Guangzhou

Guangzhou, also known as Canton, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong in southern China. Located on the Pearl River, about 120 kilometres northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou has a history of over 2,200 years and was an important stop on the Silk Road.

The port of Guangzhou serves as a major transportation hub. It is one of China's three largest cities and was the only Chinese port open to Europeans for a long time. Guangzhou is at the center of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area, the world's most populous urban area, with about 70 million people.

In modern times, Guangzhou is famous for the Canton Fair, China's oldest and largest trade fair. The city is a major finance hub in Asia, ranking highly among global financial centers. Guangzhou has hosted important international events, such as the 2010 Asian Games and the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. It is also home to many respected universities and research centers.

Toponymy

Guǎngzhōu is the official romanization of the Chinese name 广州. The city’s name comes from an ancient area called Guǎng Prefecture. The word 廣 or 广 means “broad” or “expansive”.

Portrait of the Grotto of the Five Immortals, the Taoist temple around the five stones which gave Guangzhou its nickname "The City of Rams"

Before it was called Guangzhou, the town was known as Panyu (Punyü; 番禺). This name is still used for one of Guangzhou’s districts today. The meaning of Panyu is not fully known, but it might have referred to two nearby mountains.

Guangzhou is also called the “City of Rams” or the “City of the Five Rams” because of five stones at an old temple. These stones were said to be ridden by important figures who brought rice farming to the area. Other nicknames include the “City of Flowers” because of the many plants and trees there.

The English name “Canton” comes from an old Portuguese phrase. It was used for many years before the city’s name officially changed to “Guangzhou”. Even today, people sometimes use “Canton” when talking about the local culture and traditions.

History

A settlement called Nanwucheng was present in the area by 1100 BC. Some traditional Chinese histories say it was founded during the reign of King Nan of Zhou, emperor of Zhou from 314 to 256 BC. It was said to have been little more than a small wooden and mud fort.

Guangzhou, then known as Panyu, was founded on the eastern bank of the Pearl River in 214 BC. Ships arrived on the South China coast in the late years of ancient times. Surviving records from the Tang dynasty confirm that the people of Panyu took part in many trade missions. Records about foreign trade ships go back to the late 20th century.

Panyu was the seat of Qin Empire’s Nanhai Commandery and served as a base for the first invasion of the Baiyue lands in southern China. Legendary stories say that the soldiers at Panyu were so careful that they did not take off their armor for three years. After the fall of the Qin, General Zhao Tuo established the kingdom of Nanyue and made Panyu its capital in 204 BC. It stayed independent during the Chu-Han Contention, although Zhao negotiated recognition of his independence in exchange for his nominal submission to the Han in 196 BC. Archeological evidence shows that Panyu was a big commercial center: in addition to items from central China, archeologists have found remains from Southeast Asia, India, and even Africa.

In AD 226, it became the seat of Guang Prefecture, which gave it its modern name. The Old Book of Tang described Guangzhou as an important port in southern China. Direct routes connected the Middle East and China, as shown in the records of a Chinese prisoner returning home from Iraq twelve years after his capture at Talas.

The port was closed for fifty years after its destruction. Amid the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms that followed the collapse of the Tang dynasty, the Later Liang governor Liu Yan used his base at Panyu to establish a “Great Yue” or “Southern Han” empire, which lasted from 917 to 971.

From the 10th to 12th century, there are records that the large foreign communities included women as well as men. Guangzhou was visited by the Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta during his journey around the world in the 14th century.

Shortly after the Hongwu Emperor’s declaration of the Ming dynasty, he reversed his earlier support of foreign trade and imposed the first of a series of sea bans. These banned private foreign trade upon penalty of death for the merchant and exile for his family and neighbors. Previous maritime intendancies of Guangzhou, Quanzhou, and Ningbo were closed in 1384 and legal trade became limited to the tribute delegations sent to or by official representatives of foreign governments.

In October 1646, the Longwu Emperor’s brother, Zhu Yuyue fled by sea to Guangzhou, the last stronghold of the Ming empire. On December 11, he declared himself the Shaowu Emperor. He led a successful offense against his cousin Zhu Youlang but was deposed and executed on January 20, 1647, when the Ming turncoat Li Chengdong sacked the city on behalf of the Qing.

