Guangzhou - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Guangzhou known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong

Guangdong

Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China

South Central China

South Central China is a region of the People's Republic of China defined by governmental bureaus that includes the provinces of Guangdong, Hainan, Henan, Hubei, and Hunan, and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, however excluding the 2 special administrative regions : Hong Kong and...

on the Pearl River

Pearl River (China)

The Pearl River or less commonly, the "Guangdong River" or "Canton River" etc., , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name Pearl River is usually used as a catchment term to refer to the watersheds of the Xi Jiang , the Bei Jiang , and the Dong Jiang...

, about 120 km (74.6 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port

Port of Guangzhou

Port of Guangzhou is the main seaport of Guangzhou city, Guangdong province, China. The port is operated by Guangzhou Port Group Co. Ltd which is a state owned company. The company was established on February 26, 2004 from the former Guangzhou Harbor Bureau. It was approved by the Guangzhou...

. One of the five National Central Cities

National Central City

National central city was a concept proposed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the People's Republic of China in 2005 as a first step in reforming urbanization in China. National central cities are described as a group of cities in charge of leading, developing, performing...

, it holds sub-provincial administrative status.

Guangzhou is the third largest city in China and southern China's largest city. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 12.78 million. Some estimates place the population of the entire Pearl River Delta Mega City built up area as high as 40 million including Shenzhen (10.36 million), Dongguan (8.22 million) and most parts of Foshan (7.19 million), Jiangmen (4.45 million), Zhongshan (3.12 million) and a small part of Huizhou

Huizhou

Huizhou , historically known as Waichow, is a city located in central Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. Part of the Pearl River Delta, Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shaoguan to the north, Heyuan to the northeast, Shanwei to the east, Shenzhen...

adjoining Dongguan

Dongguan

Dongguan is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.An important industrial city located in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the south, and the Pearl River to...

and Shenzhen

Shenzhen

Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...

, with an area of about 20,000 km2 (about the size of US state of New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

).
In 2008 Guangzhou was identified as a Beta World City by the global city index produced by GaWC.

History

Guangzhou's earliest recorded name is Panyu , a name borrowed from two nearby mountains anciently called Pan and Yu. Its recorded history begins with China's conquering of the area during the Qin Dynasty

Qin Dynasty

The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...

. Panyu expanded when it became capital of the Nanyue

Nanyue

Nanyue was an ancient kingdom that consisted of parts of the modern Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan and northern Vietnam. Nanyue was established in 204 BC at the final collapse of the Qin Dynasty by Zhao Tuo, who was the military commander of Nanhai Commandery at the time, and...

Kingdom (南越) in 206 BC, the territory of the Nanyue Kingdom included what is now Vietnam.

The Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

annexed the Nanyue Kingdom in 111 BC and Panyu became a provincial capital and remains so today. In 226 AD, Panyu became the seat of Guang Prefecture (廣州; Guangzhou). While originally referring to prefecture only, local citizens gradually adopted the custom of using the same name for their city.

Although 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 Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

. . Today, Panyu is a district of Guangzhou south of Haizhu District separated from the rest of the city by the Pearl River

Pearl River (China)

.

Arab and Persian

Persian people

The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...

pirate

Piracy

Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...

s sacked Guangzhou (known to them as Sin-Kalan) in AD 758, according to a local Guangzhou government report on October 30, 758, which corresponded to the day of Guisi (癸巳) of the ninth lunar

Chinese calendar

The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, incorporating elements of a lunar calendar with those of a solar calendar. It is not exclusive to China, but followed by many other Asian cultures as well...

month in the first year of the Qianyuan era

Chinese era name

A Chinese era name is the regnal year, reign period, or regnal title used when traditionally numbering years in an emperor's reign and naming certain Chinese rulers . Some emperors have several era names, one after another, where each beginning of a new era resets the numbering of the year back...

of Emperor Suzong

Emperor Suzong of Tang

Emperor Suzong of Tang , personal name Li Heng , né Li Sisheng , known as Li Jun from 725 to 736, known as Li Yu from 736 to 738, known briefly as Li Shao in 738, was an emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the son of Emperor Xuanzong...

of the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

. The Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

historian Abu Zayd Hasan of Siraf

Siraf

Siraf is a city in the Central District of Kangan County, Bushehr Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 3,500, in 722 families....

reports that in 878 followers of the Chinese rebel leader Huang Chao

Huang Chao

Huang Chao was the leader of the Huang Chao Rebellion , known in mainland China as the Huang Chao Revolution in China that seriously weakened the once mighty Tang Dynasty of China...

besieged the city and massacred a large number of foreign merchants resident there.

From the tenth to twelfth century, Persian

Persian people

women were to be found in Guangzhou. Multiple women originating from the Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

lived in Guangzhou's foreign quarter. Some scholars did not differentiate between Persian and Arab

Arab

, and some say that the Chinese called all women coming from the Persian Gulf "Persian Women".

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the celebrated poet Su Shi

Su Shi

Su Shi , was a writer, poet, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, gastronome, and statesman of the Song Dynasty, and one of the major poets of the Song era. His courtesy name was Zizhan and his pseudonym was Dongpo Jushi , and he is often referred to as Su Dongpo...

(Shisu) visited Guangzhou's Baozhuangyan Temple

Temple of the Six Banyan Trees

The Temple of the Six Banyan Trees is an ancient Buddhist temple originally built in 537 in the Liang Dynasty in Guangzhou, southern China....

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 6 Banyan Trees.

The Portuguese

Portuguese discoveries

Portuguese discoveries is the name given to the intensive maritime exploration by the Portuguese during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of European overseas exploration, discovering and mapping the coasts of Africa, Asia and Brazil, in what become known as the...

were the first Europeans to arrive in Guangzhou by sea in 1514, establishing a monopoly on the external trade out of its harbour

Harbor

A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...

by 1517. They were later expelled from their settlements in Guangzhou (Cantão in Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

), but instead granted use of Macau

Macau

Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...

as a trade base with the city in 1557. They would keep a near monopoly on foreign trade in the region until the arrival of the Dutch in the early 17th century.

It is believed that the romanisation

Romanization

In linguistics, romanization or latinization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Roman script, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system . Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written...

"Canton" originated from the Portuguese

Portuguese language

Cantão, which was transcribed from Guangdong

Guangdong

Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

. Nevertheless, because at the time of the Portuguese arrival

Portuguese discoveries

, the capital city had no specific appellation other than Shaang2 Sheng4(省城, lit. the provincial capital) by its people, the province name was adopted for the walled city by the Europeans. The etymology of Canton, as well as the similar pronunciation with the province name Guangdong might have partly contributed to the recent confusion of Canton and Guangdong by certain English speakers. However, definitive English lexica, such as Merriam–Webster

Merriam-Webster

Merriam–Webster, which was originally the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is an American company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language .Merriam-Webster Inc. has been a...

's Dictionary, American Heritage Dictionary

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language is an American dictionary of the English language published by Boston publisher Houghton Mifflin, the first edition of which appeared in 1969...

and Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English do not list 'Guangdong' as a synonym (or variant) under 'Canton'.

After China gained control of Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

in 1683, the Qing government became more open to foreign trade. Guangzhou quickly emerged as one of the most suitable ports for international trade and before long ships arrived from all over the world.

The Portuguese in Macau

Portuguese Empire

The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...

, the Spanish in Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

, Arabs from the Middle East and Muslims from India were already actively trading in the port by the 1690s, when the French and English began frequenting the port through the Canton System

Canton System

The Canton System served as a means for China to control trade with the west within its own country. Seen from the European view, it was a complement to the Old China Trade.-History:...

.

Other companies were soon to follow: the Ostend General India company

Ostend Company

The Imperial Ostend Company was an Austrian private trading company established in 1717 to trade with the East and West Indies. For a few years it provided strong competition to the traditional colonial trading companies...

in 1717; Dutch East India Company

Dutch East India Company

The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...

in 1729; the first Danish ship in 1731, which was followed by a Danish Asiatic Company ship in 1734; the Swedish East India Company

Swedish East India Company

The Swedish East India Company was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with the Far East...

in 1732; followed by an occasional Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

n and Trieste Company ship; the Americans in 1784; and the first ships from Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

in 1788.
By the middle of the 18th century, Guangzhou had emerged as one of the world's great trading ports under the Thirteen Factories

Thirteen Factories

The Thirteen Factories was an area of Canton , China, where the first foreign trade was allowed in the 18th century since the hai jin ban on maritime activities...

