had fled persecution in

Khorasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West and Central Asia that encompasses western and no ...

and

Buddhists Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth ...

from India lived side by side in the thriving town each erecting their own houses of worship. A foreign quarter sprang up along the

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

where many traders of diverse backgrounds including Arabs and Singhalese took up residence. The port's importance declined after it was raided by Arabs and Persians in 758 and the foreign residents were at times troubled by the corrupt local officials, sometimes responding violently. During one incident in 684, for example, a merchant vessel's captain murdered a corrupt governor who had used his position to steal from the merchant. Together with

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

, Guangdong was made part of

Lingnan Lingnan (; ) is a geographic area referring to the lands in the south of the Nanling Mountains. The region covers the modern China, Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong & Macau and Northern Vietnam. Background The ar ...

Circuit (political division Circuit), or Mountain-South Circuit, in 627 during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

. The Guangdong part of Lingnan Circuit was renamed

Guangnan East Circuit Guangnan East Circuit or Guangnan East Province was one of the major circuits during the Song dynasty. Its administrative area corresponds to roughly the modern Chinese province of Guangdong (minus Leizhou Peninsula) and the special administrat ...

() in 971 during the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

(960–1279). "Guangnan East" () is the source of the name "Guangdong" (). Dim Sum Breakfast

As time passed, the demographics of what is now Guangdong gradually shifted to ( Han) Chinese dominance as the populations intermingled due to commerce along the great canals. From the fall of the Han dynasty onwards, it shifted more abruptly through massive migration from the north during periods of political turmoil and nomadic incursions. For example, internal strife in northern China following the rebellion of

An Lushan An Lushan (; 20th day of the 1st month (19 February) 703 – 29 January 757) was a Chinese military general and rebel leader during the Tang dynasty and is primarily known for instigating the An Lushan Rebellion which devastated China and kill ...

resulted in a 75% increase in the population of Guangzhou prefecture between the 740s–750s and 800s–810s. As more migrants arrived, the local population was gradually assimilated to Han Chinese culture or displaced. As

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

from the north engaged in their conquest of China in the 13th century, the

Southern Song The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, ending ...

court fled southwards from its capital in

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

. The defeat of the Southern Song court by Mongol naval forces in The

Battle of Yamen The Battle of Yamen (), also known as the Battle of Yashan (), was a naval battle which took place in southern China on 19 March 1279. It is considered to be the last stand of the Song dynasty against the invading forces of the Mongol-led Yuan ...

1279 in Guangdong marked the end of the Southern Song dynasty (960–1279). During the Mongol

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

, large parts of current Guangdong belonged to

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

. Its present name, "Guangdong Province" was given in early

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

. Since the 16th century, Guangdong has had extensive trade links with the rest of the world. European merchants coming northwards via the

Straits of Malacca The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, long and from wide, between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pa ...

and the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

, particularly the Portuguese and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, traded extensively through Guangzhou.

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, on the southern coast of Guangdong, was the first European settlement in 1557. In the 19th century, the

opium trade Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is ...

d through Guangzhou triggered the

First Opium War The First Opium War ( zh, t=第一次鴉片戰爭, p=Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1 ...

, opening an era of Western imperialists' incursion and intervention in China. In addition to

, which was then a

Portuguese colony The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

, Hong Kong was ceded to the British, and

Kouang-Tchéou-Wan The Leased Territory of Guangzhouwan, officially the and historically known in English as Kwangchowan or Kwangchow Wan, was a coastal territory of Zhanjiang, China leased to France and administered by French Indochina. The capital of the t ...

(modern day area of

Zhanjiang Zhanjiang; Leizhou Min: ''Tchiàm-kōng''; previously Tsamkong or Guangzhouwan, then romanized in English as Kwangchowan or Kwangchow Wan. is a port city on the southwestern panhandle of Guangdong province in South China. The prefecture- ...

) to the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

. Due to the large number of people that emigrated out of the Guangdong province, and in particular the ease of immigration from Hong Kong to other parts of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

(later

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire The B ...

), many overseas Chinese communities have their origins in Guangdong and/or Cantonese culture. In particular, the

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

, Teochew dialects have proportionately more speakers among overseas Chinese people than Mandarin-speaking Chinese. Additionally, many Taishanese-speaking Chinese

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to Western countries, with the results that many Western versions of Chinese words were derived from the Cantonese dialects rather than through the mainstream Mandarin language, such as "

dim sum Dim sum () is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cu ...

". Some Mandarin Chinese words originally of foreign origin also came from the original foreign language by way of Cantonese. For example, the Mandarin word ' ( zh, s=柠檬, t=檸檬), meaning "Lemon", came from Cantonese, in which the characters are pronounced as '. In the United States, there is a large number of Chinese who are descendants of immigrants from the

county-level city A county-level city () is a County-level divisions of China, county-level administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China. County-level cities have judiciary, judicial but no legislature, legislative rights over their own local or ...

Taishan __NOTOC__ Taishan may refer to: *Mount Tai Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the ''Jade Emperor Peak ...

(Toisan in Cantonese), who speak a distinctive dialect related to Cantonese called

Taishanese Taishanese (), alternatively romanized in Cantonese as Toishanese or Toisanese, in local dialect as Hoisanese or Hoisanwa, is a Yue Chinese language native to Taishan, Guangdong. Even though they are related, Taishanese has little mutual i ...

(or Toishanese). During the 1850s, the

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, or the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace (1851–1864), was a theocratic monarchy which sought to overthrow the Qing dynasty. The Heavenly Kingdom, or Heavenly Dynasty, was led by Hong Xiuquan, a Hakka man from Guan ...

, whose leader

Hong Xiuquan Hong Xiuquan (1 January 1814 – 1 June 1864), born Hong Huoxiu and with the courtesy name Renkun, was a Chinese revolutionary and religious leader who led the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing dynasty. He established the Taiping Heavenly K ...

was born in Guangdong and received a pamphlet from a Protestant Christian missionary in Guangdong, was allied with a local Guangdong

Red Turban Rebellion (1854–1856) The Red Turban Rebellion of 1854–1856 was a rebellion by members of the Tiandihui ( zh, c=天地會, Heaven and Earth Society) in the Guangdong province of South China. The initial core of the rebels were Tiandihui secret societies that ...

. Because of direct contact with the West, Guangdong was the centre of anti-Manchu and anti-imperialist activity. The generally acknowledged founder of modern China,

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...

, was also from Guangdong.

20th century

During the early 1920s of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, Guangdong was the staging area for the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

(KMT) to prepare for the

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China prop ...

