Home · Guangdong

Guangdong (Chinese: 广东; abbreviated: 粤), is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. The name "Guangdong" originated from Guangxin County, which was an outpost established in Han dynasty. It took the meaning of "widely bestow favors and sow trust," and the area to the east of Guangxin was called Guangdong. Guǎngnán Dōnglù (traditional Chinese: 廣南東路) was established in 997 (3^rd year of Zhidao); later, it became Guangdong.

    Guangdong Province is located in the southernmost part of mainland China. It borders Fujian to the east, Jiangxi and Hunan to the north, Guangxi to the west, and the South China Sea to the south. The Pearl River estuary borders Hong Kong and Macau on the east and west. Qiongzhou Strait separates Guangdong from Hainan. Guangdong has a land area of 179,700 square kilometers and a sea area of 419,300 square kilometers. It has the longest continental coastline in China (4114.3 kilometers).

    Since 1978, Guangdong has taken the lead in China's reform and opening-up; it is the largest province by GDP in China. The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region, including Guangzhou and Shenzhen, is one of the wealthiest in China. As the economy takes off, Guangdong attracts a large number of migrant workers. In the 1990s, Guangdong's population was ranked as the 6^th in China; in 2018, Guangdong's population was 113.46 million, making it the most populous province in China. The majority of the population is Han Chinese. Within the Han Chinese, three major subgroups are Cantonese, Hakka, and Hoklo. In addition, there are some ethic minorities, among which Zhuang is the largest one. Each minority group has its own unique traits, culture and customs.