, which was a distinction it maintained until the outbreak of the First Opium War

First Opium War

The First Anglo-Chinese War , known popularly as the First Opium War or simply the Opium War, was fought between the United Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty of China over their conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of justice...

in 1839 and the opening of other ports in China in 1842. The privilege during this period made Guangzhou one of the top 3 cities in the world. During the war, the British captured Canton on March 18, 1841. The Second Battle of Canton was fought in May 1841.

The plague epidemic – part of the Third Pandemic

Third Pandemic

Third Pandemic is the designation of a major Bubonic plague pandemic that began in the Yunnan province in China in 1855. This episode of bubonic plague spread to all inhabited continents, and ultimately killed more than 12 million people in India and China alone...

– have reached Guangzhou in 1894, causing the death of 60,000 people in a few weeks. In 1918, the city's urban council was established and "Guangzhou" became the official name of the city. Panyu became a county's name to the southern side of Guangzhou.

In both 1930 and 1953, Guangzhou was promoted to the status of a Municipality, but each time promotion was rescinded within a year.

Japanese troops occupied Guangzhou from October 12, 1938, to September 16, 1945, after violent bombings. In the city, the Imperial Japanese Army

Imperial Japanese Army

-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...

conducted bacteriological research unit 8604

Unit 8604

Unit 8604 or Nami Unit was a secret military medical unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that researched biological warfare and other topics through human experimentation during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II era...

, a section of unit 731

Unit 731

was a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that undertook lethal human experimentation during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. It was responsible for some of the most notorious war crimes carried out by Japanese...

, where Japanese doctors experimented on human prisoners.

After the fall of the capital Nanjing in April 1949, the Nationalist government under the acting president Li Zongren

Li Zongren

Li Zongren or Li Tsung-jen , courtesy name Delin , was a prominent Guangxi warlord and Kuomintang military commander during the Northern Expedition, Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War...

relocated to Guangzhou.

Communist forces entered the city on October 14, 1949. This led the nationalists to blow up the Haizhu Bridge

Haizhu Bridge

Haizhu Bridge is an iron bridge across the Pearl River in Guangzhou, China.The bridge runs from Haizhu Square in the Yuexiu District, and south towards Jiangnan Avenue in the Haizhu District....

as the major link across the Pearl River and to the acting president's leaving for New York, whereas Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

set up the capital for the Nationalist government in Chongqing again. The urban renewal projects of the new communist government improved the lives of some residents. New housing on the shores of the Pearl River provided homes for the poor boat people. Reforms by Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...

, who came to power in the late 1970s, led to rapid economic growth due to the city's close proximity to Hong Kong

Hong Kong

and access to the Pearl River.

As labor costs increased in Hong Kong, manufacturer

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...

s opened new plants in the cities of Guangdong

Guangdong

Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

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

Huadu District

Huadu District is a district in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is located in the far northern suburbs of Guangzhou.Xinhua Town is the seat of local government, and of the district CCP committee....

and Panyu were merged into Guangzhou as districts, and Conghua

Conghua

Conghua , historically known as Tsungfa, is a County-level city in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.-External links:*...

and Zengcheng

Zengcheng

Zengcheng , historically known as Tsengshing , is a County-level city in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.It is known for the production of blue jeans. In June 2011 it was the scene of a riot of migrant workers.-External links:*...

became county-level cities of Guangzhou.

Geography

Located in the south-central portion of Guangdong, Guangzhou spans from 112° 57' to 114° 03' E longitude and 22° 26' to 23° 56' N latitude. The city is part of the Pearl River Delta

Pearl River Delta

The Pearl River Delta , Zhujiang Delta or Zhusanjiao in Guangdong province, People's Republic of China is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea...

and the city centre is situated next to the Baiyun Mountain

Baiyun Mountain

Baiyun Mountain is a mountain near Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province in China.-History:The name of the mountain derives from the view of peaks shrouded by white clouds in late Spring or when the sky clears after rain, Baiyun Mountain has been a scenic spot since ancient times...

, which is locally referred to as ‘the lung of the city’ (市肺). The total area under the city's administration is 7434.4 sqkm, with the 10 districts occupying 3843.43 sqkm, or 51.7% of the total, while the two county-level cities occupy the rest.

The elevation of the prefecture generally increases from southwest to northeast, with mountains forming the backbone of the city, and the ocean comprising the front.

Climate

Located just south of the Tropic of Cancer

Tropic of Cancer

The Tropic of Cancer, also referred to as the Northern tropic, is the circle of latitude on the Earth that marks the most northerly position at which the Sun may appear directly overhead at its zenith...

, Guangzhou has a humid subtropical climate

Humid subtropical climate

A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...

(Köppen

Köppen climate classification

The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...

Cfa) influenced by the Asian monsoon. Summers are wet with high temperatures, high humidity and a high heat index

Heat index

The heat index is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity in an attempt to determine the human-perceived equivalent temperature — how hot it feels, termed the felt air temperature. The human body normally cools itself by perspiration, or sweating, which evaporates and carries...

. Winters are mild and comparatively dry. Guangzhou has a lengthy monsoon

Monsoon

Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...

season, spanning from April through September. Monthly averages range from 13.6 °C (56.5 °F) in January to 28.6 °C (83.5 °F) in July, while The annual average temperature in Guangzhou is 22.6 °C (72.7 °F), the relative humidity is approximately 68%, whereas annual rainfall

Precipitation (meteorology)

In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...

in the metropolitan area is over 1700 mm (66.9 in). Extreme temperatures have ranged from 0 °C (32 °F) to 39.1 °C (102.4 °F). The last recorded snowfall in the city was in January 1893.

Administrative divisions

Guangzhou is a sub-provincial city. It has direct jurisdiction over ten districts

District (China)

The term district, in the context of China, is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China....

(区 qu) and two county-level cities

County-level city

A county-level city is a county-level administrative division of mainland China. County-level cities are usually governed by prefecture-level divisions, but a few are governed directly by province-level divisions....

(市 shi) :

#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin		Area (km²)	Density (/km²)

Central districts				7,727,163	1,166.37	6,625
1	Yuexiu District Yuexiu District Yuexiu District is a district in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It was located at the west of Tianhe District and the east of Liwan District. It was the commercial, political and cultural centre of Guangdong province. The area is famous for its high quality education. The Guangdong provincial...	越秀区	Yuèxiù Qū	1,157,277	33.80	34,239
2	Liwan District Liwan District -History:Formerly named Xiguan, Liwan District was named after "Lizhiwan", which is derived from poem of "a bay of green water and red litchis along both banks". It covers an area of 16.2 km² and has a permanent population of about 540,000 and a permanent nonnative population of over 200,000...	荔湾区	Lìwān Qū	898,204	59.10	15,198
3	Haizhu District	海珠区	Hǎizhū Qū	1,558,663	90.40	17,242
4	Tianhe District	天河区	Tiānhé Qū	1,432,431	96.33	14,870
5	Baiyun District	白云区	Báiyún Qū	2,222,658	795.79	2,793
6	Huangpu District Huangpu District, Guangzhou Huangpu District is one of the ten districts in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.-History:...	黄埔区	Huángpù Qū	457,930	90.95	5,035
New districts				3,343,491	2,677.06	1,249
7	Panyu District	番禺区	Pānyú Qū	1,764,869	786.15	2,245
8	Huadu District Huadu District Huadu District is a district in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is located in the far northern suburbs of Guangzhou.Xinhua Town is the seat of local government, and of the district CCP committee....	花都区	Huādū Qū	945,053	970.04	974
9	Nansha District Nansha District Nansha District is a district in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.-External links:*...	南沙区	Nánshā Qū	259,899	527.65	493
10	Luogang District Luogang District Luogang District is a district in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.-External links:*...	萝岗区	Luógāng Qū	373,670	393.22	950
County-level cities				1,630,146	3,590.97	454
11	Zengcheng Zengcheng Zengcheng , historically known as Tsengshing , is a County-level city in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.It is known for the production of blue jeans. In June 2011 it was the scene of a riot of migrant workers.-External links:*...	增城市	Zēngchéng Shì	1,036,731	1,616.47	641
12	Conghua Conghua Conghua , historically known as Tsungfa, is a County-level city in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.-External links:*...	从化市	Cónghuà Shì	593,415	1,974.50	301
Total				12,700,800	7,434.40	1,708