The jade burial suit of Zhao Mo in Guangzhou's Nanyue King Museum

The Qing became somewhat more receptive to foreign trade after gaining control of Taiwan in 1683. The Portuguese from Macau and Spaniards from Manila returned, as did private Muslim, Armenian, and English traders. From 1699 to 1714, the French and British East India Companies sent a ship or two each year; the Austrian Ostend General India Co. arrived in 1717, the Dutch East India Co. in 1729, the Danish Asiatic Co. in 1731, and the Swedish East India Co. the next year. These were joined by the occasional Prussian or Trieste Company vessel. The first independent American ship arrived in 1784, and the first colonial Australian one in 1788. By that time, Guangzhou was one of the world’s greatest ports, organized under the Canton System. The main exports were tea and porcelain. As a meeting place of merchants from all over the world, Guangzhou became a major contributor to the rise of the modern global economy. Guangzhou is the site of the Thirteen Factories, which were the only legal place to conduct foreign trade with China from 1757 to 1842.

In the 19th century, most of the city’s buildings were still only one or two stories. However, there were notable exceptions such as the Flower Pagoda of the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, and the guard tower known as the Five-Story Pagoda. The subsequently urbanized northern hills were bare and covered with traditional graves. The brick city walls were about 6 mi (10 km) in circumference, 25 ft (8 m) high, and 20 ft (6 m) wide. Its eight main gates and two water gates all held guards during the day and were closed at night. The wall rose to incorporate a hill on its northern side and was surrounded on the other three by a moat which, along with the canals, functioned as the city’s sewer, emptied daily by the river’s tides. A partition wall with four gates divided the northern “old town” from the southern “new town” closer to the river; the suburb of Xiguan (Saikwan; “West Gate”) stretched beyond and the boats of fishers, traders, and Tanka (“boat people”) almost entirely concealed the riverbank for about 4 mi (6 km). It was common for homes to have a storefront facing the street and to treat their courtyards as a kind of warehouse. The city was part of a network of signal towers so effective that messages could be relayed to Beijing—about 1,200 mi (1,931 km) away—in less than 24 hours.

The Canton System was maintained until the outbreak of the First Opium War in 1839. Following a series of battles in the Pearl River Delta, the British captured Canton on March 18, 1841. The Second Battle of Canton was fought two months later. Following the Qing’s 1842 treaty with Great Britain, Guangzhou lost its privileged trade status as more and more treaty ports were opened to more and more countries, usually including extraterritorial enclaves. Amid the decline of Qing prestige and the chaos of the Red Turban Rebellion (1854–1856), the Punti and Hakka waged a series of clan wars from 1855 to 1867 in which one million people died. The foreign trade facilities were destroyed by local Chinese in the Arrow War (1856–1858). The international community relocated to the outskirts and most international trade moved through Shanghai.

The concession for the Guangzhou–Hankou railway was awarded to the American China Development Company in 1898. It completed its branch line west to Foshan and Sanshui before being engulfed in a diplomatic crisis after a Belgian consortium bought a controlling interest and the Qing subsequently canceled its concession. J. P. Morgan was awarded millions in damages and the line to Wuchang was not completed until 1936 and the completion of a unified Beijing–Guangzhou railway waited until the completion of Wuhan’s Yangtze River Bridge in 1957.

During the late Qing dynasty, Guangzhou was the site of revolutionary attempts such as the Uprisings of 1895 and that were the predecessors of the successful 1911 Revolution, which overthrew the Qing dynasty. The 72 revolutionaries whose bodies were found after the latter uprising are honored as the city’s 72 Martyrs at the Huanghuagang Park (Yellow Flower Mound Park).

After the assassination of Song Jiaoren and Yuan Shikai’s attempts to remove the Nationalist Party of China from power, the leader of Guangdong Hu Hanmin joined the 1913 Second Revolution against him but was forced to flee to Japan with Sun Yat-sen after its failure. The city came under national spotlight again in 1917, when Prime Minister Duan Qirui’s abrogation of the constitution triggered the Constitutional Protection Movement. Sun Yat-sen came to head the Guangzhou Military Government supported by the members of the dissolved parliament and the Southwestern warlords. The Guangzhou government fell apart as the warlords withdrew their support. Sun fled to Shanghai in November 1918 until the Guangdong warlord Chen Jiongming restored him in October 1920 during the Yuegui Wars. On June 16, 1922, Sun was ousted in a coup and fled on the warship Yongfeng after Chen sided with the Zhili clique’s Beijing government. In the following months Sun mounted a counterattack into Guangdong by rallying supporters from Yunnan and Guangxi, and in January established a government in the city for the third time.

From 1923 to 1926, Sun Yat-sen and the Kuomintang (KMT) used the city as a base to prosecute a renewed revolution in China by conquering the warlords in the north. Although Sun was previously dependent on opportunistic warlords who hosted him in the city, with the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek, the KMT developed its own military power to serve its ambition. The Canton years saw the evolution of the KMT into a revolutionary movement with a strong military focus and ideological commitment, setting the tone of the KMT rule of China beyond 1927.