, an effort to bring the various

warlords Warlords are individuals who exercise military, economic, and political control over a region, often one without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over local armed forces. Warlords have existed throug ...

of China back under a unified central government. The

Whampoa Military Academy The Republic of China Military Academy ( zh, t=中華民國陸軍軍官學校, p=Zhōnghúa Mīngúo Lùjūn Jūnguān Xúexiào, poj=Tiong-hôa Bîn-kok Lio̍k-kun Kun-koaⁿ Ha̍k-hāu), also known as the Chinese Military Academy (CMA), is ...

was built near Guangzhou to train military commanders. At the end of the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

Guangdong became one of the

Nationalist government The Nationalist government, officially the National Government of the Republic of China, refers to the government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China from 1 July 1925 to 20 May 1948, led by the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT ...

's final footholds in

Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

, with Guangzhou temporarily serving as the

's provisional capitol. The

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

seized control of the province after the

retreat of the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan Following their defeat in the Chinese Civil War, the remnants of the Nationalist government of the Republic of China (ROC), alongside many refugees, retreated to the island of Taiwan (Formosa) beginning on December 7, 1949. The exodus is so ...

. The new

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

administration issued harsh taxes, requisitioning between 22 and 60 percent of grain annually. However, the local party boss Fang Fang tried to moderate Chinese land reform policy in order to protect successful businesses in the

, landholdings by

overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese people are Chinese people, people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 milli ...

seeking to eventually return to the country, and commercial relations with

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was under British Empire, British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 ...

. In response

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

purged Fang and thousands of cadres from the province in 1952, sending

Tao Zhu Tao Zhu (; 16 January 1908 – 30 November 1969) was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Biography Tao was born in Qiyang, Qiyang County, Hunan, on 16 January 1908. He was imprisoned in Nanjing by the K ...

to implement a much harsher program under the slogan "Every Village Bleeds, Every Household Fights." During

Reform and Opening Up Reform and opening-up ( zh, s=改革开放, p=Gǎigé kāifàng), also known as the Chinese economic reform or Chinese economic miracle, refers to a variety of economic reforms termed socialism with Chinese characteristics and socialist market ...

, Guangdong was supported by the central government to be "one step ahead" of the rest of the country. Most major cities in Guangdong underwent liberalizing economic reforms in the mid-1980s. Since Reform and Opening Up, the province has seen extremely rapid economic growth, aided in part by its close trading links with

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, which borders it. It is now the province with the highest gross domestic product in China. In 1952, a small section of Guangdong's coastline (

Qinzhou Qinzhou ( postal: Yamchow or Yen Chow, , Jyutping: ''Jam1 zau1'' ( Canton) /''Ham1 zau1'' (Local) ) is a prefecture-level city in south-central Guangxi, southern China, lying on the Gulf of Tonkin and having a total population of 3,302,238 as ...

, Lianzhou (now

Hepu County Hepu (), alternately romanized as Hoppo, Hopu or Hop'u, is a county under the administration of Beihai City in southeastern Guangxi, China. It borders Lianjiang (Guangdong) to the southeast, Bobai County to the northeast, the Gulf of Tonkin to t ...

Fangchenggang Fangchenggang ( "Port of Fangcheng") is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. Fangchenggang is the southernmost port in China and is located in Fangcheng. It primarily service ...

and

Beihai Beihai (; Postal romanization: Pakhoi) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi, People's Republic of China. Its status as a seaport on the north shore of the Gulf of Tonkin has granted it historical importance as a port of internati ...

) was given to Guangxi, giving it access to the sea. This was reversed in 1955, and then restored in 1965.

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

Island was originally part of Guangdong, but it was separated into its own province in 1988.

Geography

Guangdong faces the

to the south and has a total of of coastline. The

Leizhou Peninsula The Leizhou Peninsula, alternately romanized as the Luichow Peninsula, is a peninsula in the southernmost part of Guangdong province in South China. As of 2015, the population of the peninsula was 5,694,245. The largest city by population and ...

is on the southwestern end of the province. There are a few inactive

volcanoes A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

on Leizhou Peninsula. The

is the convergent point of three upstream rivers: the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

, North River, and West River. The

river delta A river delta is a landform, archetypically triangular, created by the deposition of the sediments that are carried by the waters of a river, where the river merges with a body of slow-moving water or with a body of stagnant water. The creat ...

is filled with hundreds of small islands. The province is geographically separated from the north by a few

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

s collectively called the

Nan Mountains The Nanling (), also known as the Wuling (), is a major mountain range in Southern China that separates the Pearl River Basin from the Yangtze Valley and serves as the dividing line between south and central subtropical zones. The main rang ...

(Nan Ling). The highest peak in the province is

Shikengkong Shikengkong () is a mountain located between Yangshan County and Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County in northern Guangdong, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a po ...

with an elevation of above sea level. Guangdong borders

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

to the northeast,

and

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

to the north,

autonomous region to the west, and

and

Special Administrative Regions to the south.

is offshore across from the

Pratas Island Pratas Island,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also known as the Tungsha Islands or the Dongsha Islands (), is a coral island situated in the northern part of the South China Sea administered as part of Cijin District, K ...

, which were traditionally governed as part of Guangdong, are part of

Cijin District Cijin District () is a district of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, covering Cijin Island () and islands in the South China Sea. It is the second smallest district in Kaohsiung City after Yancheng District, with an area of 1.4639 square kilometers, or 0.5 ...

Kaoshiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(ROC). The PRC continues to claim Pratas Island as part of Guangdong under the district of

Chengqu, Shanwei Chengqu (), is a district of Shanwei, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China. The district includes Shanwei's central urban area, as well as nearby towns and localities, such as Dongzhou. The People's Republic of China claims the Pratas ...

. Cities around the

include

Dongguan Dongguan,; pinyin: alternately romanized via Cantonese as Tungkun, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou t ...

Foshan Foshan (, ; Chinese: 佛山) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the Pearl River Delta m ...

Huizhou Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in east-central Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Hey ...

Jiangmen Jiangmen ( zh, c=江门), postal map romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized in Cantonese as Kongmoon, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong provinces of China, Province in southern China. It consists of three urban distri ...

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

Shunde Shunde (Shun Tak in Cantonese) is a district of the city of Foshan, Guangdong province, located in the Pearl River Delta. It had a population of 2,464,784 as of the 2010 census. Once a traditional agricultural county, it has become one of the mo ...

Zhongshan Zhongshan ( zh, c=中山 ), alternately romanized via Cantonese as Chungshan, is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is n ...

, and

Zhuhai Zhuhai; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Jyūhói''; Chinese postal romanization, also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern ...

. Other cities in the province include

Chaozhou Chaozhou ( zh, t=潮州), alternatively Chiuchow, Chaochow or Teochew, is a city in the eastern Guangdong province of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, ...

