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Guangzhou

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Asia

            Guangzhou (Canton)
   Pearl River at night
   Pearl River at night
        Nickname: "The Flower City"
   Location within China
   Location within China
       Coordinates: 23°20′N 113°30′E
    Country   People's Republic of China
    Province  Guangdong
   Officiated 1918
     Mayor    Zhang Guangning
      Area
     - City   3718.8 km²  (1436.1  sq mi)
   Elevation  8 m  (26 ft)
   Population
    - City ()
     - Urban  6,560,500
     - Metro  12 600 000
   Time zone  UTC ( UTC+8)
   Website: http://www.guangzhou.gov.cn/
                  Guangzhou
   Traditional Chinese:   廣州
   Simplified Chinese:    广州
   Mandarin
            Hanyu Pinyin: Guǎngzhōu
            Wade-Giles:   Kuang-chou
                          [Listen]
   Cantonese
            Jyutping:     Gwong^2 zau^1
   Min Nan  Pe̍h-ōe-jī:   kńg-chiu
   Hakka    romanization: [gong[31] zu[24]]
   Postal map spelling:   Canton

   Guangzhou is the capital and the sub-provincial city of Guangdong
   Province in southern mainland China. The city was formerly known
   internationally as Canton City or simply Canton, after a French
   language transliteration of the name of the province in Cantonese. It
   is a port on the Pearl River, navigable to the South China Sea. As of
   the 2000 census, the city has a population of 6 million, and a
   metropolitan population of 12.6 million, making it the most populous
   city in the province and the fifth most populous in China.

Name

   The Chinese abbreviation of Guangzhou is Sui (穗; pinyin: sùi; Jyutping:
   seoi6; Yale: seuīh) or sometimes GZ. The city has the nicknames of
   Wuyangcheng (City of Five Rams), Yangcheng (City of Rams), Huacheng
   (City of Flowers), or Suicheng (City of Wheats). The city can also be
   referred to as the MuMengCheng (City of Wood Wools), a reference to a
   tall, native tree that produces wool fibre in its gorgeous red
   blossoms.

   "Canton" was the convenient Portuguese romanisation of "Guangdong"
   Province, and the city Guangzhou is the capital of the province and
   frequently referred as 廣東省城 ("the Canton Province Capital City") or
   simply 省城 ("the Province City") by Cantonese people. The city naturally
   represents the province and thus was erroneously used as the city's
   name. It was more convenient for Europeans who during the colonial
   period generally did not understand ideographic characters (see exonym
   and endonym). When the term "Canton" is pronounced in Portuguese it
   provides a closer oral rendering of the name in its original Cantonese.
   Guangzhou is a Mandarin pronunciation of the Han ideographs.

Geography

   Guangzhou is located at 112°57'E to 114°3'E and 22°26'N to 23°56'N. The
   city is part of the Pearl River Delta.
   CITIC Plaza
   Enlarge
   CITIC Plaza

Administrative divisions

   Guangzhou is a sub-provincial city. It has direct jurisdiction over ten
   districts and two county-level cities.

   Districts

     * Yuexiu District
     * Liwan District
     * Haizhu District
     * Tianhe District
     * Baiyun District
     * Huangpu District
     * Huadu District
     * Panyu District
     * Nansha District
     * Luogang District

   County-level cities

     * Zengcheng City
     * Conghua City

   As of April 28, 2005, the districts of Dongshan and Fangcun have been
   abolished and merged into Yuexiu and Liwan respectively; at the same
   time the district of Nansha is established out of parts of Panyu, and
   the district of Luogang is established out of parts of Baiyun, Tianhe,
   Huangpu, and Zengcheng.

History

   It is believed that the first city built at the site of Guangzhou was
   Panyu (蕃禺, later simplifed to 番禺; the locals pronounced this in
   Cantonese as Poon Yu) founded in 214 BC. The city has been continuously
   occupied since that time. Panyu was expanded when it became the capital
   of the Nanyue Kingdom (南越) in 206 BC.