As of April 28, 2005, the districts of Dongshan

Yuexiu District

Yuexiu District is a district in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It was located at the west of Tianhe District and the east of Liwan District. It was the commercial, political and cultural centre of Guangdong province. The area is famous for its high quality education. The Guangdong provincial...

and Fangcun have been abolished and merged into Yuexiu

Yuexiu District

and Liwan

Liwan

Liwan is a word used since ancient times into the present to refer to a long narrow-fronted hall or vaulted portal found in Levantine homes that is often open to the outside...

respectively; at the same time the district of Nansha

Nansha District

Nansha District is a district in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.-External links:*...

was established out of parts of Panyu, and the district of Luogang

Luogang District

Luogang District is a district in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.-External links:*...

was established out of parts of Baiyun, Tianhe, and Zengcheng

Zengcheng

, plus a part of Huangpu

Huangpu District, Guangzhou

Huangpu District is one of the ten districts in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.-History:...

, making an exclave next to Huangpu.

Development plan

In January 2009 the National People's Congress

National People's Congress

The National People's Congress , abbreviated NPC , is the highest state body and the only legislative house in the People's Republic of China. The National People's Congress is held in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, capital of the People's Republic of China; with 2,987 members, it is the...

approved a development plan for the Pearl River Delta Region

Pearl River Delta

. On March 19, 2009 the Guangzhou Municipal Government and Foshan Municipal Government

Foshan

Foshan is a city in central Guangdong province in southern China. The prefectural area under the city's jurisdiction over an area of about 3,840 km² and a population of 5.4 million of which 1.1 million reside in the city proper ....

both agreed to establish a framework to merge the two cities.

Significant buildings

Guangdong Olympic Stadium
Guangdong Olympic Stadium
The Guangdong Olympic Stadium, also known as the Aoti Main Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. Currently used mostly for football matches, the stadium was built in 2001...

(广东奥林匹克体育场)
CITIC Plaza
CITIC Plaza
CITIC Plaza is a skyscraper built in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. Its structural height is 391 m 80 stories including two tall antenna-like spires on the top. Completed in 1997, it is the tallest concrete building in the world...

(中信广场)
Canton Tower (广州塔)
Guangzhou Opera House
Guangzhou Opera House
Guangzhou Opera House is a newly constructed Chinese opera house in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.-History:In April 2002 an International Architectural Competition attracted Coop Himmelbau, Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid - each producing detailed designs...

(广州大剧院)
Guangzhou TV Tower
Guangzhou TV Tower
Guangzhou Tower is a lattice telecommunication tower in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou with an observation deck, erected in 1991.A newer tower was completed in Guangzhou in October 2010, named Canton Tower that initially bore the name Guangzhou TV and Sightseeing Tower. It features...

(广州电视塔)
Pearl River Tower
Pearl River Tower
The Pearl River Tower is a clean technology skyscraper under construction at the junction of Jinsui Road/Zhujiang Avenue West, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China. The tower's architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill with Adrian D. Smith and Gordon Gill as...

(珠江大厦)
West Tower/Guangzhou International Finance Centre (西塔 or 广州国际金融中心)

Economy

Guangzhou is the main manufacturing hub of the Pearl River Delta

Pearl River Delta

, one of mainland China

Mainland China

Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...

's leading commercial and manufacturing regions. In 2009, the GDP reached ¥911.28 billion (US $133.5 billion), per capita was ¥89,498 (US $13,111).

The China Import and Export Fair

Canton Fair

The Canton Fair is a trade fair held in the spring and autumn seasons each year since the spring of 1957 in Canton , China.The Fair is co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of China and People's Government of Guangdong Province, and organized by China Foreign Trade Centre.Its full name since 2007...

, also called "Canton Fair", is held every year in April and October by Ministry of Trading. Inaugurated in the spring of 1957, the Fair is a major event for the city. From the 104th session, Liuhua Complex is not in use to hold Canton Fair. All the booths have been transferred to Pazhou Complex. From the 104th session, Canton Fair has been arranged in 3 phases instead of 2 phases.

Industrial zones

Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone
Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone
Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone is one of the first national economic development zones in China.-History:...

Guangzhou Nansha Export Processing Zone

The zone was founded in 2005. Its total planned area is 1.36 km² (0.525098935685848 sq mi). It is located in Nansha District and it belongs to the provincial capital, Guangzhou. The major industries encouraged in the zone include auto-mobile assembly, biotechnology and heavy industry. It is situated near to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Shenzhen Port.

Guangzhou Free Trade Zone

The zone was founded in 1992. It is located in the east of Huangpu District and located near to Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone. It is situated very close to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport. The major industries encouraged in the zone include international trade, logistics, processing industry and computer software.

Malls and pedestrian streets

101 Dynamics
Beijing Lu
China Plaza
Jiangnanxi
Liwan Plaza
Shangxiajiu
Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street
Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street , or in short form Shangxiajiu , it is also known as Beijing Lu , is a commercial pedestrian street in Liwan District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China...
Tee Mall
Victory Plaza
Victory Plaza
The Victory Plaza is a complex of two towers in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China. The Victory Plaza Tower A is 52 floors and Victory Plaza Tower B is 36 floors. Construction of the Victory Plaza was completed in 2007.-Tenants:...
Wanguo Plaza
Zhengjia Square

Transportation

Guangzhou Metro

When the first line of the Guangzhou Metro

Guangzhou Metro

Guangzhou Metro is the metro system of the city of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province of China. It is operated by the state-owned Guangzhou Metro Corporation and was the fourth metro system to be built in mainland China, after those of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.The earliest effort of preparation...

opening in 1997, Guangzhou was the fourth city in Mainland China

Mainland China

to have an underground railway system, behind Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, Tianjin

Tianjin

' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...

and Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

. Currently the underground network is made up of eight lines, covering a total length of 236 km (146.6 mi). A long term plan is to make the city's underground system expand over 500 km (310.7 mi) by 2020 with 15 lines in operation.

The existing eight lines of Guangzhou Metro

Guangzhou Metro

network:

Line 1
Line 1, Guangzhou Metro
Line 1 of the Guangzhou Metro or Zhongshanlu Line runs from Xilang to Guangzhou East Railway Station .Apart from Kengkou and Xilang, all stations in Line 1 are underground. Line 1's color is yellow....

: Guangzhou East Railway Station
Guangzhou East Railway Station (metro)
Guangzhou East Railway Station is an interchange station between Lines 1 and 3 of the Guangzhou Metro. It is located at the underground of Guangzhou East Railway Station in Linhe Zhonglu , Tianhe District...

–Xilang Station
Xilang Station
Xilang Station , formerly Guanggang Station because of nearby Guangzhou Iron and Steel's headquarter when planning, is a terminus of Line 1 of the Guangzhou Metro and Guangfo Line . It started operations in 28 June 1997. It was situated at the underground of Huadi Avenue South in Fangcun, Liwan...
Line 2
Line 2, Guangzhou Metro
Line 2 of the Guangzhou Metro or Jiahe Line is a north-south line on the system that runs from Jiahewanggang to Guangzhou South Railway Station, with a total length of 31.4 km with 24 stations. All stations in Jiahe Line are underground...

: Jiahewanggang Station–Guangzhou South Railway Station
Line 3
Line 3, Guangzhou Metro
Line 3 of the Guangzhou Metro or Southern-Northern Express Line is a 67.3-kilometer Y-shape line connecting Tianhe Coach Terminal to Panyu Square. Currentl all stations are underground...
- Main route: Tianhe Coach Terminal Station
  Tianhe Coach Terminal Station
  Tianhe Coach Terminal Station is a terminus of Line 3 of the Guangzhou Metro. It started operations in 30 December 2006. It is located at the underground of the junction of Tianyuan Road and Guangzhou North Ring Expressway in Tianhe District...
  
