Brief Introduction To Guandong Province

    Location: Facing the south China sea in the southernmost of China's continent, Guangdong Province constitutes the region through which South China's trade is primarily channeled. It is the province with the longest coastline in China. It has an area of 177,600 square kilometers. 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.

Shenzhen

    History: Guangdong was originally occupied by non-Han ethnic groups, and was 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 of the 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, coupled with increasing overseas trade through Guangzhou port, led to an increase in migration into Guangdong, and to the rise of Guangzhou as a metropolis 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 subdued Song dynasty. These migrations marked the beginning of the rapid cultural development of Guangdong. The population grew so fast that by the late 17 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 Southeast Asia and North America.

    Climate: Guangdong features tropical and sub-tropical climates. The average July temperature is little different from temperature on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the Yellow River, but the average January temperature is considerably higher, ranging from 13¡ãto 16¡ãC. The whole province almost lies within the area where two crops of rice can be grown a year.

    Population: Ethnic composition and distribution: Guangdong is largely dominated by
the Han people, with only a very small proportion of other ethnic minorities. The Yaos are concentrated principally near Guangdong's northwestern border in areas. The Shes live in the northeast.

Guangzhou

    Industry: Light industry has always been of significance in the province. Apart from
handicrafts, light industry -- especially food processing and the manufacture of textiles -- accounts considerablly the provincial industry. Sugar refining is centred in Guangzhou, Dongguan, Shunde, Jiangmen and Shantou, while silk filature (the reeling of silk from cocoons) and weaving are well developed in Guangzhou, Foshan and Shunde.

    Heavy industry include metal processing, the manufacture of machinery, shipbuilding and ship repairing, the production of hydroelectricity and mining.