   Recent archaeological founding of her palace suggests that the city
   might have traded frequently with foreigners by the sea routes. The
   foreign trade continued every dynasty and the city remains a major
   international trading port to this day.
   Guangzhou jurisdiction (in yellow)
   Enlarge
   Guangzhou jurisdiction (in yellow)

   The Han Dynasty annexed Nanyue in 111 BC, and Panyu became a provincial
   capital and remains so until this day. In 226 AD, the city became the
   seat of the Guang Prefecture (廣州; Guangzhou). Therefore, "Guangzhou"
   was the name of the prefecture, not of the city. However, people grew
   accustomed to calling the city Guangzhou, instead of Panyu.

   Although the Chinese name of Guangzhou replaced Panyu as the name of
   the walled city, Panyu was still the name of the area surrounding the
   walled city until the end of Qing era.

   Arabs and Persians sacked Guangzhou (known to them as Sin-Kalan) in AD
   758, ² according to a local Guangzhou government report on October 30,
   758, which corresponded to the day of Guisi (癸巳) of the ninth lunar
   month in the first year of the Qianyuan era of Emperor Suzong of the
   Tang Dynasty.

   During the Northern Song Dynasty, a celebrated poet called Su Shi
   visited Guangzhou's Baozhuangyan Temple and wrote the inscription "Liu
   Rong" (Six Banyan Trees) because of the six banyan trees he saw there.
   It has since been called the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees.

   The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive to the city by sea,
   obtaining the monopoly for external trade with its harbour by 1511.
   They were later expelled from their settlements in Guangzhou (in
   Portuguese Canton or Cantao), but instead granted use of Macao (first
   occupied in 1511) as a trade base with the city in 1557. They would
   keep a near monopoly of foreign trade in the region until the arrival
   of the Dutch in the early XVII century.

   After China brought Taiwan under its control in 1683, the Qing
   government became open to encouraging foreign trade. Guangzhou quickly
   emerged as one of the most adaptable ports for negotiating commerce and
   before long, many foreign ships were going there to procure cargos.
   Portuguese in Macao, Spanish in Manila, and Armenians and Muslims from
   India were already actively trading in the port by the 1690s, when the
   French and English East India companies' ships began frequenting the
   port. Other companies were soon to follow: the Ostend General India
   Company in 1717; Dutch East India Company in 1729; the first Danish
   ship in 1731, which was followed by a Danish Asiatic Company ship in
   1734; the Swedish East India Company in 1732; followed by an occasional
   Prussian and Trieste Company ship; the Americans in 1784; and the first
   ships from Australia in 1788. By the middle of the 18th century,
   Guangzhou had emerged as one of the world's great trading ports, which
   was a distinction it maintained until the outbreak of the Opium War in
   1839 and the opening of other ports in China in 1842.

   Guangzhou was one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened by the Treaty
   of Nanking (signed in 1842) at the end of the First Opium War between
   Britain and China. The other ports were Fuzhou, Xiamen, Ningbo, and
   Shanghai.
   1888 German map of Hong Kong, Macau, and Canton (now Guangzhou)
   Enlarge
   1888 German map of Hong Kong, Macau, and Canton (now Guangzhou)

   In 1918, "Guangzhou" became the official name of the city, when an
   urban council was established in Guangzhou. Panyu became a county's
   name south of Guangzhou. In both 1930 and 1953, Guangzhou was promoted
   to the status of a Municipality, but each promotion was cancelled
   within the year.

   Japanese troops occupied Guangzhou from 1938- 10-12 to 1945- 09-16.

   After the communist take-over, urban renewal projects in the city
   improved the lives of many residents. New housing on the shores of the
   Pearl River provided homes for the poor boat people. Reforms by Deng
   Xiaoping, who came to power in the late 1970s, led to rapid economic
   growth due to the city's close proximity to Hong Kong and access to the
   Pearl River.

   As labor costs increased in Hong Kong, manufacturers opened new plants
   in the cities of Guangdong including Guangzhou. As the largest city in
   one of China's wealthiest provinces, Guangzhou attracts farmers from
   the countryside looking for factory work. Cantonese links to overseas
   Chinese and beneficial tax reforms of the 1990s have aided the city's
   rapid growth.

   In 2000, Huadu and Panyu were merged into Guangzhou as districts, and
   Conghua and Zengcheng became county-level cities of Guangzhou.

Modern Guangzhou

Economy

   Guangzhou is the economic centre of the Pearl River Delta, placing it
   in the heart of one of mainland China's leading commercial and
   manufacturing regions.