  –Panyu Square Station
  Panyu Square Station
  Panyu Square Station is a terminus of Line 3 of the Guangzhou Metro. It started operations on 28 December 2006. It is located at the underground of the junction of Donghuan Road and Qinghe Road East in Shiqiao Subdistrict , the capital of Panyu District...
  
  via Tiyu Xilu Station
- Spur line: Airport South Station
  Airport South Station (Guangzhou)
  Airport South Station is a metro station of Line 3 on the Guangzhou Metro. The station is located directly below the terminal building of Baiyun Airport and unlike other metro stations in Guangzhou, does not have independent entrances or exits on the ground level, but instead being equipped with...
  
  –Tiyu Xilu Station
Line 4
Line 4, Guangzhou Metro
Line 4 of the Guangzhou Metro or Nansha Line is a north-south line on the system that runs between Huangcun and Jinzhou stations, spanning a total of 43.7 km with 16 stations. It will eventually run from the Guangzhou Science Town to Nansha. The section of the line from Huangcun to Xinzao is...

: Huangcun Station–Jinzhou Station
Line 5
Line 5, Guangzhou Metro
Line 5 of the Guangzhou Metro or Huanshilu Line runs from Liwan District to Huangpu District. It starts at Jiaokou and ends at Wenchong. The total length is 31.9 km. Line 5's color is red. Huangpu Line began operation on December 28, 2009 from Jiaokou to Wenchong.-Huanshi Line...

: Jiaokou Station
Jiaokou Station
Jiaokou Station is an elevated terminus of Guangzhou Metro Line 5 in Guangzhou, China. It is located at Fongcun Dadao Xi near Jiaokou Coach Terminal in Fangcun, Liwan District. It opened on 28 December 2009.-Station layout:...

–Wenchong Station
Wenchong Station
Wenchong Station , formerly Wenyuan Station , is a terminus of Guangzhou Metro Line 5 in Guangzhou, China. It is located at the underground of the junction of Dashadi Donglu and Shihua Lu , in Huangpu District. It opened in December 2009. Line 5 is planned to be extended from Wenchong Station to...
Line 8
Line 8, Guangzhou Metro
Line 8 of the Guangzhou Metro or Pazhou Line is an east-west line on the system that runs from Fenghuang Xincun to Wanshengwei, spanning a total of 14.8km with 13 stations. It interchanges with Line 2 at Changgang, Line 3 at Kecun and Line 4 at Wanshengwei. All stations on Line 8 are underground...

: Fenghuang Xincun Station–Wanshengwei Station
Wanshengwei Station
Wanshengwei Station is an interchange station between Lines 4 and 8 of the Guangzhou Metro, and also the terminus of Line 8. It started operations on 26 December 2005...
Guangfo Line
Guangfo Metro
Guangfo Metro , Guangfo Line , or Line 1 of the FMetro is a subway line that connects the Chinese cities Foshan and Guangzhou. The line is currently 20 km long and has 14 stations, which are all underground. When the line is completed, it will have 32.2 km of tracks and 21 stations, of...

: Xilang Station
Xilang Station
Xilang Station , formerly Guanggang Station because of nearby Guangzhou Iron and Steel's headquarter when planning, is a terminus of Line 1 of the Guangzhou Metro and Guangfo Line . It started operations in 28 June 1997. It was situated at the underground of Huadi Avenue South in Fangcun, Liwan...

–Kuiqi Lu Station
APM: Linhexi Station
Linhexi Station
Linhexi Station , literally means Linhe Road West Station, which is an interchange station of Line 3 and Zhujiang New Town Automated People Mover Systems of the Guangzhou Metro. It started operations in 26 December 2005. It is located at the underground of the junction of Tianhe Road North and...

–Chigang Pagoda Station
Chigang Pagoda Station
Chigang Pagoda Station is an interchange station on Line 3 and Zhujiang New Town Automated People Mover Systems of the Guangzhou Metro. It started operations on 28 December 2005...

Buses, taxis and motorcyles

in 2010 Guangzhou introduced the second largest Bus Rapid Transit

Bus rapid transit

Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...

system in use, after Bogota

Bogotá

Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...

's TransMilenio

TransMilenio

TransMilenio is a bus rapid transit system that serves Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. The system opened to the public in December 2000, covering Av. Caracas and Calle 80...

, the Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit

Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit

Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit is the bus rapid transit system of the city of Guangzhou in the People's Republic of China. Its first line was put into operation on 10 February 2010. It handles approximately 1,000,000 passenger trips daily with a peak passenger flow of 26,900 pphpd...

(or GBRT). The 22.5 km (13.98 mi) line currently handles more than 800.000 passengers per day, and has through-running with the city's wider bus system. Several future extensions are planned.

According to a report on the China Daily

China Daily

The China Daily is an English language daily newspaper published in the People's Republic of China.- Overview :China Daily was established in June 1981 and has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in the country...

of July 6, 2007, all buses and taxis in Guangzhou will be LPG-fueled by 2010 to promote clean energy for transport and improve the environment. At present, Guangzhou is the city that uses the most LPG-fueled vehicles in the world. As of the end of 2006, 6,500 buses and 16,000 taxis were using LPG, taking up 85% of all buses and taxis.

Effective January 1, 2007, the municipal government has banned motorcycles in urban areas. Motorcycles found violating the ban will be confiscated. The Guangzhou traffic bureau claimed to have reported reduced traffic problems and accidents in the downtown area since the ban.

Air transport

Guangzhou's main airport is the Baiyun International Airport

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is the main airport of Guangzhou, the capital of the province of Guangdong, People's Republic of China. Both airport codes were inherited from the previous Guangzhou airport, and the IATA code reflects Guangzhou's former romanization Canton...

in Huadu District

Huadu District

Huadu District is a district in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is located in the far northern suburbs of Guangzhou.Xinhua Town is the seat of local government, and of the district CCP committee....

opened on August 5, 2004. This airport is also the 2nd busiest airport in terms of traffic movements in China. It replaced the old Baiyun International Airport, which was very close to the city centre and failed to meet the fast-growing air traffic demand.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport now has two runways, with three more planned to be built.

Railway transport

Guangzhou now has the JingGuang railway (Beijing

Beijing

-Guangzhou), the GuangShen railway (Guangzhou-Shenzhen

Shenzhen

), the GuangMao railway (Guangzhou-Maoming

Maoming

Maoming is located in southwestern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. Facing the South China Sea to the city's south, Maoming city neighbors Zhanjiang in the west and is from Guangzhou and from Zhanjiang. The Maoming Port is a Grade I port that handled 16.8 million tons of cargo in...

) and the GuangMeiShan railway (Guangzhou-Meizhou

Meizhou

-Administration:The municipal government, Intermediate Court and CPC and PSB bureaux are housed in the district of Jiangnan , on the right bank of Meijiang River.A second district of Meizhou is Jiangbei , on the left bank...

-Shantou

Shantou

Shantou , historically known as Swatow or Suátao, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, with a total population of 5,391,028 as of 2010 and an administrative area of...

). In late 2009, the Wuhan–Guangzhou High-Speed Railway

Wuhan–Guangzhou High-Speed Railway

The Wuguang High-Speed Railway , short for Beijing–Guangzhou High-Speed Railway, Wuhan–Guangzhou Section, is a high-speed rail line, operated by China Railway High-speed , connecting Wuhan and Guangzhou , in the People's Republic of China...

started its service, which enables Multiple unit to cover 980 km (608.95 mi) at an average speed of 320 km/h. In January 2011, the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Railway started its service at an average speed of 200 km/h (124 mph).

Intercity transport to Hong Kong

Guangzhou is well connected to Hong Kong

Hong Kong

by train, coach and ferry. The Guangdong Through Train departs from the Guangzhou East railway station

Guangzhou East railway station

Guangzhou East Railway Station serves the city of Guangzhou, China. It is located in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China....

