Guangdong

Kwangtung

(both: gwäng`do͝ong`), province (2010 pop. 104,303,132), c.76,000 sq mi (196,891 sq km), S China. The capital is GuangzhouGuangzhou
or Canton
, city (1994 est. pop. 3,113,800), capital of Guangdong prov., S China, a major deepwater port on the Pearl River delta. Economy
..... Click the link for more information. . On coastal islands and adjacent mainland territories are Hong KongHong Kong
, Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2015 est. pop. 7,246,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Shenzhen, Guangdong prov.
..... Click the link for more information. and MacauMacau
or Macao
, Port. Macau, Mandarin Aomen, special administrative region of China, formerly administered by Portugal (2015 est. pop. 601,000), 10.8 sq mi (28.2 sq km), adjoining Guangdong prov.
..... Click the link for more information. . The island of HainanHainan
, island and province (2010 pop. 8,671,518), c.13,100 sq mi (33,940 sq km), China, in the South China Sea. The province, created in 1988, is coextensive with Hainan Island; Haikou is its capital, largest city, and major port.
..... Click the link for more information. , once part of Guangdong, became a separate province in 1988. The hilly coastline is the longest of any province (constituting more than one fifth of the country's total coastline); the only real breaks to the interior are at Shantou on the Han River delta and at Guangzhou at the Pearl River delta. Inland transportation is good; before the 1950s water routes predominated, but now railroads and highways have taken over the freighting.

Between 15% and 20% of the province is under cultivation, primarily in the delta areas, which are among the most populous in China. There the climate is subtropical and the rainfall heavy most of the year. Two or three crops are generally harvested. Guangdong is the country's leading producer of sugarcane; rice and silk are other major crops, although the silk industry is no longer as important as it once was. Other commercial crops include hemp, tobacco, tea, tropical and subtropical fruits, and peanuts. Fishing in Guangdong accounts for about 20% of China's catch.

Guangdong has tungsten, iron, manganese, titanium, tin, lead, uranium, and bismuth deposits. Shale oil deposits are found in the south, and there is offshore drilling for oil; the province has several oil refineries. There are also lumber and paper mills, and food-processing, printing, cement, and fertilizer plants. The large handicraft industry, which once thrived on European trade, has dwindled, but the apparel and electronics industries grew significantly in the late 20th cent.

Guangzhou, an "open" economic city, is still the heart of the province, with a great range of manufactures. ZhanjiangZhanjiang
or Chankiang
, Cantonese Tsamkong, official Chinese name for the former French territory of Kwangchowan (325 sq mi/840 sq km) on Guangzhou Bay, S Guangdong prov., China. It was leased from China in 1898 for 99 years but was returned in 1945.
..... Click the link for more information. , another "open" city, has grown significantly due to foreign trade and investment since the late 1970s. Three of the country's first four special economic zones were established in Guangdong, at Shantou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai. In early 1990s the province accounted for two thirds of China's exports; its portion has slowly decreased as economic development has increased in other provinces. The return of Hong Kong to China in the late 1990s, however, has spurred additional growth in areas of Guangdong near the Hong Kong border.

The Cantonese constitute the bulk of Guangdong's population, which is non-Mandarin speaking. The people of the province are known around the world; one half of the overseas Chinese are from Guangdong province.

The region, originally settled by Miao, Li, and Yao tribes, continually attracted migrating groups from the north; some (notably the Hakka) retained their own languages. Guangdong came under Chinese suzerainty during the unification under the Ch'in dynasty (c.211 B.C.), and was more firmly absorbed during the Han dynasty. Guangdong was the main scene of China's early foreign contact, chiefly through Guangzhou; there was trade with the west during the Roman Empire, trade with the Arabs during the T'ang dynasty, and European trade that originated during the 16th cent. with the Portuguese. Guangdong has been a center of revolutionary activity; there the KuomintangKuomintang
[Chin.,=national people's party] (KMT), Chinese and Taiwanese political party. Sung Chiao-jen organized the party in 1912, under the nominal leadership of Sun Yat-sen, to succeed the Revolutionary Alliance.
..... Click the link for more information. was formed (1912) under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen, and there Chiang Kai-shek began his drive (1920s) for the unification of the country.

Guangdong

, Kwangtung a province of SE China, on the South China Sea: includes the Leizhou Peninsula, with densely populated river valleys; traditionally also including Macao and Hong Kong; the only true tropical climate in China. Capital: Canton. Pop.: Pop.: 79 540 000 (2003 est.). Area: 197 100 sq. km (76 100 sq. miles)

Guangdong

Guang·dong

Guangdong

Kwangtung

Guang•dong

also Kwangtung

Guangdong

Guangdong

Kwangtung

Guangdong

Guangdong

Synonyms for Guangdong

noun a province in southern China

Synonyms