Chenghai Chenghai (; postal: Tenghai; Teochew: Thěng Hài) is a district of the city of Shantou, Guangdong Province, China. Located at the Han River Delta in the southeast part of Guangdong Province, Chenghai spans from 116°41' to 116°54' E longitud ...

, Nanhai,

Shantou Shantou, Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 20 ...

Shaoguan Shaoguan is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong Province ( Yuebei), South China, bordering Hunan to the northwest and Jiangxi to the northeast. It is home to the mummified remains of the sixth Zen Buddhist patriarch Huineng. Its built-u ...

Zhaoqing Zhaoqing ( zh, c=肇庆), 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 Duanz ...

Yangjiang Yangjiang (), alternately romanized via Cantonese 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 loo ...

, and

Yunfu Yunfu (), postal map romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Wanfow, and historically known as Dong'an (), which was postal map romanization, formerly romanized as Tong On, from 1578 to 1913, is a prefecture-level city in we ...

. Guangdong has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cfa'' inland, ''Cwa'' along the coast). Winters are short, mild, and relatively dry, while summers are long, hot, and very wet. Average daily highs in Guangzhou in January and July are , although the humidity makes it feel hotter in summer. Frost is rare on the coast but may happen a few days each winter.

Economy

In 2022, Guangdong's GDP was 13.57 trillion

RMB The renminbi ( ; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan, is the official currency of the People's Republic of China. The renminbi is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of Chin ...

($1.9 trillion in GDP nominal, $3.78 trillion in PPP), with a per capita GDP of ( in nominal or US$25,016 in PPP). It is the richest province in

South Central China South Central China, South-Central China or Central-South China ( zh, c = 中南, p = Zhōngnán, l = Central-South), is a List of regions of China, region of China. It consists of eight provincial administrative regions, namely Henan, Hubei, ...

region and the seventh richest among all provinces by GDP per capita. Guangdong has been the largest province by GDP since 1989 in

. Its GDP exceeded that of Australia ($1.70 trillion) and South Korea ($1.67 trillion), the world's 12th and 13th largest economy, respectively. If it was a country, Guangdong would be the 12th-largest economy as of 2022 and the 11th most populous. Compared to country subdivisions in dollar terms, Guangdong's GDP in nominal is larger than all but four country subdivisions:

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Compared to country subdivisions in PPP terms, Guangdong's GDP is larger than all, except California. By PPP terms, as of 2022, Guangdong's economy ranked between Turkey and Italy with a GDP of $3.35 trillion and US$3.06 trillion respectively, the 11th and 12th largest in the world respectively. After the

communist revolution A communist revolution is a proletarian revolution inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with communism. Depending on the type of government, the term socialism can be used to indicate an intermediate stage between ...

and until the start of the

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

reforms in 1978, Guangdong was an economic backwater, although a large underground, service-based economy has always existed. Economic development policies encouraged industrial development in the interior provinces which were weakly joined to Guangdong via transportation links. The government policy of economic

autarky Autarky is the characteristic of self-sufficiency, usually applied to societies, communities, states, and their economic systems. Autarky as an ideology or economic approach has been attempted by a range of political ideologies and movement ...

made Guangdong's access to the ocean irrelevant. Deng Xiaoping's open door policy radically changed the economy of the province as it was able to take advantage of its access to the ocean, proximity to Hong Kong, and historical links to

. Guangdong was one of the first provinces to receive permission from the central government to receive foreign investment. In addition, until the 1990s when the Chinese taxation system was reformed, the province benefited from the relatively low rate of taxation placed on it by the central government due to its post-Liberation status of being economically backward. Shenzhen city montage

Guangdong's economic boom began with the early 1990s and has since spread to neighboring provinces, and also pulled their populations inward. The economic growth of Guangdong province owes much to the low-value-added manufacturing which characterized (and in many ways still defines) the province's economy following

's reforms. Guangdong is not only China's largest exporter of goods, it is the country's largest importer as well. The province is now one of the richest in the nation, with the most billionaires in mainland China, the highest GDP among all the provinces, although wage growth has only recently begun to rise due to a large influx of migrant workers from neighboring provinces. By 2015, the local government of Guangdong hopes that the service industry will account for more than 50 percent of the provinces GDP and high-tech manufacturing another 20 percent. In 2021, Guangdong's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth 534 billion RMB (US$79.4 billion), 5.28 trillion RMB (US$785.6 billion), and 7.09 trillion RMB (US$1.05 trillion), respectively. Guangdong contributes approximately 10.6% of the total national economic output. Now, it has three of the six

Special Economic Zones A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

and

. The affluence of Guangdong, however, remains very concentrated near the

Economic and technological development zones

Export Processing Zone * Shenzhen

Futian Futian District () is one of the nine districts comprising the city of Shenzhen, China. The district is home to the government and Municipal Committee of Shenzhen, as well as one of the city's central business district (CBD). Name There are two ...

Free Trade Zone * Shenzhen Hi-Tech Industrial Park *

Yantian Yantian District () is one of the nine districts of the city of Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It is adjacent to Shenzhen River and Hong Kong to the south, and is surrounded by Luohu, Longgang District, Shenzhen, Longgang and Pingshan District, Shen ...

Port Free Trade Zone *

National New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone *

Development District * Guangzhou Export Processing Zone * Guangzhou Free Trade Zone * Guangzhou Nansha Economic and Technical Development Zone * Guangzhou Nanhu Lake Tourist Holiday Resort (Chinese Version) * Guangzhou New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone *

Dayawan Economic and Technological Development Zone * Huizhou Export Processing Zone * Huizhou Zhongkai Hi-Tech Development Zone * Nansha Free Trade Zone *

Free Trade Zone *

Shatoujiao Shatoujiao is a subdistrict of Yantian District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, located on the border of Shenzhen and Hong Kong, China. The population is mainly composed of migrant workers from all parts of China along with a small number of Russians. Sh ...

Free Trade Zone *

Economic and Technological Development Zone (Chinese Version) *

National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone * Zhuhai Free Trade Zone *

Torch High-tech Industrial Development Zone

Demographics

Guangdong officially became the most populous province in 2005. Official statistics had traditionally placed Guangdong as the fourth-most populous province of China with about 80 million people, though an influx of migrants, temporary workers, and newly settled individuals numbered around 30 million. The massive influx of migrants from other provinces, dubbed the "floating population", is due to Guangdong's booming economy and high demand for labor. If Guangdong were an independent nation, it would rank among the twelfth largest countries of the world by population.

Urbanization

In 2021, Guangdong's population is 74.6% urban and 25.4% rural.