(广州东站) and arrive at the Hung Hom KCR station in Kowloon, Hong Kong

Kowloon

Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...

. The route is approximately 182 km (113.1 mi) in length and the ride takes less than two hours. Frequent coach services are also provided with coaches departing every day from different locations (mostly major hotels) around the city.

River transport

There are daily high-speed catamaran

Catamaran

A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...

services between Nansha Ferry Terminal and Lianhua Shan Ferry Terminal in Guangzhou and the Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal

Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal

Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal is a ferry terminal, located at China Hong Kong City, 33 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is one of three cross-border ferry terminals in Hong Kong....

, as well as between Nansha Ferry Terminal and Macau Ferry Pier in Hong Kong.

Local products

Canton Province Sculpture is legendary and includes Guangzhou Ivory Carvings, Jade Sculpture, Wood Sculpture and Olive Sculpture.
Cantonese Enamel includes Guangzhou Colorful Pottery. It has a history of over 300 years.
Cantonese Embroidery, namely "Yue 粤 Embroidery" (meaning literally "Guangdong embroidery")is one of the Four Famous Chinese Embroideries together with Su Embroidery, Xiang Embroidery and Shu Embroidery.
Canton Province Bacon is the general designation of cured meat in the Guangzhou and surrounding areas.
Zhujiang Beer (Pearl River Beer)

Culture

According to the official People's Daily newspaper, Cantonese

Cantonese

Cantonese is a dialect spoken primarily in south China.Cantonese may also refer to:* Yue Chinese, the Chinese language that includes Cantonese* Cantonese cuisine, the cuisine of Guangdong province...

is the first language for half of the 14 million residents of the provincial capital Guangzhou, while the other half speak mainly Mandarin. Other languages such as Hakka are spoken in significant numbers as well.

Cantonese
Cantonese
Cantonese is a dialect spoken primarily in south China.Cantonese may also refer to:* Yue Chinese, the Chinese language that includes Cantonese* Cantonese cuisine, the cuisine of Guangdong province...
Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine comes from Guangdong Province in southern China and is one of 8 superdivisions of Chinese cuisine. Its prominence outside China is due to the great numbers of early emigrants from Guangdong. Cantonese chefs are highly sought after throughout the country...
Cantonese opera
Cantonese opera
Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Cantonese culture. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia. Like all versions of Chinese opera, it is a traditional Chinese art form, involving music, singing,...
Cantonese people
Cantonese people
The Cantonese people are Han people whose ancestral homes are in Guangdong, China. The term "Cantonese people" would then be synonymous with the Bun Dei sub-ethnic group, and is sometimes known as Gwong Fu Jan for this narrower definition...
Guangdong music (genre)
Guangdong music (genre)
Guangdong music, also known as Cantonese music is a style of traditional Chinese instrumental music from Guangzhou and surrounding areas in Pearl River Delta of Guangdong Province on the southern coast of China. The name of the music is not an accurate description because Guangdong music is not...
Guangzhou Opera House
Guangzhou Opera House
Guangzhou Opera House is a newly constructed Chinese opera house in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.-History:In April 2002 an International Architectural Competition attracted Coop Himmelbau, Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid - each producing detailed designs...
Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra
Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra
The Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra is based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. It was founded in 1957.The orchestra's current artistic director is Long Yu...
Xiguan
Xiguan
Xiguan or Sai Kwan is a traditional geographical division of Guangzhou, China. It is situated in Liwan District. The north of the area reaches Xicun and it borders on Renmin Lu eastwards. And Pearl River lies on its west and south. The area outside the west gate of Guangzhou is collectively...

Religions

Huaisheng Mosque is among the oldest mosques in China. Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

has remained the most influential religion in the life of Guangzhou people.

Guangzhou has a Jewish

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

community, Guangzhou Buddhist Association, and Guangzhou Daoist Association. There is official pressure against underground churches in Guangzhou.

Eight Sights of Guangzhou

The Eight Sights of Guangzhou are the 8 most famous tourist attractions listed by rulers in different ages. The followings are those chosen through public appraisal and brought out in 2011.

Ta Yao Xin Cheng : Canton Tower, Chigang Pagoda
Chigang Pagoda
Chigang Pagoda is a famous pagoda located in Chigang district. The pagoda is located in Guangzhou, Haizhu District, Guangdong province, China.- History :...

, Haixinsha
Haixinsha Island (Tianhe District)
Haixinsha Island is an island in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is at the south of Zhujiang New Town, the north of Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower, and the east of Er Sha Island....

, Flower City Square, Twin Towers
Guangzhou Twin Towers
Guangzhou Twin Towers are a pair of skyscrapers in Guangzhou, China, designed by Wilkinson Eyre. They are situated in the city's CBD, Zhujiang New Town, in Tianhe District.*Chow Tai Fook Centre , more commonly known as Guangzhou East Tower...

, CITIC Plaza
CITIC Plaza
CITIC Plaza is a skyscraper built in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. Its structural height is 391 m 80 stories including two tall antenna-like spires on the top. Completed in 1997, it is the tallest concrete building in the world...

and etc.
Zhu Shui Liu Guang : Pearl River
Pearl River (China)
The Pearl River or less commonly, the "Guangdong River" or "Canton River" etc., , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name Pearl River is usually used as a catchment term to refer to the watersheds of the Xi Jiang , the Bei Jiang , and the Dong Jiang...

(segment from Bai'etan to Pazhou
Pazhou
Pazhou Island is an island at the southeast of the central district of Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It has the total area of 15 square kilometres...

), Wharves, Bai'etan, Shamian Island
Shamian Island
Shamian Island , formerly known as Shameen Island or Shamin Island, from its Cantonese pronunciation, is a sandbank island in the Liwan District of Guangzhou city, Guangdong province, China...

, Yanjiang Lu, Ersha Island, Haixinsha
Haixinsha Island (Tianhe District)
Haixinsha Island is an island in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is at the south of Zhujiang New Town, the north of Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower, and the east of Er Sha Island....

, Guangzhou Convention and Exhibition Center and etc.
Yun Shan Die Cui : Baiyun Mountain
Baiyun Mountain
Baiyun Mountain is a mountain near Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province in China.-History:The name of the mountain derives from the view of peaks shrouded by white clouds in late Spring or when the sky clears after rain, Baiyun Mountain has been a scenic spot since ancient times...

, Yuntai Garden and etc.
Yue Xiu Feng Hua : Yuexiu Mountain, Zhenhai Tower, Five Rams Statue, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Monument and etc.
Gu Ci Liu Fang : Chen Clan Academy
Chen Clan Academy
The Chen Clan Academy is an academic temple in Guangzhou , China built by the 72 Chen clans for their juniors' accommodation and preparation for the imperial examinations in 1894 in Qing Dynasty. Later it was changed to be the Chen Clan’s Industry College, and then middle schools afterward...

and Guangdong Folk Craftwork Museum
Li Wan Sheng Jing : Litchi Bay, Liwan Lake, Arcades
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....

on Enning Lu, Xiguan Residences and etc.
Ke Cheng Jin Xiu : Guangzhou Science City
Guangzhou Science City
Guangzhou Science City is a new 2008 state-of-the-art technology center developed with support from the Guangzhou government. The Guangzhou government is trying to make the Science City an important destination for IT R&D, outsourcing in China....
Shi Di Chang Wan : Nansha Wetland Park

Parks and gardens

Baiyun Mountain
Baiyun Mountain
Baiyun Mountain is a mountain near Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province in China.-History:The name of the mountain derives from the view of peaks shrouded by white clouds in late Spring or when the sky clears after rain, Baiyun Mountain has been a scenic spot since ancient times...

(白云山), literally "White Cloud Mountain"
Yuexiu Park (越秀公园)
Renmin Park (人民公园), or "People's Park"
Luhu Park (麓湖公园)
Dongshanhu Park (东山湖公园)
Liuhuahu Park (流花湖公园)
Liwanhu Park (荔湾湖公园)
Yuntai Garden (云台花园)
Martyrs' Park (广州起义烈士陵园)
Zhujiang Park (珠江公园)
South China Botanical Garden
South China Botanical Garden
The South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences is a large botanical garden in Guangzhou, Guangdong province in southern China.- History :...

