Guangzhou, China

Location within China

CITIC Plaza

Guangzhou fireworks display at night

Guangzhou (Simplified Chinese: 广州; Traditional Chinese: 廣州; pinyin: Guǎngzhōu; Wade-Giles: Kuang-chou; Jyutping: Gwong2zau1; Yale: Gwóngjaū) is the capital of the Guangdong Province in southern China. Its international name was formerly Canton, after a French language corruption of Guangdong. As of 1999, the population of the city is about 4.05 million while the urban population is about 6.85 million.

Name

The Chinese abbreviation of Guangzhou is Sui (穗; pinyin: sùi; Jyutping: seoi6; Yale: seuīh). This city has the nicknames of Wuyangcheng (city of five rams), Yangcheng (city of rams), Huacheng (city of flowers), or Suicheng.

Canton, the French diplomatic romanisation for Europeans who could not understand ideographic characters at that time, when pronounced in French, is a closer oral rendering of the name in its original Cantonese. Guangdong is a Mandarin pronunciation of the Han ideographs.

Administration

Guangzhou has direct jurisdiction over ten districts: Yuexiu, Liwan, Haizhu, Tianhe, Baiyun, Huangpu, Huadu, Panyu, Nansha, and Luogang; and two county-level cities: Conghua, and Zengcheng.

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 was built in 214 BC, named Panyu (番禹; the locals pronounced this in Cantonese as Poon Yu) and has had a continuous occupation since that time.

In 206 BC, it became the capital of the Nanyue Kingdom (南越), and the city was expanded.

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

Guangzhou was sacked by Arabs ¹ and Persians 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. ³

During the Song Dynasty, Su Shi, a celebrated poet, visited Baozhuangyan Temple (founded in AD 537), and left in his handwriting "liu rong" (six banyan trees) to the temple; hence the name "Liu Rong Temple".

In 1711, the British East India Company established a trading post in Guangzhou.

1888 German map of Hong Kong, Macau, and Canton (now Guangzhou)

Guangzhou city map today

In 1760, the Qianlong Emperor restricted foreign traders to a district in Guangzhou under the Canton System.

Guangzhou was one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened by the Treaty of Nanjing (signed in 1842) at the end of the First Opium War between United Kingdom and China. The other ports were Fuzhou, Xiamen, Ningbo and Shanghai.

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 between October 12, 1938 and September 16, 1945.

Geography

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

Economy

The Pearl River Delta is one of mainland China's leading economic regions and a massive manufacturing centre.

The GDP per capita was ¥38568 (ca. US$4660) in 2003, ranked no. 8 among 659 Chinese cities.

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

Transportation

Guangzhou's main airport is Baiyun International Airport, a hub for China Southern Airlines. The New Baiyun International Airport in Huadu District opened on 5 August 2004.

The Guangzhou Metro opened in 1999.

Guangzhou is connected to Hong Kong by train and bus services. Express trains leave Hong Kong from the Hung Hom KCR station. They cover the 182km route in approximately two hours.

Culture

• Cantonese (linguistics)
• Cantonese cuisine
• Cantonese opera

Touristic highlights

• 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

Other buildings

• CITIC Plaza
• Guangdong TV Tower
• China Hotel

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

Sister Cities

Guangzhou keeps sister city relationships with the following cities:

• Fukuoka, Japan (May, 1979)
• Los Angeles, USA (March 2, 1982)
• Manila, Philippines (November, 1982)
• Vancouver, Canada (March, 1985)
• Sydney, Australia (May, 1986)
• Bali, Italy (November, 1986)
• Frankfurt am Main, Germany (April 11, 1988)
• Lyon, France (November, 1988)
• Auckland, New Zealand, (February, 1989)
• Kwangju, Korea (October, 1996)
• Linköping, Sweden (November, 1997)
• Durban, South Africa (July, 2000)
• Bristol, United Kingdom (May, 2001)
• Yekaterinburg, Russia (July 10, 2002)
• Arequipa, Peru (October 27, 2004)

Colleges and Universities

[National]

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

[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.

Astronomical phenomena

The previous total solar eclipse as seen from Guangzhou (downtown) was Solar eclipse of 1814-Jul-17 (July 17, 1814).

Footnotes

¹ Frank Welsh, A Borrowed Place: The History of Hong Kong, Maya Rao (editor), p. 13, ISBN 1568361343

² Joseph Needham, Science & Civilisation in China, 1, pp.179 - Cambridge University Press 1954

³ Sima Guang, Zizhi Tongjian, ch. 220.