In 1924, the KMT made the momentous decision to ally with the Communist Party and the USSR. With Soviet help, KMT reorganized itself along the Leninist line and adopted a pro-labor and pro-peasant stance. The KMT–CCP cooperation was confirmed in the 1st National Congress of the KMT and the communists were instructed to join the KMT. The allied government set up the Peasant Movement Training Institute in the city, of which Mao Zedong was a director for one term. Sun and his military commander Chiang used Soviet funds and weapons to build an armed force staffed by communist commissars, training its cadres in the Whampoa Military Academy. In August, the fledgling army suppressed the Canton Merchants’ Corps Uprising. The next year the anti-imperialist May Thirtieth Movement swept the country, and the KMT government called for strikes in Canton and Hong Kong.

After the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925 the mood was changing in the party toward the communists. In August the left-wing KMT leader Liao Zhongkai was assassinated and the right-wing leader Hu Hanmin, the suspected mastermind, was exiled to the Soviet Union, leaving the pro-communist Wang Jingwei in charge. Opposing communist encroachment, the right-wing Western Hills Group vowed to expel the communists from the KMT. The Canton Coup on March 20, 1926, saw Chiang solidify his control over the Nationalists and their army against Wang Jingwei, the party’s left wing, its Communist allies, and its Soviet advisors. By May, he had ended civilian control of the military and begun his Northern Expedition against the warlords of the north. Its success led to the split of the KMT between Wuhan and Nanking and the purge of the communists in the April 12 Incident. Immediately afterwards Canton joined the purge under the auspice of Li Jishen, resulting in the arrest of communists and the suspension of left wing KMT apparatuses and labor groups. Later in 1927 when Zhang Fakui, a general supportive of the Wuhan faction, seized Canton and installed Wang Jingwei’s faction in the city, the communists saw an opening and launched the Guangzhou Uprising. Prominent communist military leaders Ye Ting and Ye Jianying led the failed defense of the city. Soon, control of the city reverted to Li Jishen.

Li Jishen was deposed during a war between Chiang and the New Guangxi clique. By 1929, Chen Jitang had established himself as the powerholder of Guangdong. In 1931 he threw his weight behind the anti-Chiang schism by hosting a separate Nationalist government in Guangzhou. The opposition to Chiang included KMT leaders like Wang Jingwei, Sun Fo and others from diverse factions. The peace negotiations amid the armed standoff led to the 4th National Congress of Kuomintang being held separately by three factions in Nanjing, Shanghai, and Canton. Resigning all his posts, Chiang pulled off a political compromise that reunited all factions. While the intraparty division was resolved, Chen kept his power until he was defeated by Chiang in 1936. During World War II, the Canton Operation subjected the city to Japanese occupation by the end of December 1938.

Amid the closing months before total Communist victory, Guangzhou briefly served as the capital of the Republican government. Guangzhou was captured on October 14, 1949. Amid a massive exodus to Hong Kong and Macau, defeated Nationalist forces blew up the Haizhu Bridge across the Pearl River in retreat. The Cultural Revolution had a large effect on the city, with many of its temples, churches and other monuments destroyed during this chaotic period.

Canton in the early 1800s

The People’s Republic of China initiated building projects including new housing on the banks of the Pearl River to adjust the city’s boat people to life on land. Since the 1980s, the city’s close proximity to Hong Kong and its ties to overseas Chinese made it one of the first beneficiaries of China’s opening up under Deng Xiaoping. Beneficial tax reforms in the 1990s also helped the city’s industrialization and economic development.

The municipality was expanded in the year 2000, with Huadu and Panyu joining the city as urban districts and Conghua and Zengcheng as more rural counties. The former districts of Dongshan and Fangcun were abolished in 2005, merged into Yuexiu and Liwan respectively. The city acquired Nansha and Luogang. The former was carved out of Panyu, the latter from parts of Baiyun, Tianhe, Zengcheng, and an exclave within Huangpu. The National People’s Congress approved a development plan for the Pearl River Delta in January 2009; on March 19 of the same year, the Guangzhou and Foshan municipal governments agreed to establish a framework to merge the two cities. In 2014, Luogang merged into Huangpu and both Conghua and Zengcheng counties were upgraded to districts.

On 16 June 2022, an EF2 tornado struck the city, causing major power outages and knocking out power to the city’s subway lines.

