Shiling () is a town in Huadu District,

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong ...

. In the 1970s the government began centrally planned industrialization of Shiling as a leatherworking town. The town is now a major center for the leatherworking industry in China. The town spans an area of 136.31 square kilometers, and is home to 300,000 residents.

Etymology

Its name means "Lion Ridge", so called because of the local mountain ridge that is shaped like a lion. Shiling Town has long consisted of small farms abutting the mountains from which it gets its name.

Geography

Shiling Town is located in Huadu District, a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

. Shiling is 34 km from downtown Guangzhou.

Administrative Districts

Shiling is divided into three and seventeen .

History

Archeological records indicate that the area around present-day Shiling was engaged in worship of the Chinese deity

Pangu Pangu (, ) is a primordial being and creation figure in Chinese mythology who separated heaven and earth and became geographic features such as mountains and rivers. Legends The first writer to record the myth of Pangu was Xu Zheng during t ...

as far back as 500 CE. Shiling was founded as a hamlet () in the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

some time during the reign of the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 ...

(1736–1795).

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

, leader of the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It last ...

, developed his revolutionary theory and wrote many of his famous works while staying in Shiling (c. 1845 - 1847) at the Yuan Floral Hall (), the ruins of which are still visible.http://www.2hd.cn/dahuadu/zhenjiesudi/shilingzhen/shilingzhen/200810/30-24856.html Shiling was reorganized into a commune () in 1953, into a region () in 1983, and most recently into a town () in 1986.

Demographics

As of 2017, the town reported a resident population of 300,000 people, of which, 58,000 were registered residents under the Hukou system.

Economy

In 2017, the town achieved a total

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is of ...

of 10.759 billion Yuan, a 7.5% from the previous year. The town's

primary sector The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in ...

makes up 3.5% of Shiling's GDP, the

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructio ...

makes up 61.0%, and the

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector ( raw materials) and the secon ...

makes up 35.5% of the GDP.

Farming

Shiling was originally and remains an agricultural community. Primary produce are rice, fruits, vegetables, flowers, nursery stock and the breeding of poultry and fish.http://www.gz.gov.cn/vfs/content/newcontent.jsp?contentId=521109&catId=16242

Leather industry

Leather production in Shiling began in the 1970s, when the central government promoted industrial development of Shiling focused on the leatherworking industry, by encouraging farmers to integrate leather production into their lifestyle. Prior to the 2000s, Shiling primarily produced low and medium quality leather goods for Chinese markets. Beginning in the year 2000, the city began hosting the Shiling Leather and Leather Goods Festival (), a

trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...

for the leather industry. During the late 2000s, the local government made a concerted effort with local businesses to increase the quality of the town's leather goods, and to internationalize the city's industry. Part of this effort included the creation of a post-doctoral research institute devoted to leather research, and a design institute meant to train people to become leather workers and leather designers. Shiling's leather industry now comprises 8,000 enterprises producing leather, employing approximately 300,000 employees. Over 2,600 brands manufacture their leather goods in Shiling, including

Guess A guess (or an act of guessing) is a swift conclusion drawn from data directly at hand, and held as probable or tentative, while the person making the guess (the guesser) admittedly lacks material for a greater degree of certainty. A guess is als ...

Coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, and

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

. The Shiling leather industry was worth 4.7 billion yuan in 2002 http://info.hktdc.com/imn/02100301/leather003.htm and 9 billion in 2009.

Suburban real estate development

Recently, "Western-style" suburban developments have been built in Shiling. The developments are close to the scenic mountains with easy transportation to Guangzhou. The real estate developments in Shiling have been advertised as a "golden corridor" () and "tomorrow's satellite city" ().

Tourism

Tourism to Shiling is being promoted with attractions such as mountain resorts, local folk culture, the Pangu cultural festival, and the revolutionary historical site Yuan Floral Hall among others.

Pangu Temple

The northern part of Shiling hosts a temple dedicated to

built in 1809, and rebuilt in 1901 after being burned. The temple was neglected for many years, renovated (1984–86) and reopened. The temple is promoted as a tourist attraction and pilgrimage site. The temple is noted for being the site of a large

lion dance F Lion dance () is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume to bring good luck and fortune. The lion dance is usually performed during the Chinese New ...

, waterfall, and clean spring water from Longkou spring, which is believed to have healing properties. A festival is held on the birthday of Pangu, the 12th day of the 10th month of the

Chinese lunar calendar The traditional Chinese calendar (also known as the Agricultural Calendar ��曆; 农历; ''Nónglì''; 'farming calendar' Former Calendar ��曆; 旧历; ''Jiùlì'' Traditional Calendar ��曆; 老历; ''Lǎolì'', is a lunisolar calendar ...

Mountain Resorts

Following the tourist draw of the Pangu temple, other resorts have been opened in the nearby mountain areas.

Transportation

Two major highways run through Shiling: the Guangqing Expressway and the . Three major railways run through Shiling: the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, the Wuhan-Guangzhou Railway, and the Guangzhou-Qingyuan Railway.

Notes and references

Leather Companies In China
{{Towns in Guangzhou Huadu District Township-level divisions of Guangdong