Genealogy

Guangdong is the ancestral home of large numbers of

. Most of the railroad laborers in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

in the 19th century came from Guangdong, especially the

Siyi The Siyi (Seiyap or Sze Yup in Cantonese; ) refers to the four former counties of Xinhui (Sunwui), Taishan, Guangdong, Taishan (Toisan), Kaiping (Hoiping) and Enping (Yanping) on the west side of the Pearl River Delta in Southern Guangdong, Guan ...

area. Many people from the region also traveled to

and other parts of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

during the

gold rush of 1849 The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the Uni ...

, and also to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

during its

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

a decade or so later.

Languages and ethnicities

The majority of the province's population is

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

, though the Han population is so diverse that the province has been called the "treasure trove of regional languages" (). Within the Han Chinese, the largest subgroup in Guangdong are the

Cantonese people The Cantonese people ( zh, s=广府人, t=廣府人, j=gwong2 fu2 jan4, cy=Gwóngfú Yàhn, first=t, labels=no) or Yue people ( zh, s=粤人, t=粵人, j=jyut6 jan4, cy=Yuht Yàhn, first=t, labels=no), are a Han Chinese subgroup originating fro ...

, with significant

and Teoswa populations east of the Pearl River Delta. Guangdong is also home to small

Mien The Yao people () or Dao () is a classification for various ethnic minorities in China and Vietnam. Their majority branch is also known as Mien. They originated in the areas around Changsha, which today is the capital of Hunan province. They s ...

She She or S.H.E. may refer to: Language * She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English Places * She County, Anhui ** She Prefecture, 589-1121 * She County, Hebei * She River, or Sheshui, Hubei * ...

Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related ...

, Li, and Zhuang minorities.

Yue Chinese

Guangdong is the traditional heartland of Yue Chinese ( zh, t=粵語, s=粤语, p=yuèyǔ, j=jyut⁶ jyu⁵), which has a high degree of internal diversity. The vast majority of these speakers live at or west the

. A total of Yue Chinese speakers live in Guangdong.

and other Yue varieties spoken at the delta such as Waitaunese and Shiqi Yue make up the greatest number of speakers, numbering at around speakers. Due to the large overseas population and cultural impact of

Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") is a genre of pop music sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production and consumption. The genre began in the 1970s and became associated with Hon ...

and Cantonese television shows, Cantonese is a well-known variety of Chinese throughout the world.

or Szeyap Yue, including Hoisanese, is spoken in much of

prefecture, numbering at around speakers. Siyi was once the representative variety of Chinese in many

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...

communities.

Hakka Chinese

The highlands of the

-Guangdong tripoint are the traditional heartland of the Hakka Chinese ( zh, s=客家话, t=客家話, p=kèjiāhuà, j=haak³ gaa¹ waa^6-2; Moiyenese: ''hag⁵ ga¹ fa⁴'')-speaking people, and

Meizhou Meizhou ( zh, t=梅州, Hakka Chinese: Mòichû) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong province, China. It has an area of , and a population of 3,873,239 as of the 2020 census. It comprises Meijiang District, Meixian District, Xing ...

is often dubbed the capital of Hakka culture. Downhill Hakka migrations started in the

early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

, and due to them being newcomers to the lowlands, they were dubbed "guest families" by the original inhabitants (the

Punti ''Punti'' ( zh, t=本地, j=bun2 dei6, l=locals) is a Cantonese endonym referring to the native Cantonese people of Guangdong and Guangxi. In Hong Kong, ''Punti'' designates Weitou dialect-speaking locals in contrast to non-Weitou speaker ...

s). There are around Neo-Hakka speakers in Guangdong, of which live significantly west of the traditional Hakka area.

Min Chinese

Teoswa or Chaoshan Min ( zh, t=潮汕話, s=潮汕话, p=cháoshànhuà, j=ciu⁴ saan³ waa^6-2;

Peng'im ( zh, s=潮州话拼音方案, t=潮州話拼音方案: ( Teochew) ( Swatow), : or , : or ) is a Teochew dialect romanization system as a part of Guangdong Romanization published by Guangdong Provincial Education Department in 1960. The ...

: ''diê⁵ suan¹ uê⁷'') is spoken primarily in the

Chaoshan Chaoshan or Teoswa ( zh, s=潮汕, p=Cháoshàn, cy=Chìusaan; peng'im: ) is a cultural-linguistic region in the east of Guangdong, China. It is the origin of the Teochew Min language. The region, also known as Chiushan in Cantonese, consists of ...

area, that is to say,

Jieyang Jieyang ( zh, s=揭阳, p=Jiēyáng, t=揭陽; Chaozhou dialect: gig4 iên5; Jieyang dialect: gêg4 ion5) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong Province (Yuedong), People's Republic of China, part of the Chaoshan region whose peopl ...

, and

Shanwei Shanwei ( zh, c= ), or Swabue, or also commonly known as Hailufeng ( zh, c= , portmanteau of Haifeng and Lufeng) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Jieyang to the east, Meizhou and ...

prefectures, by around speakers. It is a

Southern Min Southern Min (), Minnan ( Mandarin pronunciation: ) or Banlam (), is a group of linguistically similar and historically related Chinese languages that form a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Fujian (especially the Minnan region), most of Taiwa ...

branch, but has little mutual intelligibility with

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

. Leizhou Min ( zh, t=黎話, s=黎话, p=líhuà, j=leoi⁴ waa^6-2; Leizhounese: []) is spoken primarily in the Leizhou peninsula of

prefecture by around speakers. It is closely related to

Hainanese Hainanese ( Hainan Romanised: ''Hái-nâm-oe'', Hainanese Pinyin: ''Hhai3 nam2 ue1'', ), also known as Qiongwen (), Qiongyu () or Hainan Min () is a group of Min Chinese varieties spoken in the far southern Chinese island province of Hain ...

Other Chinese

Around speakers of

Shaozhou Tuhua Shaozhou Tuhua (traditional: 韶州土話; simplified: 韶州土话 ''Sháozhōu Tǔhuà'' " Shaoguan Tuhua"), also known as Yuebei Tuhua (), is an unclassified Chinese variety spoken in northern Guangdong province, China. It is mutually unintel ...

live in small communities in

prefecture, typically surrounded by Hakka speakers. These varieties have been observed to be similar to Hakka, and have been dubbed "Paleo-Hakka" by, for instance, W. South Coblin. There are also around

Southwestern Mandarin Southwestern Mandarin (), also known as Upper Yangtze Mandarin (), is a Mandarin Chinese dialect spoken in much of Southwestern China, including in Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Guizhou, most parts of Hubei, the northwestern part of Hunan, the nor ...

speakers in Guangdong, with around half of them being remnants of Northern '' juntun'' zh">:zh:軍屯">zhthat date back to the

. These communities largely live in small villages in coastal eastern Guangdong in places such as Haifeng and Huidong counties. The other half live in parts of

Lechang Lechang (; historically Lokchong) is a county-level city in the northern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, bordering Hunan province to the north. It is under the administration of Shaoguan prefecture-level city A prefecture-l ...

close to

province, which explains the Mandarin language they use.