Incorporated into the Han dynasty, Panyu became a provincial capital. In AD 226, it became the seat of Guang Prefecture, which gave it its modern name. The Old Book of Tang described Guangzhou as an important port in southern China. Direct routes connected the Middle East and China, as shown in the records of a Chinese prisoner returning home from Iraq twelve years after his capture at Talas. Relations were often strained: while China was undergoing the An Lushan Rebellion, Arab and Persian pirates sacked the city on 30 October 758 and in revenge thousands of Arabs and Persians were killed by Chinese rebels in the Yangzhou massacre (760). In the Guangzhou massacre about 200,000 Arab, Persian and other foreigners were killed by Chinese rebel Huang Chao in 878, along with the city’s Jews, Christians, and Parsis. The port was closed for fifty years after its destruction.

Amid the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms that followed the collapse of the Tang dynasty, the Later Liang governor Liu Yan used his base at Panyu to establish a “Great Yue” or “Southern Han” empire, which lasted from 917 to 971. The region enjoyed considerable cultural and economic success in this period. From the 10th to 12th century, there are records that the large foreign communities were not exclusively men, but included “Persian females”. According to Odoric of Pordenone, Guangzhou was as large as three Venices in terms of area, and rivaled all of Italy in the amount of crafts produced. He also noted the large amount of ginger available as well as large geese and snakes. Guangzhou was visited by the Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta during his journey around the world in the 14th century. He detailed the process by which the Chinese constructed their large ships in the port’s shipyards.

Following the Portuguese conquest of the Melaka Sultanate, Rafael Perestrello traveled to Guangzhou as a passenger on a native junk in 1516. His report induced Fernão Pires de Andrade to sail to the city with eight ships the next year, but De Andrade’s exploration was understood as spying and his brother Simão and others began attempting to monopolize trade, enslaving Chinese women and children, engaging in piracy, and fortifying the island of Tamão. Rumors even circulated that Portuguese were eating the children. The Guangzhou administration was charged with driving them off: they bested the Portuguese at the Battle of Tunmen and in Xicao Bay; held a diplomatic mission hostage in a failed attempt to pressure the restoration of the sultan of Malacca, who had been accounted a Ming vassal; and, after placing them in cangues and keeping them for most of a year, ultimately executed 23 by lingchi. With the help of local pirates, the “Folangji” then carried out smuggling at Macao, Lampacau, and St John’s Island (now Shangchuan), until Leonel de Sousa legalized their trade with bribes to Admiral Wang Bo (汪柏) and the 1554 Luso-Chinese Accord. The Portuguese undertook not to raise fortifications and to pay customs dues; three years later, after providing the Chinese with assistance suppressing their former pirate allies, the Portuguese were permitted to warehouse their goods at Macau instead of Guangzhou itself.

In October 1646, the Longwu Emperor’s brother, Zhu Yuyue fled by sea to Guangzhou, the last stronghold of the Ming empire. On December 11, he declared himself the Shaowu Emperor, borrowing his imperial regalia from local theater troupes. He led a successful offense against his cousin Zhu Youlang but was deposed and executed on January 20, 1647, when the Ming turncoat Li Chengdong sacked the city on behalf of the Qing.

View of Pazhou in 1810

Revolutions

Republic of China

People's Republic of China

On 16 June 2022, an EF2 tornado struck the city, causing major power outages and knocking out power to the city’s subway lines.

History of Guangzhou

The Thirteen Factories c. 1805, displaying the flags of Denmark, Spain, the United States, Sweden, Britain, and the Netherlands

An 1855 painting of the gallery of Tingqua, one of the most successful suppliers of "export paintings" for Guangzhou's foreign traders

Vrooman's 1860 map of the "City and Entire Suburbs of Canton", one of the first made after the treaties of Tianjin and Beijing permitted foreigners full access to Guangzhou's walled city

The [Flowery Pagoda](/wiki/Flowery_Pagoda) at the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees in 1863

The [Five-story Pagoda](/wiki/Five-story_Pagoda) atop [Yuexiu Hill](/wiki/Yuexiu_Hill) c. 1880

The Sacred Heart Cathedral towering over the one- and two-story homes of old Guangzhou c. 1880

The [US Navy](/wiki/US_Navy)'s Dept of Navigation's 1920 map of "Canton"

Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek at the opening of the Whampoa Military Academy on 16 June 1924

The Guangzhou Bund in 1930, with rows of Tanka boats

A short film of Guangzhou in 1937

The [People's Liberation Army](/wiki/People's_Liberation_Army) entering Guangzhou on 14 October 1949

Return only the adapted Markdown section. No explanation, no preamble.

Geography

The old town of Guangzhou was near Baiyun Mountain on the east bank of the Pearl River (Zhujiang), about 130 kilometres from where the river meets the South China Sea. Today, the city covers a large area on both sides of the river. The Pearl River is one of the biggest rivers in China.

