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Facing the South China Sea in the southernmost of China, GuangDong Province constitutes the region
through which South China's trade is primarily channelled having the longest coastline in China. It has an area of
177,600 square kilometres.
It is bordered by the
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to the west, and by the provinces of HuNan and JiangXi to the north, and FuJian
Province to the northeast, and by HaiNan Province and the South China Sea to the south. Hong Kong and Macao are on the
coast of GuangDong.
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History: GuangDong originally home to non-Han ethnic groups, and first incorporated into the
Chinese Empire in 222 BC, when Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, conquered the area along the XiJiang
River and BeiJiang River valleys down to the ZhuJiang River Delta.
In 111 BC Emperor Wu, Han Dynasty, extended rule as far as to HaiNan Island. During the five
centuries of the Sui, Tang, and Northern Song dynasties from AD 581 to 1126, the military and agricultural settlement of
GuangDong, together with increasing overseas trade through GuangZhou port, led to an increase in migration into
GuangDong, and to the rise of GuangZhou as a metropolitan centre with a population of hundreds of thousands.
Two major southward thrust of the Han Chinese took place, one in 1126, when Jurchens captured
the Song capital, the other in 1279, when Mongols overtook Song dynasty. These migrations marked the beginning of the
rapid cultural development of GuangDong. The population grew so fast that by the late 17th Century, GuangDong had
already become an area from which emigration took place. Migrants from GuangDong moved first to Guangxi, Sichuan and
Taiwan and then in mid-19th century began to pour into South-east Asia and North America.
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Shenzhen - hotels reaching for the sky |
Climate: GuangDong features tropical and sub-tropical climates. The average July temperature is
similar to the temperatures of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the Yellow River. However, the average
January temperature is considerably higher, ranging from 13º-16ºC. The whole province almost lies within the area where
two crops of rice can be grown annually.
Population:
Ethnic composition and distribution: GuangDong is largely dominated by members of the Han ethnic group,
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Guangzhou - seemingly unlimited growth |
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with very small numbers from other ethnic minorities. The Yaos are concentrated principally near
GuangDong's north-western border in areas. The Shes live in the northeast.
Industry: Light industry has always been of significance in the province. Apart from
handicrafts, light industry, particularly food processing and textiles weaving, accounts substantially for industrial
activity. Sugar refining is centred in GuangZhou, DongGuan, Shunde, JiangMen and ShanTou, while silk filature (silk from
cocoons) and weaving are well developed in Guangzhou, FoShan and Shunde.
Heavy industry includes metal processing, machinery manufacture, shipbuilding and ship repair,
hydroelectric generation and mining.
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