Gender ratio

Guangdong has a highly unbalanced gender ratio that is among the highest of all provinces in China. According to a 2009 study published in ''The British Medical Journal'', in the 1–4 age group, there are over 130 boys for every 100 girls.

Religion

According to a 2012 survey only around 7% of the population of Guangdong belongs to organised religions, the largest groups being

with 6.2%, followed by

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

with 1.8% and

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

with 1.2%. Around 90% of the population is either irreligious or may be involved in

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...

worshipping nature gods, ancestral deities, popular sects, Taoist traditions, Buddhist religious traditions & Confucian religious traditions. According to a survey conducted in 2007, 43.71% of the population believes and is involved in

ancestor veneration The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...

, the traditional Chinese religion of the lineages organised into

lineage church Lineage may refer to: Science * Lineage (anthropology), a group that can demonstrate its common descent from an apical ancestor or a direct line of descent from an ancestor * Lineage (evolution), a temporal sequence of individuals, populatio ...

es and

ancestral shrine An ancestral shrine, hall or temple ( or , ; Chữ Hán: ; ), also called lineage temple, is a temple dedicated to deified ancestors and progenitors of surname lineages or families in the Chinese tradition. Ancestral temples are closely li ...

Politics

Like all governing institutions in mainland China, Guangdong has a parallel party-government system, in which the CCP Guangdong Provincial Committee Secretary outranks the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. The

CCP Guangdong Provincial Committee The Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party is the provincial committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Guangdong Province. The CCP committee secretary is the highest ranking post in the province. The current secret ...

acts as the top policy-formulation body, and has control over the

Guangdong Provincial People's Government The Guangdong Provincial People's Government is the provincial administrative agency of Guangdong. It is officially elected by the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress and is formally responsible to the Provincial People's Congress and its Stand ...

Law enforcement and emergency services

Provincial law enforcement in Guangdong is provided by the

Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department The Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department () is the primary civilian law enforcement agency of Guangdong Province. It operates under the dual leadership of the provincial government and the People's Police. In each city and county, ther ...

. The provides paramilitary law enforcement and disaster relief in the province while the provides firefighting and rescue services in the province. The primary domestic intelligence and security agency in Guangdong is the Guangdong Provincial state security department. Corrections facilities in Guangdong are managed by the

Guangdong Prison Administrative Bureau Guangdong Prison Administrative Bureau is the correctional agency of Guangdong Province, China. It is headquartered in Baiyun District, Guangzhou.Freedom House Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, Freedom (political), political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, wi ...

's China Dissent Monitor, Guangdong accounted for 17% of dissent events in the first quarter of 2024 – over 100 events despite heavy

Censorship in China Censorship in the People's Republic of China (PRC) is mandated by the country's ruling party, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is one of the strictest censorship regimes in the world. The government censors content for mainly political re ...

. In 2024, Freedom House rated China as below zero on political rights (−2 out of 40).

Relations with Hong Kong and Macau

and

, while historically parts of Guangdong before becoming colonies of the United Kingdom and Portugal, respectively, are special administrative regions (SARs). Furthermore, the

Basic Law A basic law is either a codified constitution, or in countries with uncodified constitutions, a law designed to have the effect of a constitution. The term ''basic law'' is used in some places as an alternative to "constitution" and may be inte ...

s of both SARs explicitly forbid provincial governments from intervening in local politics. As a result, many issues with Hong Kong and Macau, such as border policy and water rights, have been settled by negotiations between the SARs' governments and the

Guangdong provincial government The Guangdong Provincial People's Government is the provincial administrative agency of Guangdong. It is officially elected by the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress and is formally responsible to the Provincial People's Congress and its Stand ...

Media

Guangdong and the greater Guangzhou area are served by several

Radio Guangdong Radio Guangdong is a provincially-owned radio station in Guangdong, owns nine radio channels and two newspapers. Radio Guangdong is a part of Guangdong Radio and Television, and is a member of WRN Broadcast, World Radio Network. History Radio ...

stations,

Guangdong Television Guangdong Television (GDTV; ) is a television station in Guangzhou, Guangdong province in China. Guangdong TV is the oldest television station in the province, which covers Guangdong and surrounding provinces. At present, Guangdong TV has a sta ...

Southern Television Guangdong TVS Television (called TVS), originally known as Southern Television Guangdong is a regional Chinese language sub-network under Guangdong Radio and Television in Southern China. TVS is based in Guangzhou and covers mainly in Guangdong and Hong ...

Shenzhen Television Shenzhen Media Group (SMG, ) is a state media company based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China. It owns twelve TV channels and four radio stations which broadcast music, report news and Chinese talk shows. Shenzhen Media Group is controlled ...

, and

Guangzhou Television The Guangzhou Broadcasting Network (), also known as GZBN, is a municipally-owned television network in Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China. The television department made its first broadcast on 10 January 1988, while radio depart ...

. There is an English programme produced by

which broadcasts information about this region to the entire world through the

WRN Broadcast WRN Broadcast, formerly known as World Radio Network, is an international broadcast services company based in the United Kingdom that works with television channels and radio broadcasters, media owners and brands enabling them to deliver content t ...

Culture

3 pieces of har gow at Plum Blossom Room 20230125

The central region, which is also the political and economic center, is populated predominantly by

Yue Chinese Yue () is a branch of the Sinitic languages primarily spoken in Northern and southern China, Southern China, particularly in the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi (collectively known as Liangguang). The term Cantonese is often used to refer ...

speakers, though the influx in the last three decades of millions of

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 ...

-speaking immigrants has slightly diminished Cantonese linguistic dominance. This region is associated with

Cantonese cuisine Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine, also known as Yue cuisine ( zh, t=廣東菜 or zh, labels=no, t=粵菜), is the cuisine of Cantonese people, associated with the Guangdong, Guangdong province of China, particularly the provincial capital Guan ...

Dim Sum Dim sum () is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cu ...

is one famous example of Cantonese cuisine, dividing Cantonese food into small portions and served with small dishes.