The city has many natural resources, including different types of minerals and plenty of water from rivers and streams. It also has a rich variety of plants and crops, especially fruits like lychee. Guangzhou has a warm climate with wet summers and mild winters. The city gets a lot of rain and has plenty of sunshine, though not as much as nearby Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Administrative divisions

Main article: List of administrative divisions of Guangzhou

Guangzhou is a large city that has control over eleven different areas called districts.

Economy

Guangzhou is a major center for manufacturing and business in the Pearl River Delta, one of China's busiest areas for trade and industry. In 2021, the city's economy was very strong, with a total value of ¥2,823 billion (about US$444 billion). This made it the second-largest economy in the South-Central China area, just after Shenzhen.

The city is home to many important businesses and has many foreign companies operating there. It is also known for its tasty Cantonese cuisine and other local products like colorful Canton porcelain, beautiful Cantonese embroidery, and popular Zhujiang Beer.

Zhujiang New Town

Zhujiang New Town is the main business area of Guangzhou today. It covers 6.44 km² in Tianhe District and is home to many big financial companies.

Canton Fair

The Canton Fair, also called the "China Import and Export Fair", happens every year in April and October. Started in 1957, it is one of China's biggest and most important trade events. Since 2014, it has been held at the new Guangzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center in Pazhou.

Local products

Guangzhou is famous for its tasty Cantonese cuisine. The city is also known for its beautiful Cantonese sculpture made from jade, wood, and ivory, as well as colorful Canton porcelain and fine Cantonese embroidery. Zhujiang Beer is one of China's most popular beers.

Industry

Business Environment

Guangzhou is a key place for international businesses. By 2018, over 30,000 foreign companies were based in the city, including many large global companies.

Demographics

The 2010 census found Guangzhou's population to be 12.78 million people.

2020 census

The Seventh National Population Census showed that Guangzhou's permanent resident population reached 18,676,605 as of November 1, 2020. This was an increase of 5,975,805 people—47.05%—over the 2010 number of 12,700,800. The census also reported that 86.19% of the people (16,096,724) lived in urban areas, while 13.81% (2,579,881) lived in rural areas.

Many people move to Guangzhou for work and living, making it one of China's largest cities for migrants. The 2020 census recorded 11,522,907 people living away from their registered home addresses, including 9,378,825 members of the floating population. As of 2014, it was estimated at 13,080,500, with 11,264,800 urban residents. Guangzhou's population density is about 1,800 people per km². The built-up area of Guangzhou connects directly to several other cities. The built-up area of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone covers around 17,573 km² (6,785 mi²) and has been estimated to house 22 million people, including Guangzhou's nine urban districts, Shenzhen (5.36m), Dongguan (3.22m), Zhongshan (3.12m), most of Foshan (2.2m), Jiangmen (1.82m), Zhuhai (890k), and Huizhou's Huiyang District (760k). The total population of this area is over 28 million after including the population of the adjacent Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The area's fast-growing economy and high demand for labor has produced a large "floating population" of migrant workers; up to 10 million migrants live in the area for at least six months each year. In 2008, about five million of Guangzhou's permanent residents were migrant workers.

Ethnicity and language

Most of Guangzhou's population is Han Chinese. Almost all Cantonese people speak Cantonese as their first language, while most migrants speak forms of Mandarin. In 2010, each language was the native tongue of roughly half of the city's population, although some people speak other varieties as well. In 2018, a reporter noted that younger residents increasingly favor using Mandarin instead of Cantonese in daily life. A study of Guangzhou youths born in the year 2000 or after showed that 69% could still speak and understand Cantonese, 20% could understand it but not speak it, and 11% had no knowledge of Cantonese. Despite some decline, Cantonese is faring better than other Chinese languages due to local pride and popular Cantonese entertainment. Additional efforts in the 2020s aim to preserve the Cantonese language and culture, with some schools now teaching Cantonese and cultural events being hosted. A 2018 report showed that 90% of people in Guangzhou are bilingual in both Cantonese and Mandarin.

Guangzhou also has a large resident population of Hakka people. Seven districts in Guangzhou have significant Hakka populations: Zengcheng District, Huadu District, Conghua District, Baiyun District, Tianhe District, Yuexiu District and Panyu District. In Zengcheng and Huadu districts, Hakka speakers make up about 40 percent and a third of the population, respectively.

In recent years, Guangzhou has seen a large influx of migrants, with up to 30 million additional people living in the area for at least six months each year. This is due to the city's fast-growing economy and high labor demands. The city is facing strain due to this high population of unregistered people.

Metropolitan area

The encompassing metropolitan area was estimated by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) to have, as of 2010, a population of 25 million.