(华南植物园)

Tourist attractions

Guangzhou has a humid, hot sub-tropical climate. Annual average temperature is 21.8 degrees. Autumn, from October to December, is very moderate, cool and windy, and is the best travel time. There are many tourist attractions around the city which include:

Xiguan
Xiguan
Xiguan or Sai Kwan is a traditional geographical division of Guangzhou, China. It is situated in Liwan District. The north of the area reaches Xicun and it borders on Renmin Lu eastwards. And Pearl River lies on its west and south. The area outside the west gate of Guangzhou is collectively...

(西关)
Chen Clan Academy
Chen Clan Academy
The Chen Clan Academy is an academic temple in Guangzhou , China built by the 72 Chen clans for their juniors' accommodation and preparation for the imperial examinations in 1894 in Qing Dynasty. Later it was changed to be the Chen Clan’s Industry College, and then middle schools afterward...

/Chan Clan Ancestral Hall (陈氏书院/陈家祠)
Shamian Island
Shamian Island
Shamian Island , formerly known as Shameen Island or Shamin Island, from its Cantonese pronunciation, is a sandbank island in the Liwan District of Guangzhou city, Guangdong province, China...

/Shameen Island (沙面岛)
Guangdong Provincial Museum
Guangdong Provincial Museum
Guangdong Province Museum is located on 215 Wenming Rd., Guangzhou, Guangdong Province of China , on what was the original site of Zhongshan University. It is a provincial general museum, founded in 1959 and with a land area of 43,000 square meters...

(广东省博物馆)
Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King (西汉南越王博物馆)
Temple of the Six Banyan Trees
Temple of the Six Banyan Trees
The Temple of the Six Banyan Trees is an ancient Buddhist temple originally built in 537 in the Liang Dynasty in Guangzhou, southern China....

(六榕寺)
Sacred Heart Cathedral
Sacred Heart Cathedral of Guangzhou
The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus also known as Sacred Heart Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Guangzhou , South China. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guangzhou .The cathedral is located at 56 Yide Lu , Guangzhou...

/Stone House (石室圣心大教堂)
Huaisheng Mosque
Huaisheng Mosque
The Huaisheng Mosque, also known as the Lighthouse Mosque, is the main mosque of Guangzhou.Rebuilt many times over its history, it is traditionally thought to have been originally built over 1,300 years ago, which would make it one of the oldest mosques in the world. It was named in memory of...

(怀圣寺)
Temple of Bright Filial Piety
Temple of Bright Filial Piety
Guangxiao Temple on Guangxiao Road is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. It was the mansion of Prince Zhao Jiande of the Nanyue Kingdom during the Western Han Dynasty .-History:...

(光孝寺)
Chime-Long Paradise
Chime-Long Paradise
Chime-Long Paradise is a major amusement park in Panyu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. Opened on April 12, 2006, Chime-Long Paradise is the largest amusement park in China and boasts the Tenth Ring Roller Coaster, which shares the record for most inversions with Colossus at Thorpe Park in...

(长隆欢乐世界)
Chime-Long WaterPark (长隆水上乐园)
Guangzhou Peasant Movement Institute (广州市农民运动讲习所)
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (Guangzhou)
The Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall is an octagon-shaped building in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. The hall was designed by Lu Yanzhi and was built with funds raised by local and overseas Chinese people in memory of Sun Yat-sen. Construction work commenced in 1929 and completed in 1931...

(中山纪念堂)

Media

Guangzhou has two local radio stations: the provincial Radio Guangdong

Radio Guangdong

Radio Guangdong is a public broadcasting organization in Guangdong. Radio Guagndong has 9 branch radio channels and 2 newspapers in Guangdong. Headed by Leader Bai Ling .-History:...

and the municipal Radio Guangzhou. Together they broadcast in more than a dozen channels. The primary language of both the radio stations is Cantonese

Cantonese

Cantonese is a dialect spoken primarily in south China.Cantonese may also refer to:* Yue Chinese, the Chinese language that includes Cantonese* Cantonese cuisine, the cuisine of Guangdong province...

. Traditionally only one channel of Radio Guangdong is dedicated to Mandarin

Standard Mandarin

Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....

(Putonghua), however in recent years there is an increase in Mandarin programmes in most Cantonese channels. Radio stations from cities around Guangzhou mainly broadcast in Cantonese whose programmes can be received in different areas of the city, depending on the radio stations' locations and transmission power. On the other hand, the Beijing based China National Radio

China National Radio

China National Radio is the national radio station of the People's Republic of China. Its headquarters are in Beijing.- History :The infrastructure began with a transmitter from Moscow to set up its first station in Yan'an...

broadcasts Mandarin programmes in the city. Radio Guangdong produces a 15 minute weekly English programme, Guangdong Today, which is broadcast globally through the WRN Broadcast

WRN Broadcast

WRN Broadcast, formerly known as WRN, is an international broadcast services company that works with television channels and radio broadcasters, media owners and brands enabling them to deliver content to target audiences worldwide....

. Daily English news programmes are also broadcasted by Radio Guangdong.

Guangzhou has some of the best Chinese-language newspapers and magazines in mainland China

Mainland China

, most of which are published by three big newspaper companies in the city. The Guangzhou Daily Press Group

Guangzhou Daily

Guangzhou Ribao is the official newspaper of the Guangzhou municipal party committee published by the Guangzhou Daily Newspaper Group. The daily newspaper was established on October 1, 1952....

, Nanfang Press Corporation and Yangcheng Evening News Group

Yangcheng Evening News

Yangcheng Evening News is a Chinese newspaper in Chinese language, national unified publication number CN44-0006 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.-History:...

dominate the newspaper market of Guangdong Province

Guangdong

Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

. The two leading newspapers of the city are Guangzhou Daily
Guangzhou Daily
Guangzhou Ribao is the official newspaper of the Guangzhou municipal party committee published by the Guangzhou Daily Newspaper Group. The daily newspaper was established on October 1, 1952....

and Southern Metropolis Daily
Southern Metropolis Daily
Southern Metropolis Daily is a daily Tabloid newspaper published in Guangzhou, sister to the Southern Daily and part of the giant Southern Media Group. It circulation is mainly in the Pearl River Delta area, contains Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau....

. Guangzhou Daily, with a circulation of 1.8 million, has been China's most successful newspaper for 14 years in terms of advertising revenue while Southern Metropolis Daily is considered one of the most liberal newspapers in mainland China. In addition to Guangzhou's Chinese-language publications, there are a few English magazines and newspapers, most notably that's PRD
That's PRD
that's PRD is an English-language magazine published in Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the Pearl River Delta, Southern China.It was created in 1997 under the name Clueless in Guangzhou, then that's Guangzhou, that's PRD...

(formerly that's Guangzhou) which was started more than a decade ago and has since blossomed into one of China's leading expat magazines with issues in Beijing, Shanghai and formerly Suzhou.

Higher educational institutes

Universities and colleges

Sun Yat-sen University
Sun Yat-sen University
Sun Yat-sen University, also unofficially referred to as Zhongshan University , is a prominent university located mainly in Guangzhou, China. The University is named after Dr...

(中山大学) (founded in 1924)
Southern Medical University
Southern Medical University
Southern Medical University , formerly known as First Military Medical University, affiliated to the People's Liberation Army of China, is a Chinese institution of higher learning, located in Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province, China. It was founded in 1951. It became one of national...

(南方医科大学) (founded in 1951)
South China University of Technology
South China University of Technology
South China University of Technology is a Chinese university located in Guangzhou, capital of the Guangdong province. In 1999, SCUT ranked No...

(华南理工大学)
Jinan University
Jinan University
Jinan University is a public research and comprehensive university based in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. It is one of the oldest universities established on mainland China tracing back to the Qing Empire...

(暨南大学) (founded in 1906)
South China Normal University
South China Normal University
South China Normal University is a comprehensive university in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, in the People's Republic of China. The university is featured distinctively by both teaching and research, consisting of diverse branches of learning such as philosophy, economics, law,...

