GuangdongProvince,borderingontheSouthChinaSea,islocatedinthesouthernmostofChina’smainland.ItadjoinsFujianProvinceontheeast,JiangxiandHunanprovincesonthenorthandGuangxiZhuangAutonomousRegiononthewest,withHongKongandMacoulyingtoitssouthrespectivelyontheeastandwestbanksofthePearlRiverestury.Itcoversanareaofabout180,000squarekilometersoflandand420,000squarekilometersofseawithatotalpopulationof94,500,000.
Locatedonthesubtropicalzone,Guangdongenjoysamildclimateandarichrainfall,withanaverageannualtemperateof22.3℃centigradeandarainfallof1,700mm.
WithGuangzhouasitscapital,GuangdongProvincenowhasjurisdictionover21prefecture-levelcities,amongwhichShenzhen,ZhuhaiandShantouarethethreeearliest
EconomicSpecialZonesopenedtotheoutsideworld.Fourprefecturalcities-Chaozhou,Meizhou,FoshanandZhaoqin-enjoyareputationof“NationalHistoricalandCulturalCity”.Moreover,therearestill19citiesorcountiesthathavebeenawardedwiththehonorabletitleof“NationalExcellentTourismCity”.
DuringthePre-Qinperiod,GuangdongareawasinhabitedbytheNanYueethnicpeople.QinunifiedSouthChinain219A.D.andsetupGuilin,XiangjunandNanhaiprefectures.Today’sGuangzhouiswheretheNanhaiPrefecturewaslocated.
AtthebeginningoftheWesternHanDynasy,aformerQincommandinggeneral,ZhaoTuobyname,foundedthefirstlocalstateinthepresentdayGuangdongarea,theKingdomofNanyue,thuspromotingthefusionbetweentheHanandtheYueethnicsandacceleratingthesocial,economicandculturalprogressinSouthChina.UndertheWuKingdomoftheThreeKingdomsperiod,theregiontothenorthofHepuwasnamedGuangzhou,whichruledtheNanhai,ChangwuandYulinprefectures.Hence,thenameof“Guangzhou”cameintobeing.Atthattime,China’sforeigntradechannelstartingfromPanyuwasestablished,whichistheoriginoftheMaritimeSilkRoad.
InMingDynasty,Guangdongbecameoneofthe13provinces.TheearlyQingDynastyinheritedMing’ssystemandsetupGuangdongProvince.Thenameof“Guangdong”wasofficiallyadopted.ThegovernmentofQingestablishedGuangdongCustomsinGuangzhou,whichisthefirstofficialestablishmentofcustomsinthehistoryofourcountry.ThelateQingDynastywitnessedthebirthofnationalcapitalismandnationalindustry,andthe“WesternizationMovement”inwhichtheChinesepeoplelearnedfromtheWestinsearchofaroadofwealthandpower.WithKangYouweiandLiangQichaoastheleadingexponents,theBourgeoisreformistswrotebookstodisseminatetheirideasandpopularizetheirreformistthoughts,whichwere
graduallydevelopedintoapoliticalpractice,andeventuallyledtoacapitalistreformmovement.GuangdongisalsotheoriginalplaceofChina’smodernrevolution.SunYat-senfromXiangshancountyledandfoundedthefirstbourgeoispoliticalpartyinChina:theTongMeng
Hui(RevolutionaryLeague).HeledtheHuanghuaGangUprising,theLaw-ProtectingMovementandalsosuccessfullyachievedtheFirstCooperationoftheCommunistPartyandtheKuomintang.SunYat-senwashonoredas“theForerunnerofDemocraticRevolution”and“FatheroftheRepublicofChina”.
Sincethe1980s,Guangdong,aplacepropitiousforgivingbirthtogreatmen,wasthefirstprovincetoopentotheoutsideworldandquicklybecameoneofthemosteconomically
developedregionsinChina,withanaveragepercapitaGDPexceeding4000USdollars.People’slivingstandardforthetimereachedthecomparativelywell-offlevel.GuangzhouTradeFairs,establishedin1957andheldineveryAprilandOctober,isknownasthe“NO.1ExhibitionofChina”.
ThePearlRiverDeltatodayhasattainedfruitfulattainments.Ithasenteredaneweraofvigorousdevelopment.