Development of Guangzhou

A report from 2018 showed Guangzhou's development from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, developed residential areas were mostly in western Guangzhou, with other parts still agricultural or forested. By 2020, development spread from west to east, though the southern and much of the northern parts remained largely agricultural or forested.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1950	2,567,645	—
1960	3,683,104	+43.4%
1970	4,185,363	+13.6%
1980	5,018,638	+19.9%
1990	5,942,534	+18.4%
2000	9,943,000	+67.3%
2002	10,106,229	+1.6%
2005	9,496,800	−6.0%
2006	9,966,600	+4.9%
2007	10,530,100	+5.7%
2008	11,153,400	+5.9%
2009	11,869,700	+6.4%
2010	12,701,948	+7.0%
2011	12,751,400	+0.4%
2012	12,832,900	+0.6%
2013	12,926,800	+0.7%
2014	13,080,500	+1.2%
2018	14,904,400	+13.9%
Population size may be affected by changes to administrative divisions.

Transportation

Urban mass transit

When the first line of the Guangzhou Metro opened in 1997, Guangzhou became the fourth city in Mainland China to have an underground railway, after Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai. Today, the metro network has nineteen lines and covers more than 700 km (430 mi). It is one of the busiest metro systems in the world and the third largest by length. There is also the Haizhu Tram line, which opened on December 31, 2014.

The Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit (GBRT) system started in 2010 along Zhongshan Road. It connects well with the metro and is the world's second-largest bus rapid transit system, carrying one million passengers each day. During busy times, buses come every ten seconds, and some stations are very long, about 260 m (850 ft) including bridges.^{[citation needed]}

Motor transport

In the 19th century, Guangzhou already had over 600 long, straight streets, though they were mostly narrow. In 1919, work began to tear down the city wall to make way for wider streets and tramways, which took three years to complete.

In 2009, it was announced that all buses and taxis in Guangzhou would use LPG-fuel by 2010. This helped keep the air clean, especially before the 2010 Asian Games in the city. By the end of 2006, over 85 percent of buses and taxis already used LPG.

Starting January 1, 2007, motorcycles were banned in Guangzhou's urban areas. This helped reduce traffic problems and accidents in the downtown area.

Airports

Guangzhou's main airport is Baiyun International Airport in Baiyun District; it opened on August 5, 2004. It is the second busiest airport in China for flights. It replaced an older airport that was too close to the city center to handle growing air traffic. The new airport now has three runways, with two more planned. Terminal 2 opened on April 26, 2018. Another airport in Zengcheng District is still being planned.

Passengers can also fly from Hong Kong International Airport by taking a ferry from Lianhuashan Ferry Terminal or Nansha Ferry Port in Nansha District to the HKIA Skypier. There are also coach buses connecting Guangzhou to HKIA.

There are direct buses to nearby cities like Foshan, Dongguan, Shenzhen, and Zhongshan.

Rail

Guangzhou is the end point for several important railways, including the Beijing–Guangzhou, Guangzhou–Shenzhen, Guangzhou–Maoming, and Guangzhou–Meizhou–Shantou lines. In late 2009, the Wuhan–Guangzhou high-speed railway began operating, with trains traveling up to 320 km/h (199 mph) over 980 km (608.94 mi). In December 2014, the Guiyang–Guangzhou high-speed railway and Nanning-Guangzhou railway also started service, with speeds up to 250 km/h (155 mph) and 200 km/h (124 mph). The Guangdong Through Train goes from Guangzhou East railway station to Hung Hom station in Kowloon, Hong Kong, taking less than two hours. There are also frequent coach services from various locations in the city. New regional railways like the Guangzhou–Zhuhai intercity railway and the Guangzhou-Foshan-Zhaoqing intercity railway have started operating.^{[citation needed]}

Water transport

There are daily high-speed catamaran trips between Nansha Ferry Terminal and Lianhua Shan Ferry Terminal in Guangzhou and the Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal, as well as between Nansha Ferry Terminal and Macau Ferry Pier in Hong Kong.

Transport in Guangzhou

[Panyu Square station](/wiki/Panyu_Square_station) of the [Guangzhou Metro](/wiki/Guangzhou_Metro)

and_B5_Train(07x011-012)_at_Guangzhou_CRRC_Base,_Guangzhou_Metro_20230626.jpg)

Trains used by the Guangzhou Metro

A [GBRT](/wiki/Guangzhou_BRT) station, _Gangding_

Baiyun International Airport in [Huadu District](/wiki/Huadu_District)

.jpg)

CRH380A at Guangzhou South Railway Station

[Guangzhou Tram](/wiki/Guangzhou_Tram)

Culture

Guangzhou's culture is mainly Cantonese culture, which is part of the larger "Southern" or "Lingnan" culture, and also includes Hakka culture. Important parts of Cantonese culture include:

Cantonese language, the local way of speaking.
Cantonese cuisine, one of China's famous food styles.
Cantonese opera, with performances that can be exciting or story-based.
Xiguan (Saikwan), an area west of the old city walls.

