Qingyuan,
formerly romanized
In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...
as Tsingyun, is a
prefecture-level city
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 ...
in northern
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=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
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 built-up (or metro) area made of
urbanized Qingcheng and
Qingxin 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 ...
. The primary spoken language is
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 ...
. Covering , Qingyuan is Guangdong's largest prefecture-level division by land area, and it borders
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 ...
and
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 ...
to the south,
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 ...
to the east and northeast,
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 ...
to the south and southwest, 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 ...
province and
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ( Hà Giang, Cao Bằng, Lạng Sơn, and Quảng Ninh Provinces) and the ...
to the north.
The urban core is surrounded by mountainous areas but is directly connected with
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 ...
and 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, ...
by
Highway 107.
History
Qingyuan was a prefecture during
Northern and Southern dynasties
The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered a ...
. However, the administration status of Qingyuan was downgraded to a county in the tenth year of the
Kaihuang Era of the
Sui dynasty
The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...
(A.D. 590). Since then, until the formation of the Republic of China in 1911, Qingyuan was governed by
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 ...
prefecture ().
Under the
Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
, the area was known as . It was later promoted to
prefecture-level city
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 ...
status.
Geography
Qingyuan's administrative area ranges in latitude from 23° 26' 56" to 25° 11' 40" N, and in longitude from 111° 55' 17" to 113° 55' 34" E;
its urban area is located just north of the
Tropic of Cancer
The Tropic of Cancer, also known as the Northern Tropic, is the Earth's northernmost circle of latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun ...
, about from the urban area of Guangzhou and from both
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 ...
and
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 ...
. Its area of over accounts for 10.6% of the total provincial area.
Qingyuan contains part of the southern
Nan Ling, and more than half of the area is mountainous, and elevations increase from southeast to northwest. Bordering prefectures are Guangzhou and Foshan to the southeast, Zhaoqing to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north and northeast,
Hezhou
Hezhou () is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China.
Geography and climate
Hezhou is located in northeastern Guangxi. It borders Hunan to the north and Guangdong to the east. ...
(
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 ...
) to the west, and
Yongzhou
Yongzhou () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Hunan province, People's Republic of China, located on the southern bank of the Xiang River, which is formed by the confluence of the Xiao River, Xiao and Xiang Rivers, and bordering Guang ...
and
Chenzhou
Chenzhou () is a prefecture-level city located in the south of Hunan province, China, bordering the provinces of Jiangxi to the east and Guangdong to the south. Its administrative area covers , 9.2% of the provincial area, and its total populatio ...
(
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.
Qingyuan has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate, with an average annual temperature of , of rainfall, 1662.2 hours of sunshine, and a frost-free period of 314.4 days.
Economy
Qingyuan is a major economic and transportation hub. The
Beijing–Guangzhou Railway,
National Highways 106 and
107 107 may refer to:
*107 (number), the number
*AD 107, a year in the 2nd century AD
*107 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC
*107 (New Jersey bus)
*107 Camilla, a main-belt asteroid
*Peugeot 107, a city car
See also
*10/7 (disambiguation)
*Bohrium, ...
, and the Bei or
North River cross through the city. The maritime infrastructure in Qingyuan plays a vital role in transporting goods to other regional centers in Guangdong,
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 ...
, and
Macao
Macau or Macao is a 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 densely populated region in the world.
Formerly a Portuguese colony, the ter ...
. The major ports are Qingyuan Port,
Yingde
Yingde (Postal romanization, postal: Yingtak; ) is a historical city in the north of Guangdong Province, China. The city is on the Bei River, a tributary of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River. Administratively, it is part of the Qingyuan, Guan ...
Port,
Lianzhou Port and Yangshan Port.
Demographics
According to the
2010 Census, Qingyuan has a population of 3,698,394 inhabitants,
[ Compilation by LianXin website]
Data from the Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China
550,715 more than in 2000 (an annual growth rate of 1.63%).
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 ...
comprise over 95% of the entire population, while there are some areas inhabited by the
Zhuang and
Yao minorities
The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...
.
Notable people
*
Ayen Ho (何璟昕) : (b. 1994) Chinese
C-pop
C-pop is an abbreviation for Chinese popular music (), a loosely defined musical genre by artists originating from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan (the Greater China region). This also includes countries where Sinitic languages, Chinese la ...
(
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
Mandopop
Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; later influences came from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Taiwan's Hokkien pop ...
) singer-songwriter
*
Xi Nanhua (席南华) : (b. 1963) Chinese mathematician
Attractions
Qingyuan's attractions include Niuyuzui,
Feilai Temple, Feixia Scenic Spots, Baojing Palace of Yingde, Taihe Ancient Cave of Qingxin, Sankeng Hot Spring in Qingxin County, Huanghua Lake in Fogang, Little Biejiang of Lianyang, Peak Shikengkong in Yangshan County, Underground River of Lianzhou,
Huangteng Gorge, Three Gorges of Huangchuan and Yinzhan Hot Springs.
Administration
The provincial and municipal administration is located in
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 ...
. It oversees one other
district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
, two
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 ...
, four
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 one economic development district.
Climate
Transportation
Qingyuan is served by
Qingyuan railway station, opened in 2009 on the
Wuhan–Guangzhou high-speed railway. It is located some distance east of the city.
The
Qingyuan Maglev opened on January 25, 2025.
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
* .
External links
Qingyuan Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation BureauQianyuan City Customs Authority
{{Authority control
Prefecture-level divisions of Guangdong