(华南师范大学)
South China Agricultural University
South China Agricultural University
South China Agricultural University founded in 1908. Main campus settles in Wushan, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. It is a national comprehensive university with long history. The university has 24 colleges/department and 36,000 students, including international students from 22 countries...

(华南农业大学) (founded in 1909)
Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
Guangdong University of Foreign Studies is one of the prestigious universities in China which specializes in international studies and one of the key institutions of higher learning in Guangdong Province in South China. The University was established in June 1995 through the merger of Guangzhou...

(广东外语外贸大学)
Guangdong University of Technology
Guangdong University of Technology
Guangdong University of Technology is a key provincial university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. The university offers a wide range of courses in engineering, science, technology, management, liberal arts and law, with major emphasis on the study of engineering.- History :Guangdong University of...

(广东工业大学)
Guangdong Pharmaceutical University
Guangdong Pharmaceutical University
Guangdong Pharmaceutical University is a public university based in Guangzhou, Guangdong province which offers courses in pharmaceutical sciences.- History :...

(广东药学院)
Guangdong University of Business Studies (广东商学院)
Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine
Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine
Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine is an institution of higher learning, located in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China. It was founded in 1956, and is one of four earliest established institutions in China specializing in Chinese traditional medicine...

(广州中医药大学)
Guangzhou University
Guangzhou University
Guangzhou University is a state university in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, China.- History :Guangzhou University was reestablished on July 2000 by the Chinese Ministry of Education...

(广州大学)
Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts
Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts
The Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts is a provincial university based in Guangzhou which provide of Fine Arts and Design degrees.- History :...

(广州美术学院)
Xinghai Conservatory of Music
Xinghai Conservatory of Music
The Xinghai Conservatory of Music is a music conservatory in Guangzhou, China. It was established in 1932 in Guangzhou by the composer Mr.Ma Sicong（Chinese：马思聪先生 Mǎ Sīcōng） as the Guangzhou Conservatory of Music.Both the Xinghai Conservatory of Music and the Xinghai Concert Hall were named after...

(星海音乐学院)
Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University (广东技术师范学院)
Guangzhou Sports University
Guangzhou Sports University
Guangzhou Sport University is a provincial public university based in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, China.- External links :*...

(广州体育学院)
Guangzhou Medical College (广州医学院)
Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering
Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering
Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, , is a university located in Guangzhou, China that specializes in training agricultural technicians...

(仲恺农业工程学院)
Guangdong University of Finance (广东金融学院)
Guangdong Institute of Science and Technology
Guangdong Institute of Science and Technology
Guangdong Institute of Science and Technology is a provincial university based in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China.- History :The university was established in 1985 by the provincial government. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in science, engineering and technology.-...

(广东省科技干部学院)

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

Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Centre

Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center

Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou University Town or Guangzhou University City is an area featured by universities, located in Xiaoguwei Island in Xinzao Town , Panyu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China...

also known as Guangzhou University Town is a large university complex located in the southeast suburbs of Guangzhou. This huge higher education centre occupies the entire Xiaoguwei

Xiaoguwei

Xiaoguwei Island is a district of Xinzao Town , Panyu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. -Transport:The island can be accessed through the toll Nansha Port Expressway from the city, which links the island to Haizhu District to the north and Panyu District to the south...

island in Panyu District, covering an area of about 18 square kilometres. It houses new campuses from ten universities, nine of which still maintain their old campuses in downtown Guangzhou. The whole Higher Education Mega Centre can eventually accommodate up to 200,000 students, 20,000 teachers and 50,000 staff.

Higher education institutions with campuses in the Mega Centre:

Sun Yat-sen University
Sun Yat-sen University
Sun Yat-sen University, also unofficially referred to as Zhongshan University , is a prominent university located mainly in Guangzhou, China. The University is named after Dr...

(中山大学)
South China University of Technology
South China University of Technology
South China University of Technology is a Chinese university located in Guangzhou, capital of the Guangdong province. In 1999, SCUT ranked No...

(华南理工大学)
South China Normal University
South China Normal University
South China Normal University is a comprehensive university in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, in the People's Republic of China. The university is featured distinctively by both teaching and research, consisting of diverse branches of learning such as philosophy, economics, law,...

(华南师范大学)
Guangdong University of Technology
Guangdong University of Technology
Guangdong University of Technology is a key provincial university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. The university offers a wide range of courses in engineering, science, technology, management, liberal arts and law, with major emphasis on the study of engineering.- History :Guangdong University of...

(广东工业大学)
Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
Guangdong University of Foreign Studies is one of the prestigious universities in China which specializes in international studies and one of the key institutions of higher learning in Guangdong Province in South China. The University was established in June 1995 through the merger of Guangzhou...

(广东外语外贸大学)
Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine
Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine
Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine is an institution of higher learning, located in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China. It was founded in 1956, and is one of four earliest established institutions in China specializing in Chinese traditional medicine...

(广州中医药大学)
Guangdong Pharmaceutical University
Guangdong Pharmaceutical University
Guangdong Pharmaceutical University is a public university based in Guangzhou, Guangdong province which offers courses in pharmaceutical sciences.- History :...

(广东药学院)
Guangzhou University
Guangzhou University
Guangzhou University is a state university in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, China.- History :Guangzhou University was reestablished on July 2000 by the Chinese Ministry of Education...

(广州大学)
Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts
Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts
The Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts is a provincial university based in Guangzhou which provide of Fine Arts and Design degrees.- History :...

(广州美术学院)
Xinghai Conservatory of Music
Xinghai Conservatory of Music
The Xinghai Conservatory of Music is a music conservatory in Guangzhou, China. It was established in 1932 in Guangzhou by the composer Mr.Ma Sicong（Chinese：马思聪先生 Mǎ Sīcōng） as the Guangzhou Conservatory of Music.Both the Xinghai Conservatory of Music and the Xinghai Concert Hall were named after...

(星海音乐学院)

Sports

In 2010, Guangzhou hosted the 16th Asian Games from November 12 to 27 and the first Asian Para Games

2010 Asian Para Games

The 2010 Asian Para Games, also known as the First Asian Para Games, was a parallel sport event for Asian athletes with a disability held in Guangzhou, China...

from December 12 to 19, which were the largest sports events the city ever hosted.

Guangzhou also hosted the following major sports events:

1987 The 6th National Games of the People's Republic of China
National Games of the People's Republic of China
The National Games of the People's Republic of China , sometimes known as the All China Games , is the premier sports event in China at national level. It is usually held once every four years, most recently in October 2009, when the 11th National Games of the People's Republic of China took place...
1991 The 1st FIFA Women's World Cup
2001 The 9th National Games of the People's Republic of China
2007 The 8th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities of the People's Republic of China
2008 The 49th World Table Tennis Championships
2008 World Team Table Tennis Championships
The 2008 Evergrande Real Estate World Team Table Tennis Championships was held in the Guangzhou Gymnasium of Guangzhou, China from February 24 to March 2, 2008. This decision was announced in May 2005. It is the 49th edition to be contested.-Medal table:...

Current professional sports clubs (football and basketball) based in Guangzhou include:

Sport	League	Tier	Club	Stadium
Football	Chinese Super League Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League , commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the Pirelli Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association football in China, operating under the auspices of the...	1st	Guangzhou Evergrande	Tianhe Stadium Tianhe Stadium Tianhe Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a seating capacity of 58,500.- History :...
Football	Chinese Super League Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League , commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the Pirelli Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association football in China, operating under the auspices of the...	1st	Guangzhou R&F	Yuexiushan Stadium Yuexiushan Stadium Yuexiushan Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Guangzhou, China. It is currently used mostly for football matches.The stadium was built in 1950 with a capacity of 35,000 people...
Football	China League One	2nd	Guangdong Sunray Cave	Guangdong Provincial People's Stadium
Basketball Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...	National Basketball League	2nd	Guangzhou Freemen	Tianhe Stadium Tianhe Stadium Tianhe Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a seating capacity of 58,500.- History :...
Basketball Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...	National Basketball League	2nd	Guangzhou Six-rice	Huangpu Stadium Huangpu Sports Center Huangpu Sports Center is a multi-purpose stadium in Huangpu District, Guangzhou, China. the stadium has a capacity of 12,000 people.-References:...
Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...	China Baseball League China Baseball League The China Baseball League or Chinese Baseball League or CBL is a professional baseball league under the administration of Chinese Baseball Association, founded in 2002.-Teams:...	1st	Guangdong Leopards Guangdong Leopards The Guangdong Fighting Leopards are a China Baseball League team based in Guangdong. They play their games in Zhongshan Stadium.The Leopards began play in . They were the second place team in...	Guangdong Olympic Stadium Guangdong Olympic Stadium The Guangdong Olympic Stadium, also known as the Aoti Main Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. Currently used mostly for football matches, the stadium was built in 2001...