The Guangzhou Opera House and Symphony Orchestra perform both Western and Chinese music. Cantonese music is a traditional Chinese style, while Cantopop is the local kind of pop music and rock-and-roll that began in nearby Hong Kong.

Cantonese language, Cantonese cuisine, and Cantonese opera are shared by the whole Guangdong area, not just Guangzhou. Because Guangzhou has people from many backgrounds, its culture also includes other styles, like Hakka culture and language.

In areas where Hakka people live in Guangzhou, Hakka culture is strong and well kept. Over time, Canton culture and Hakka culture have mixed to create new traditions. Zengcheng, Guangzhou is a district that has existed for over 1,800 years, where Canton and Hakka cultures live together peacefully. This mixing has created special foods, like Zhengguo Wonton, Lanxi Rice Noodle, Goose Soup, Rooster olives, Yuecun Dace Fish Skin, Paitan Roasted Chicken, and Shitan Whole Cattle Banquet.

Religions

Before modern times, Guangzhou had about 124 places for religious activities. Today, Guangzhou has groups for Buddhism, Taoism, a Jewish community, and a history with Christianity, which returned to China when outside powers arrived.

Taoism

Taoism and Chinese folk religion are still found in a few of the city's temples. One important temple is the Temple of the Five Immortals, which honors five figures said to have brought rice farming to the city. During a time of big changes in China, many Taoist temples were damaged, but a few have been fixed since the 1980s. Guangzhou, like much of southern China, still keeps the tradition of honoring family ancestors during special holidays.

Buddhism

Buddhism is the most common religion in Guangzhou. The Zhizhi Temple, founded in AD 233, is known as the Guangxiao Temple ("Temple of Bright Filial Piety") since the Ming dynasty. The Temple of the Six Banyan Trees is famous for a poem written by Su Shi during the Northern Song. These temples were damaged during different times in history but have been fixed up since the 1980s.

Christianity

Nestorian Christians first came to China by land, but faced hard times and mostly disappeared by the year 1000. Later, rules limited outside religious workers until they changed after wars in the 1800s. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guangzhou is at Guangzhou's Sacred Heart Cathedral, built from 1861 to 1888. Since China opened up in the 1980s, more people have become interested in Christianity.

Islam

Guangzhou has had links with the Islamic world since the Tang dynasty. Today, the city is known for the Huaisheng Mosque, built in 627 by Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, a companion of the Prophet who came to China in the 620s.

Religious sites in Guangzhou

The Huaisheng Mosque and Guangta Minaret

Guangzhou's Temple of the Five Immortals

The Hall of the 500 Arhats at the Flowery Forest Temple (Hualin) in the 1870s

The Temple of Bright Filial Piety

Guangzhou's City God Temple

The sacred pigs of the Ocean Banner Temple (Hoi Tong) in the 1830s

The Flower Pagoda at the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees (Liurong)

The Thousand Buddha Tower at the present-day Hoi Tong Monastery

Sacred Heart Cathedral

Tianhe Church, built in 2017

Sports

The Guangzhou Gymnasium was used for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

In 2010, Guangzhou was the host city for the 16th Asian Games and the first Asian Para Games. These were the biggest sporting events the city has ever hosted.

Guangzhou has also hosted other important sports events, such as the 1st FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991 and the 49th World Table Tennis Championships in 2008.

In the 2010s, Guangzhou became very successful in football, winning many national titles and taking part in the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup.

Sports	League	Tier	Club	Stadium
Basketball	Chinese Basketball Association	1st	Guangzhou Loong Lions	Tianhe Gymnasium
Baseball	China Baseball League	1st	Guangdong Leopards	Tianhe Sports Center baseball field

Restaurants

In the 1990s, local newspapers in Guangzhou often wrote about the city's restaurants. They added special pages about everyday life and fun stories to help them make money.

Destinations

Main articles: Eight Views and Eight Views of Guangzhou

The Eight Views of Ram City are Guangzhou's eight most famous tourist attractions. They have changed over time since the Song dynasty. The current list was chosen in 2025 through a public vote.