   In 2005, the GDP per capita was ¥58,000 (about US $7,000), ranking the
   city third among 659 Chinese cities.

   The Chinese Export Commodities Fair, also called "Canton Fair", is held
   each spring and autumn by Bo Liu. Inaugurated in the spring of 1957,
   the Fair is a major event for the city.

Transportation

   The Guangzhou Metro station at Sun Yat-Sen University is among several
   stations that serve the city.
   Enlarge
   The Guangzhou Metro station at Sun Yat-Sen University is among several
   stations that serve the city.

   The Guangzhou Metro opened in 1999.

   Guangzhou's main airport is the New Baiyun International Airport in
   Huadu District, that opened on 5 August 2004 replacing old Baiyun
   International Airport close to the city centre.

   Guangzhou is connected to Hong Kong by train, bus and ferry services.
   Express trains arrive in Hong Kong at the Hung Hom KCR station. They
   cover the 182 km route in approximately two hours. Daily ferry sailings
   include an overnight steamer, which takes eight hours, and high-speed
   catamarans and hydrofoils which take three hours to reach the China
   Ferry Terminal or Macau Ferry Pier in Hong Kong.

Tourist attractions

     * Chenjiaci ( 陈家祠)
     * Guangdong Museum of Folk Handcraft
     * Shamian Island
     * Guangdong Provincial Museum
     * Museum of the Tomb of the King of Southern Yue in Western Han
       Dynasty
     * Temple of the Six Banyan Trees
     * Shishi Holy Heart Cathedral
     * Huaisheng Mosque

   Shishi Holy Heart Cathedral
   Enlarge
   Shishi Holy Heart Cathedral

Parks

     * Baiyun Mountain ( 白云山)
     * Lie shi ling yuan （ 烈士陵园）
     * Yue Xiu Park ( 越秀公园)

Significant buildings

     * Guangdong Olympic Stadium
     * CITIC Plaza
     * Sky Central Plaza
     * Guangdong TV Tower
     * Guangzhou TV Tower
     * China Hotel

   Plans are also underway to build what will become the world's tallest
   free-standing TV tower.

Culture

     * Cantonese (linguistics)
     * Cantonese cuisine
     * Cantonese opera

Education

   Temple of the Six Banyan Trees
   Enlarge
   Temple of the Six Banyan Trees

Major educational institutions

   National
     * Sun Yat-sen University (中山大学) (founded 1924)
     * South China University of Technology (华南理工大学)
     * Jinan University (暨南大学) (founded 1906)

   Public
     * Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (广东外语外贸大学)
     * South China Agricultural University (华南农业大学) (founded 1909)
     * Zhongkai Agrotechnical College (仲恺农业技术学院) (founded 1927)
     * South China Normal University (华南师范大学)
     * Guangzhou Medical College (广州医学院)
     * Guangzhou University of TCM (广州中医药大学)
     * Guangdong College of Pharmacy (广东药学院)
     * Guangdong University of Technology (广东工业大学)
     * Guangzhou University (广州大学)
     * Guangdong Business College (广东商学院)
     * Xinghai Conservatory of Music (星海音乐学院)
     * GuangDong Polytechnic Normal University (广东技术师范学院)
     * Guangzhou Physical Education Institute (广州体育学院)

   Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.

Sister cities

   Guangzhou is twinned with the following cities:
     * Japan Fukuoka, Japan (May, 1979)
     * United States Los Angeles, United States ( March 2, 1982)
     * Philippines Manila, Philippines (November, 1982)
     * Canada Vancouver, Canada (March, 1985)
     * Australia Sydney, Australia (May, 1986)
     * Italy Bari, Italy (November, 1986)
     * Germany Frankfurt am Main, Germany ( April 11, 1988)
     * France Lyon, France (November, 1988)
     * New Zealand Auckland, New Zealand, (February, 1989)
     * South Korea Gwangju, South Korea (October, 1996)
     * Sweden Linköping, Sweden (November, 1997)
     * South Africa Durban, South Africa (July, 2000)
     * United Kingdom Bristol, United Kingdom (May, 2001)
     * Russia Yekaterinburg, Russia ( July 10, 2002)
     * Peru Arequipa, Peru ( October 27, 2004)
     * United Kingdom Birmingham, United Kingdom (Dec, 2006)

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guangzhou"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