Sister cities

Guangzhou is twinned with the following cities:

Country	City	Geographical location	Date
Japan Japan	Fukuoka Fukuoka Fukuoka most often refers to the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture.It can also refer to:-Locations:* Fukuoka, Gifu, a town in Gifu Prefecture, Japan* Fukuoka, Toyama, a town in Toyama Prefecture, Japan...	Fukuoka Fukuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen....	May 2, 1979
United States United States	Los Angeles Los Ángeles Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...	California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...	December 8, 1981
Philippines Philippines	Manila Manila Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...	Metro Manila Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...	November 5, 1982
Canada Canada	Vancouver Vancouver Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...	British Columbia British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...	March 27, 1985
Australia Australia	Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...	New South Wales New South Wales New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...	May 12, 1986
Italy Italy	Bari Bari Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...	Bari Province of Bari The Province of Bari is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bari.It has an area of 5,138 km², and a total population of 1,594,109 . There are 48 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Bari...	November 12, 1986
Early Modern France France	Lyon Lyon Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....	Rhône	January 19, 1988
Germany Germany	Frankfurt	Hessen	April 11, 1988
New Zealand New Zealand	Auckland Auckland City Auckland City was the city and local authority covering the Auckland isthmus and most of the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, in the North Island of New Zealand. On 1 November 2010 it was amalgamated into the wider Auckland Region under the authority of the new Auckland Council...	Auckland Auckland Region The Auckland Region was one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, named for the city of Auckland, the country's largest urban area. With one third of the nation's residents, it was by far the biggest population and economy of any region of New Zealand, but the second-smallest land area.On 1...	February 17, 1989
South Korea South Korea	Gwangju Gwangju Gwangju is the sixth largest city in South Korea. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister...	Metropolitan city Special cities of Korea In both North and South Korea, a special city, a metropolitan city, or a directly governed city is a city that has a status equivalent to that of a province...	October 25, 1996
Sweden Sweden	Linköping Linköping Linköping is a city in southern middle Sweden, with 104 232 inhabitants in 2010. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality with 146 736 inhabitants and the capital of Östergötland County...	Östergötland Östergötland Östergötland, English exonym: East Gothland, is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland, and the Baltic Sea. In older English literature, one might also encounter the Latinized version, Ostrogothia...	November 24, 1997
South Africa South Africa	Durban Durban Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...	KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....	July 17, 2000
United Kingdom United Kingdom	Bristol Bristol Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	May 23, 2001
Russia Russia	Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...	Sverdlovsk Sverdlovsk Oblast Sverdlovsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in the Urals Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg formerly known as Sverdlovsk. Population: -Geography:...	July 10, 2002
Peru Peru	Arequipa Arequipa Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country...	Arequipa Arequipa Province Arequipa is a province in the Arequipa Region, Peru. It is the most populous province of the region, and its capital, Arequipa, is Peru's second-largest city...	October 27, 2004
Indonesia Indonesia	Surabaya Surabaya Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...	East Java East Java East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and islands to its east and to its north East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and...	December 21, 2005
Lithuania Lithuania	Vilnius Vilnius Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...	Vilnius Vilnius County Vilnius County is the largest of the 10 counties of Lithuania, located in the east of the country around the city Vilnius. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Vilnius County remains as the territorial and statistical unit.-History:Until the Partitions of...	October 12, 2006
United Kingdom United Kingdom	Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	December 4, 2006
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka	Hambantota Hambantota Hambantota is a coastal city in the south of Sri Lanka. It is the capital of the Hambantota District...	Hambantota Hambantota District Hambantota District is located on the southeastern coast of Sri Lanka, in the Southern Province. It has an area of 2,593 km² and a very dry climate. The district capital is Hambantota town; the administrative headquarters are located there as well as the center of salt production...	February 27, 2007
Brazil Brazil	Recife Recife Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...	Pernambuco Pernambuco Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...	October 22, 2007
Finland Finland	Tampere Tampere Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...	Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa , or the Tampere Region , is a region of Finland. It borders on the regions of Satakunta, Tavastia Proper, Päijänne Tavastia, Southern Ostrobothnia and Central Finland....	December 2, 2008
Thailand Thailand	Bangkok Bangkok Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...	Bangkok Bangkok Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...	November 13, 2009

Friendship cities

Guangzhou has the following friendship cities:

Country	City	Geographical location	Date
Brazil Brazil	Salvador Salvador, Bahia Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first...	Bahia Bahia Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...	April 6, 1996
Vietnam Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...	Centrally-governed city Centrally governed city of Vietnam Centrally-governed cities are the highest-ranked cities in Vietnam.# Centrally-governed cities# Provincial cities# TownThree levels of cities in Vietnam:-Current Vietnamese Centrally-governed cities:-See also:Provinces of Vietnam...	April 11, 1996
Japan Japan	Ōita Oita, Oita is the capital city of Ōita Prefecture located on the island of Kyushu, Japan.- Demographics and geography :Ōita is the most populous city in Ōita Prefecture...	Ōita Oita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan on Kyūshū Island. The prefectural capital is the city of Ōita.- History :Around the 6th century Kyushu consisted of four regions: Tsukushi-no-kuni 筑紫国, Hi-no-kuni 肥国, and Toyo no kuni...	October 9, 1997
Russia Russia	Khabarovsk Khabarovsk Khabarovsk is the largest city and the administrative center of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located some from the Chinese border. It is the second largest city in the Russian Far East, after Vladivostok. The city became the administrative center of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia...	Khabarovsk Khabarovsk Krai Khabarovsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Russian Far East. It lies mostly in the basin of the lower Amur River, but also occupies a vast mountainous area along the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The administrative center of the krai is the...	October 15, 1997
United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates	Dubai Dubai Municipality Dubai Municipality is the municipal body with jurisdiction over city services and the upkeep of facilities in the Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was established in 1954 by the then crown prince of Dubai, Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum...	Dubai Dubai Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...	June 1, 2000
United States United States	Guam Guam Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...	Unincorporated organized territories	March 28, 2002
Japan Japan	Noboribetsu Noboribetsu, Hokkaido is a city in Iburi subprefecture, Hokkaidō, Japan. Part of Shikotsu-Toya National Park, it is southwest of Sapporo, west of Tomakomai and northeast of Hakodate. The name, Noboribetsu, derives from an Ainu word, nupur-pet, which means dark-coloured river....	Hokkaidō Hokkaido , formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...	May 19, 2002
Australia Australia	Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...	Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....	April 9, 2003
Egypt Egypt	Alexandria Alexandria Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...	Alexandria	July 17, 2003
Spain Spain	Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...	Catalonia Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...	October 23, 2003
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan	Bishkek Bishkek Bishkek , formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan.Bishkek is also the administrative centre of Chuy Province which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan.The name is thought to...	Chuy Chuy Province Chuy Province or Chui Province is the northernmost province of the Kyrgyz Republic. It is bounded on the north by Kazakhstan, and clockwise, Issyk Kul Province, Naryn Province, Jalal-Abad Province and Talas Province...	December 1, 2004
Cuba Cuba	Havana Havana Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...	Havana La Habana Province Havana Province was one of the provinces of Cuba, prior to being divided into two new provinces of Artemisa and Mayabeque on January 1, 2011. It had 711,066 people in the 2002 census. The largest city was Artemisa .-Geography:...	June 15, 2005
Germany Germany	Düsseldorf Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...	North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...	July 25, 2006