Taying Huacheng: Canton Tower, Guangzhou Art Museum, Flower City Square, and more
Yunshan Diecui: Baiyun Mountain, Yunluo Botanical Garden, and Yunxi Botanical Garden
Yuexiu Fenghua: Beijing Road, Museum of the Nanyue King Mausoleum, Yuexiu Park, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
Liwan Shengjing: Yongqing Fang, Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, White Goose Tan, and more
Nansha Xuri: Nansha Mazu Temple, Puzhou Garden, Nansha Binhai Park, Nansha Wetland Park
Huangpu Yunfan: Nanhai Temple, Whampoa Military Academy
Huanle Changlong: Guangzhou Chimelong Tourist Resort
Liuxi Yanzhu: Liuxi River National Forest Park, Conghua Hot Spring Tourist Resort, and more

Guangzhou has many beautiful parks and gardens, such as:

Guangzhou is a popular place to visit, with many attractions including:

Canton Tower
Chen Clan Ancestral Hall
Chime-Long Paradise
Chime-Long Waterpark
Guangdong Provincial Museum
Guangzhou Zoo
Mulberry Park
Nanyue King Museum
Peasant Movement Training Institute
Sacred Heart Cathedral (Stone House)
Temple of Bright Filial Piety (Guangxiao)
Temple of the Six Banyan Trees (Liurong)
Sanyuan Palace
Shamian or Shameen Island
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
Xiguan (Saikwan)

Popular places to walk in Guangzhou include:

Beijing Road pedestrian street
Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street
Huacheng Square (Flower City Square)

Guangzhou has many large shopping places, especially in the Tianhe district, such as:

101 Dynamics
China Plaza
Liwan Plaza
Teem Plaza
Victory Plaza
Wanguo Plaza
Grandview Mall (Grandview Mall Aquarium)
Wanda square
Happy Valley
TaiKoo Hui
Parc Central
OneLinkWalk
Rock Square
Aeon Mall
GT Land Plaza
IFC Plaza
IGC Mall
Mall of the World
K11
Fashion Tianhe

The city also has many tall buildings, including:

CITIC Plaza
Canton Tower
Guangzhou Circle Mansion
Guangdong Olympic Stadium
Guangzhou Opera House
Guangzhou TV Tower
Pearl River Tower
The Twin Towers:
- Guangzhou International Finance Center (West)
- The CTF Guangzhou (East)

Also of note are:

Canton Custom House (est. 1916)
Aiqun Hotel, once Guangzhou's tallest building
Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel on Shamian
The Canton Cement Factory (est. 1907)
The old provincial capitol, now the Museum of Revolutionary History
Guangzhou's CBD, including the IFC and CTF

Media

Guangzhou has two local radio stations: Radio Guangdong and Radio Guangzhou. They broadcast in many channels, mostly in the local language, Cantonese. Some programs are also in Mandarin Chinese, especially from the Beijing-based China National Radio. There is even a weekly English program called Guangdong Today, heard around the world through the World Radio Network.

The city is home to important Chinese-language newspapers and magazines, published mainly by three big groups: the Guangzhou Daily Press Group, Nanfang Press Corporation, and the Yangcheng Evening News Group. The top newspapers are Guangzhou Daily and Southern Metropolis Daily. There are also a few English magazines and newspapers, such as That's Guangzhou, which has grown to include other cities too.

Education and research

The Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, also called Guangzhou University Town, is a big area for students and teachers in the southeast suburbs of Guangzhou. It is on Xiaoguwei Island in Panyu District and has space for up to 200,000 students, 20,000 teachers, and 50,000 staff.

As of June 2023, Guangzhou has 84 colleges and universities, ranking second in China after Beijing. The city has many top schools, including Sun Yat-sen University and South China University of Technology. Guangzhou is also a key place for research and development in Asia-Pacific, ranking sixth in the world.

The Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center includes campuses from these schools:

Other universities and colleges in Guangzhou include:

Guangdong Institute of Science and Technology
Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University
Guangdong University of Finance & Economics
Guangdong University of Finance
Guangzhou College of South China University of Technology
Guangzhou Medical University
Guangzhou Sports University
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)
Jinan University
South China Agricultural University
Southern Medical University
Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering

The two main libraries are Guangzhou Library and Sun Yat-sen Library of Guangdong Province. Guangzhou Library moved to a new building in Zhujiang New Town in 2013.

Notable people

Guangzhou has been home to many famous people throughout history. Some well-known individuals include Choh Hao Li, an American biochemist who studied hormones, and I. M. Pei, a Chinese-American architect.

Other notable people from Guangzhou are Zhi Cong Li, a racing driver, and Bolo Yeung, a Hong Kong martial artist and actor. The city has also produced successful politicians like Gene Wu from Texas, as well as calligraphers, engineers, and actors who have made their mark in various fields.

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in China

Consulates General/consulates

As of April 2023, Guangzhou has 68 foreign consulates-general and consulates. This makes it one of the major cities in China to host more than 50 foreign representatives, after Beijing and Shanghai.