Cantonese opera Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Guangdong Province. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau and among Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Like all versions of ...

is a form of

Chinese opera Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more tha ...

popular in Cantonese speaking areas. Related Yue dialects are spoken in most of the western half of the province. The area comprising the cities of

and

in coastal east Guangdong, known as

, forms its own cultural sphere. The

Teochew people The Teochew (), Teo-Swa, or Chaoshanese are an ethnic group historically native to the Chaoshan region in south China who speak the Teochew language. Today, most ethnic Teochew people live throughout Chaoshan and Hong Kong, and also outside ...

here, along with Hailufeng Min people in

, speak

, which is a Min dialect closely related to mainstream

(Hokkien) and their cuisine is

Teochew cuisine Teochew cuisine, also known as Chiuchow cuisine, Chaozhou cuisine or Teo-swa cuisine, originated from the Chaoshan region in the eastern part of China's Guangdong Province, which includes the cities of Chaozhou, Shantou and Jieyang. Teoch ...

Teochew opera Teochew opera ( Chinese: 潮劇; Teochow: diê5 giah8) or Chaozhou opera, Chiuchow opera (especially in Hong Kong), is one of the many variants of Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Chaoshan region. It is popular in eastern Guangdong, ...

is also well-known and has a unique form. The

Hakka people The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

live in large areas of Guangdong, including

Heyuan Heyuan ( zh, c=河源, j=ho4 jyun4, Hakka Chinese, Hakka: Fò-Ngiàn) is a prefecture-level city of Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,837,686 whom 1,051,993 lived in the built-up ('' ...

and other areas. Much of the Eastern part of Guangdong is populated by the Hakka people except for the Chaozhou and Hailufeng area. Hakka culture include

Hakka cuisine Hakka cuisine is the cooking style of the Hakka people, and it may also be found in parts of Taiwan and in countries with significant overseas Hakka communities. There are many restaurants in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Mala ...

, Han opera ( zh, s=汉剧 , t=漢劇), Hakka ''Hanyue'' and ''sixian'' (traditional instrumental music) and Hakka folk songs (). The outcast

Tanka people The Boat Dwellers, also known as Shuishangren (; "people living on the water") or Boat People, or the derogatory Tankas, are a sinicised ethnic group in Southern China who traditionally lived on junks in coastal parts of Guangdong, Guangxi, ...

traditionally live on boats throughout the coasts and rivers of Guangdong and much of Southern China.

in southern Guangdong is dominated by 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 Y ...

, a variety of Minnan; Cantonese and Hakka are also spoken there. Mandarin is the language used in education and government and in areas where there are migrants from other provinces, above all in Shenzhen. Cantonese maintains a strong and dominant position in common usage and media, even in eastern areas of the province where the local languages and dialects are non-Yue ones. Guangdong Province is notable for being the birthplace of many famous

Xiangqi Xiangqi (; ), commonly known as Chinese chess or elephant chess, is a Strategy game, strategy board game for two players. It is the most popular board game in China. Xiangqi is in the same family of games as shogi, janggi, chess, Western ches ...

(Chinese chess) grandmasters such as

Lü Qin Lü Qin (; born 10 August 1962) is a Chinese xiangqi grandmaster who is one of the world's best players in Xiangqi (Chinese chess). Career Lü Qin's major achievements in Xiangqi include the following: * Winner of Chinese National Xiangqi Indi ...

, Yang Guanli, Cai Furu and

Xu Yinchuan Xu Yinchuan (; born 5 August 1975) is a Chinese xiangqi grandmaster. Career Xu was born in Huilai, Guangdong Province, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a ...

Education and research

As of 2022, Guangdong hosts 160 institutions of higher education, ranking first in

region and 2nd among all Chinese provinces/municipalities after

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

(168). Guangdong is also the seat of 14 adult higher education institutions. Many universities and colleges are located in major cities like Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, hosts 83 institutions of higher education (excluding adult colleges), ranking 1st in

South China South China ( zh, s=, p=Huá'nán, j=jyut6 naam4) is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is ...

region and 2nd (tie) nationwide after

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Guangdong Province Department of Education Guangdong Province Department of Education is a department of the provincial government of Guangdong, China. Its headquarters is in Yuexiu District, Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangch ...

is the department of the provincial government that oversees education. As of 2023, two major cities in the province ranked in the top 20 cities in the world (Guangzhou 8th and Shenzhen 19th) by scientific research output, as tracked by the

Nature Index The Nature Index is a database that tracks institutions and countries/territories and their scientific output since its introduction in November 2014. Originally released with 64 natural-science journals, the Nature Index expanded to 82 natural-sci ...

Colleges and universities

National / Double First-Class

Provincial

* Dongguan Institute of Technology * Dongguan University of Technology *

Foshan University Foshan University (FOSU, ) is a designated full-time comprehensive university in Foshan, Guangdong province, China. It was also named as Foshan Science and Technology College or Foshan Institute of Science and Technology in the translation of Eng ...

Guangdong Education and Research Network ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

* Guangdong General Hospital * Guangdong Institute of Education * Guangdong Institute of Science and Technology *

Guangdong Medical College Guangdong Medical University () is a provincial public medical school in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China. The school is affiliated with the Province of Guangdong. History Guangdong Medical College, the former Zhanjiang Branch of the Sun Yatsen ...

Guangdong Ocean University Guangdong Ocean University (, GDOU) was established in 1997 to provide courses in oceanography and maritime sciences. It is situated in the Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province, China. History Guangdong Ocean University was originally set up as Z ...

* Guangdong Petrochemical Academy *

Guangdong Pharmaceutical University Guangdong Pharmaceutical University (GDPU; ) is a public university based in Guangzhou, Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimat ...

* Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University * Guangdong Radio and TV University * Guangdong University of Finance & Economics * Guangdong University of Finance *

Guangdong University of Technology The Guangdong University of Technology (GDUT; ) is a provincial public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. The university is affiliated with and sponsored by the Guangdong Provincial People's Government. The university offers a range of ...

Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts The Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (GAFA; ; also known as Guangzhou Institute of Fine Arts) is a Chinese national university based in Guangzhou which provides doctoral, master and bachelor's degrees in fine arts and design.It is the only fine art ...

Guangzhou Education College Guangzhou, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about northwest of Hong Kong and north of Macau, Guangzhou has a history of over 2, ...

Guangzhou Normal University Guangzhou University (GU; ) is a public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. Guangzhou University is currently one of the 13 high-level universities in Guangdong Province. Guangzhou University was established in 2000 through the m ...

Guangzhou Sports University Guangzhou Sport University () is a provincial public university based in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. On June 9, 1956, the Guangzhou Sport University was established with the approval of the Guangzhou Municipal Government of Guangdong ) means ...