Inthelongprocessofhistoricaldevelopment,theuniqueLingnan(theareacoveringGuangdongandGuangxi)culturehasformedaftertheexchange,clash,andfusionofvariouscultures.InGuangdongProvince,thereexistthreegroupsofpeople:Guangfu,Chao-shan,Kakka,whicharecorrespondingtoGuangfuculture,Chao-shancultureandKakkaculturerespectively.TheGuangfugroupappearedtheearliest,whichlivesinthePearlRiverDeltaandsomeothercountiesandcitiesinthemiddleandwestpartofGuangdongProvince.TheKakkagroupcanbestreflectthefusionandtransformationbetweenLingnancultureandCentralPlainculture.ItisdistributedmainlyoverMeizhouregion.TheKakkashaveinheritedthefinetraditionfromtheCentralPlainculture,suchaspracticingfrugality,self-esteemandself-reliance,showingrespecttoteachersandattachinggreatimportancetoeducation.TheChao-shangroupmainlylivesinChaozhouandShantou.Chao-shanpeopleareadventurous,innovativeandingenious.Thesignificantfeaturedistinguishingthethreegroupsistheirdifferentdialects,thatis,the
“Baihua”(theplainlanguage)basedonGuangzhoudialect,theKakkalanguagebasedonMeizhoudialectandtheChao-shanlanguagebasedonShantoulocaldialect.TheminoritiesofGuangdongaredistributedmainlyinplaceslikeLiannanandRuyuandistricts.LocalcustomssuchastheGetang(theSingingMeet)andtheWoodenHandleLionofYaonationality,theEighthofAprilFestivalandtheOxKingBirthdayCelebrationofZhuangnationality,aswellastheThirdofMarchFestivalandtheSecondofFebruaryFestivalofShenationalityareofuniqueflavor.AsavehicleofLingnanculture,thearchitecturesinGuangdongarealsodistinctive.FolkbuildingsuniquetotheregionallpresentdistinctLingnancharacteristics,forexample,theXiguanbighouseandthearcadedbuilding,theHakkacircularhouses;buildingsofsocialinstitutions,suchastheTempleofSouthChinaSeaGod,FoshanAncestralTemple,theChenFamilyTempleandthePanyuAcademy;buildingsofworldculturalheritagesuchastheKaipingwatchtowers,andbuildingsforcitydefensesuchastheXinhuiYanmenartilleryfortandtheGuangzhouZhenhaiTower.TheLingnangarden,representedbyQinghuiGarden,KeGardenand
YuyinshanfangGarden,togetherwithNorthernGardenandSuzhouGarden,arereputedasthe“threemajorlandscapegardensinChina.”
ThefolkcultureofGuangdonghasstrongregionalfeatures.TheCantoneseOpera,ChaoOperaandOperaarelocallypopular.TheLingnanartofpottedlandscapeandbonsaiisnumberedasoneofthefivemajorstylesinthecountry.Folkdance,dragondance,liondanceanddragonboatingalldisplayspecialLingnanflavors.GuangdongEmbroidery,togetherwithSuzhouEmbroidery,HunanEmbroideryandSichuanEmbroidery,isknownasoneofthefourfamousembroideriesinChina.Guangdongceramics,consistingofGuangzhoudecorativeporcelain,ShiwanpotteryandFengxiearthenware,hadfoundamarketoverseasasearlyastheTang
Dynasty.ThedelicateandexquisiteGuangdongcarving,includingivorycarving,jadecarvingandwoodcarving,attainstounrivalledworkmanship.SpecialcraftsofGuangdong,suchasDuanInk-stoneinZhaoqing,paper-cutandlion-headmakinginFoshan,palm-leafhandicraftinXinhuiandlacquerwareinYangjiang,boastalonghistoryandextremelyhighcraftsmanship.
GuangzhoucuisineisoneofthefourmajorcuisinesinChina.AsaChinesesayinggoes,“toenjoythebestthatlifehastooffer,onehastoeatinGuangdong”.GuangdongcuisineconsistsofGuangzhou,ChaozhouandDongjiangdishes.Guangzhoudishesarecharacterizedbybeinglight,fresh,tender,tastyandcrisp.Theyareparticularaboutcolor,aroma,tasteandappearance.Chaozhoudishesexcelinseafood,andespeciallyinsoup.Dongjiangdishes,alsoknownas
Hakkadishes,usingmuchmeatsforpreparation,tendtobegreasyandslightlysalty.Ofthem,themostspecialistheearthenwarepotcasserole.Apartfromthefourmajordishes,thegreatvarietyoflocaldelicaciesalsoenjoysgreatfamealloverChina.
ThenaturaltourismresourcesofGuangdongarealsovariedandmany.Amongthem,thereisMountDanxia,namedWorldGeologyParkbyUNESCO;YangchunLingxiaoCaveand
ZhaoqingSeven-starCrags,knownfortheirkarstlandform;Ten-mileSilverBeachonHailingIslandinYangjiangthathasenteredtheGuinnessRecordforitsexpanse;Nansha
Newly-reclaimedWetlandParkinGuangzhou,alarge-scalewetlandreserveformangrove;
ConghuaHotspring,EnpingHotspringandZhuhaiImperialHotspring,alleffectiveinstimulatingbloodcirculationandrelaxingmusclesandjoints,providingskincareandkeepingfit;Seven-starCragsandMountDinghu,listedinthefirstnationalplacesofinterest;famouswaterfallssuchasPanlongGorgeWaterfallinDeqing,BaishuizhaiWaterfallinZengCheng,MaweiWaterfallatMountDaxia;otherspecialscenicspotssuchastheSmallThreeGorgesofXijiangRiver,theHuangtengGorgeDriftinginQingyuan,theundergroundriverinLianzhou,theJurenVillageatXiema,andLingnanWaterCountryatMinzhong;andalargenumberofforestparksincludingLiuxiRiverForestPart,MountXiqiaoForestParkNanlingNationalForestPark,NankunshanForestPark,andShimenForestBathingPlace…
GuangdongisamajortourismprovinceinChina.In2008,itstourismincomewitnessedatotalof246.1billionRMByuan,accountingroughlyforonefourthofthegeneralnationaltourismincome.Overahundredmillioninboundtouristsvisitedtheprovinceinthisyear.With9.1billionUSdollarsofforeignexchangeearningsfromtourism,theprovincerankedfirstinthewholecountry.Accordingtothedatauptotheendof2008,thereareover6,900touristrestaurants,410,000guestrooms,and770,000bedsinthewholeprovince.Guangdongiscurrentlymakinggreatstridesinbuildingastrongtourismprovince.
Withitslonghistory,splendidculture,specialfolkcustoms,abundanttouristresources,itsfirst-ratemoderntouristfacilitiesandhospitablepeople,theGuangdongoftodayissuretostrikeyouasmorethanworthavisit!