Guangzhou University Guangzhou University (GU; ) is a public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. Guangzhou University is currently one of the 13 high-level universities in Guangdong Province. Guangzhou University was established in 2000 through the m ...

* Hanshan Teachers College * Huizhou University *

Panyu Polytechnic Panyu, formerly romanized as Punyü, is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China. Since January 1975, Panyu County has been under Guangzhou's administration. In 1992, Panyu C ...

* Shaoguan University *

Shenzhen Party School Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

Shantou University Shantou University (; abbreviated STU), is a university under the provincial Project 211 program in Shantou, Guangdong, was founded in 1981 with the approval of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, State Council. It's the only ...

Shenzhen University Shenzhen University (SZU, Traditional Chinese: 深圳大學, Simplified Chinese: 深圳大学, Pinyin: Shēnzhèn Dàxué) is a municipal public research university in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. The university is funded by the Shenzhen Mu ...

Shenzhen Technology University The Shenzhen Technology University (SZTU; ) is a municipal public university located in Pingshan, Shenzhen, Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name ...

Shenzhen Polytechnic Shenzhen Polytechnic University (SZPU; ) is a municipal public vocational university in Nanshan, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a ...

Shunde University Shunde (Shun Tak in Cantonese) is a district of the city of Foshan, Guangdong province, located in the Pearl River Delta. It had a population of 2,464,784 as of the 2010 census. Once a traditional agricultural county, it has become one of the mo ...

Southern Medical University Southern Medical University () is a provincial public medical university in Baiyun, Guangzhou, Baiyun, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. Formerly as a military-affiliated medical university, the whole institution was transferred to the Guangdong Pr ...

Wuyi University Wuyi University may refer to: * Wuyi University (Guangdong) (五邑大学), in Jiangmen, Guangdong * Wuyi University (Fujian) (武夷学院), in Wuyishan, Fujian {{school disambiguation ...

Xijiang University The Xi River (; ) or Si-Kiang is the western tributary of the Pearl River in southern China. It is formed by the confluence of the Gui and Xun Rivers in Wuzhou, Guangxi. It originates from the eastern foot of the Maxiong Mountain in Qujing ...

Xinghai Conservatory of Music The Xinghai Conservatory of Music, also known as the Xinghai Conservatory, is a music conservatory in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China. It has two campuses: one in the Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center in Panyu District, another ...

Zhanjiang Normal University Lingnan Normal University (LNU; , formerly Zhanjiang Normal University (ZNU; )) is an institution of higher learning in the Chikan District of Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province, China. History The history of the university dates back to th ...

Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering The Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering (; ) is a provincial public undergraduate college in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It specializes in training agricultural technicians. The university is affiliated with the province of Guan ...

Zhaoqing University Zhaoqing University () is a public university based in the Duanzhou District of the prefecture-level city of Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, China. It is a provincial comprehensive university that enrolls students in four-year degree programmes. ...

Sports

List of current professional

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

based in Guangdong:

Tourism

Notable attractions include

Danxia Mountain Mount Danxia () is a noted scenic mountainous area in Renhua County, in the northern part of Guangdong province. It is described on the local signage as a "world famous UNESCO geopark of China". It was inscribed as part of the China Danxia Worl ...

in Shaoguan,

Yuexiu Hill Yuexiu Hill, also known as Yut Sau Shan, Yut Sau Hill, or Mount Yuexiu, is located in Yuexiu District, Guangzhou. It once formed the northern end of the old walled city, though most of the walls have been dismantled and the city has now expanded ...

, Baiyun Mountain in Guangzhou, Star Lake and the

Seven Star Crags The Seven Star Crags () are located across from the center of Zhaoqing City, Guangdong, People's Republic of China. The crags are all situated in or around Star Lake directly opposite Paifang square in downtown Zhaoqing. The area including the ...

Dinghu Mountain Dinghu Mountain and Lake () is located in Dinghu District, 18 km to the east of Zhaoqing City, in the Dayunwu Mountain Range, in Guangdong Province of southern China. It is one of the four famous mountains - Mount Danxia, Danxia, Dinghu, Mo ...

in Zhaoqing, the Huangmanzhai waterfalls in

, and the Zhongshan Sun Wen Memorial Park for

. In Shenzhen, there are

Window of the World Window of the World ( zh, s=世界之窗, t=世界之窗, p=Shìjiè zhī Chuāng, j=sai3 gaai3 zi1 coeng1) is a theme park located in the western part of the city of Shenzhen in the People's Republic of China. It has about 130 reproductions ...

, Tencent Building, Happy Valley theme park, Rose Beach, Xiaomeisha Beach, etc.

Administrative divisions

Guangdong is divided into twenty-one

prefecture-level division zh, p=Dì Jí Xíngzhèngqū, labels=no , alt_name = , map = , category = Second level administrative division of a unitary state , territory = China , start_date = , current_number ...

s: all

prefecture-level cities A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province of China, province and above a Counties of the People's Republic of China, county in China's ...

(including two sub-provincial cities): } ! rowspan=2 , Population 2020 ! rowspan=2 , Seat ! colspan=4 , Divisions , - style="width:45px;" !

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 ...

Counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

! Aut. counties ! CL cities , - style="font-weight: bold" ! 440000 !! Guangdong Province , 179,800.00 , , 126,012,510 , ,

city , , 65 , , 34 , , 3 , , 20 , - style="background:#98fb98;" ! 440100 !!

city , 7,434.40 , , 18,676,605 , ,

Yuexiu District Yuexiu District is one of 11 urban districts and the seat of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China, located west of the Tianhe District and east of the Liwan District. It is the commercial, politic ...

, , 11 , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , - ! 440200 !!

city , 18,412.53 , , 2,855,131 , ,

Zhenjiang District Zhenjiang District () is a district of Shaoguan, a city in northern Guangdong Province ( Yuebei), China. Zhenjiang is seat of Shaoguan. As of 2021, there are 10 county-level administrative divisions including 3 subdistrict A subdistrict or sub-di ...

, , 3 , , 4 , , 1 , , 2 , - style="background:#98fb98;" ! 440300 !!

city , 1,996.78 , , 17,560,061 , ,

Futian District Futian District () is one of the nine districts comprising the city of Shenzhen, China. The district is home to the government and Municipal Committee of Shenzhen, as well as one of the city's central business district (CBD). Name There are two ...

, , 9* , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , - ! 440400 !!

city , 1,724.32 , , 2,439,585 , , Xiangzhou District , , 3 , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , - ! 440500 !!

city , 2,248.39 , , 5,502,031 , ,

Jinping District Jinping District (, Teochew Peng'im: gim¹ pêng⁵) is the central business district and the seat of Shantou prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republ ...

, , 6 , , 1 , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , - ! 440600 !!

city , 3,848.49 , , 9,498,863 , ,

Chancheng District Chancheng District is a district (China), district and the seat of the city of Foshan, Guangdong, Guangdong Province, China. Chancheng is the economic, cultural and political center of the city. History Chancheng belonged to the land of Baiyue ...

, , 5 , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , - ! 440700 !!

city , 9,505.42 , , 4,798,090 , ,

Pengjiang District Pengjiang () is a district of Jiangmen, Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t ...

, , 3 , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , , 4 , - ! 440800 !!

city , 13,225.44 , , 6,981,236 , ,

Chikan District Chikan District () is a district of the city of Zhanjiang, Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, lab ...

, , 4 , , 2 , , style="background:gray;" , , , 3 , - ! 440900 !!

Maoming Maoming, alternately romanized as Mowming, (Maoming Yue: ">ɐu22 mɪŋ21/nowiki>) 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 ...

city , 11,424.8 , , 6,174,050 , ,

Maonan District Maonan () is a district of Maoming, Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s ...

, , 2 , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , , 3 , - ! 441200 !!

city , 14,891.23 , , 4,113,594 , ,

Duanzhou District Duanzhou District () is a district of Zhaoqing, Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, fi ...

, , 3 , , 4 , , style="background:gray;" , , , 1 , - ! 441300 !!

city , 11,342.98 , , 6,042,852 , ,

Huicheng District Huicheng District () is a district of Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, China. Huicheng is the northern urban center of Huizhou along with Huiyang as the southern urban center. Administrative divisions Huicheng is responsible for the administra ...

, , 2 , , 3 , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , - ! 441400 !!

city , 15,864.51 , , 3,873,239 , ,

Meijiang District Meijiang () is a district of Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, China. Administrative divisions * Subdistricts (): ** Jinshan () ** Jiangnan () ** Xijiao () *Towns: **Changsha () ** Sanjiao () ** Chengbei () Ethno-linguistic make-up Meijiang is ...

, , 2 , , 5 , , style="background:gray;" , , , 1 , - ! 441500 !!

city , 4,861.79 , , 2,672,819 , , Cheng District , , 1 , , 2 , , style="background:gray;" , , , 1 , - ! 441600 !!

city , 15,653.63 , , 2,837,686 , ,

Yuancheng District Yuancheng ( is the only district of the city of Heyuan, Guangdong Province ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( z ...

, , 1 , , 5 , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , - ! 441700 !!

city , 7,955.27 , , 2,602,959 , ,

Jiangcheng District Jiangcheng () is a district of Yangjiang, Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, ...

, , 2 , , 1 , , style="background:gray;" , , , 1 , - ! 441800 !!

Qingyuan Qingyuan, formerly romanized as Tsingyun, is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong province, China, on the banks of the Bei or North River. During the 2020 census, its total population was 3,969,473, out of whom 1,738,424 lived in the ...

city , 19,152.90 , , 3,969,473 , ,

Qingcheng District Qingcheng () is a district of Qingyuan, Guangdong province, China. Qingcheng District is located in the middle of Guangdong province, lying beside the Bei Revier. Lying in the south of the Qingxin District, the north of Huadu District in Guangz ...

, , 2 , , 2 , , 2 , , 2 , - ! 441900 !!

city** , 2,465.00 , , 10,466,625 , , ''Nancheng Subdistrict'' , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , - ! 442000 !!

city** , 1,783.67 , , 4,418,060 , , ''

Dongqu Subdistrict Dongqu Subdistrict (), also known as East Subdistrict, or Eastern Subdistrict, is a subdistrict of Zhongshan City, Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The ...

'' , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , - ! 445100 !!

city , 3,145.89 , , 2,568,387 , ,

Xiangqiao District Xiangqiao District () is a district and the urban area of Chaozhou City, Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Gu ...

, , 2 , , 1 , , style="background:gray;" , , , style="background:gray;" , , - ! 445200 !!

city , 5,265.38 , , 5,577,814 , , Rongcheng District , , 2 , , 2 , , style="background:gray;" , , , 1 , - ! 445300 !!

city , 7,779.12 , , 2,383,350 , ,

Yuncheng District Yuncheng District () is a district of the city of Yunfu Yunfu (), postal map romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Wanfow, and historically known as Dong'an (), which was postal map romanization, formerly romanized as Ton ...

, , 2 , , 2 , , style="background:gray;" , , , 1 , - class="sortbottom" , colspan=12 , * – not including the new districts which are not registered under the Ministry of Civil Affairs (not included in the total Districts' count)
** – direct-piped cities – does not contain any county-level divisions The twenty-one

Prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''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 inter ...

of Guangdong are subdivided into 122

county-level division The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since 1412, due to mainland China's large population and geographical area. In the People's Republic of China, the constitution provides for three levels of government. Ho ...

s (65

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 ...

, 20

county-level cities , map = , category = Third level administrative division of a unitary state , territory = People's Republic of China , upper_unit = Prefectures, Provinces , start_date = , current_number = 411 (408 controlled, 3 claimed) , number_da ...

, 34

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

, and 3

autonomous counties Autonomous counties () and autonomous banners () are county-level autonomous administrative divisions of China. Autonomous counties tend to have a large number of ethnic minority citizens compared to ordinary counties (if not an outright major ...

). For county-level divisions, see the

list of administrative divisions of Guangdong Guangdong, a province of the People's Republic of China, is made up of the following administrative divisions. Administrative divisions All of these administrative divisions are explained in greater detail at political divisions of China. Th ...

Urban areas

International relations

Guangdong is twinned with: *

Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

, Japan *

Hawaiʻi Hawaii ( ; ) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, th ...

, United States of America *

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia *

Gujarat, India Gujarat () is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, United States of America

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

Economic profile for Guangdong
at the

Hong Kong Trade Development Council The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 for international marketing dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. The organisation has 51 offices around the world, including 1 ...

External links

*
Guangdong provincial government official website

Complete Map of the Seven Coastal Provinces
from 1821 to 1850
Pictures and comments about life in Guangdong
{{Authority control . Gulf of Tonkin Pearl River Delta Provinces of the People's Republic of China

History

Prehistory

Imperial

20th century

Geography

Economy

Economic and technological development zones

Demographics

Urbanization

Genealogy

Languages and ethnicities

Yue Chinese

Hakka Chinese

Min Chinese

Other Chinese

Gender ratio

Religion

Politics

Law enforcement and emergency services

Relations with Hong Kong and Macau

Media

Culture

Education and research

Colleges and universities

National / Double First-Class

Provincial

Sports

Tourism

Administrative divisions

Urban areas

International relations

See also

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

External links