Guangdong

Guangdong (广东; Gwóngdūng in Cantonese; Guǎngdōng in Mandarin) is a province in South China on the border with Hong Kong. It is China's most populous province, and one of the richest.

If Guangdong were a country, then as of 2012 its population of 104 million would make it 12th in the world (after Mexico, ahead of the Philippines) and its GDP of $850 billion would be 16th (after South Korea, ahead of Indonesia). Both population and GDP are still growing.

In the era of tea clippers, both Guangdong and its capital Guangzhou were often referred to on maps and in spoken English as Canton. This usage continues today but to a much lesser extent with the transliterated Chinese name being used instead. Other versions no longer used include Kwangtung. The food and language of the area are still known as Cantonese.

Understand

Guangdong borders the South China Sea and surrounds Hong Kong and Macau, both of which were administered as part of the province before being colonised. Though far from Beijing and sometimes seen as a provincial backwater, Guangdong has always been an active center of industry and trade; it was a major terminus of the Maritime Silk Road and also important in the era of tea clippers. It has also always been different from Northern China in some ways; there is a Guangdong saying that "The mountains are high and the Emperor is far away."

The province's economy improved dramatically after Deng Xiaoping initiated economic reforms in 1978. Home to three of the country's Special Economic Zones (marked "SEZ" below, see List of Chinese provinces and regions for an explanation) and to a burgeoning manufacturing industry, Guangdong is now one of the richest provinces in China and does about a third of all China's exports

The major cities in Guangdong have been magnets for migrant workers from poor inland provinces since the 1980s. In many cities this has led to problems with petty crime and homelessness. It also means that Mandarin is increasingly widely spoken and many taxi drivers or service staff are more conversant in Mandarin than Cantonese.

Many overseas Chinese, particularly those who emigrated before 1949, trace their roots to Guangdong, although many are from other coastal provinces such as Fujian or the area around Shanghai. The Chinese food most familiar to Westerners is basically Cantonese cooking, albeit sometimes adapted for the customers' tastes.

Guangdong has a subtropical climate. Annual rainfall averages 1500-2000 millimeters and temperature averages 19C - 26C. Summers are hot and wet and there may be typhoons. The best time to visit Guangdong is in the Spring or Autumn.

Regions

Regions of Guangdong

Eastern Guangdong The coastal area east of the Pearl River Delta including the prefectures of Shanwei, Jieyang, Shantou and Chaozhou

Northern Guangdong The inland part of Guangdong including the prefectures of Yunfu, Zhaoqing, Qingyuan, Shaoguan, Heyuan and Meizhou

Pearl River Delta "The world's workshop", a major manufacturing area. Guangdong produces a third of China's total exports and most of those are from the Delta region. The area from Shenzhen to Guangzhou is essentially one massive factory city. The region includes the prefectures of Jiangmen, Foshan, Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Shenzhen and Huizhou

Western Guangdong The coastal area west of the Pearl River Delta, including the prefectures of Zhanjiang, Maoming and Yangjiang

Cities

• 🌍 Guangzhou - the capital of the province, largest city, economic and cultural center
• 🌍 Dongguan - center for the garment trade, light manufacturing, and electronics, between Guangzhou and Shenzhen
• 🌍 Qingyuan - popular among local travelers for its white-water rafting and hot springs.
• 🌍 Shantou - on the coast North of Hong Kong, SEZ
• 🌍 Shaoguan - located in northern Guangdong
• 🌍 Shenzhen - boom town on border with Hong Kong, SEZ
• 🌍 Zhongshan - Hometown of the revolutionary father of modern China, Sun Yatsen, and now a major industrial city southwest of Guangzhou
• 🌍 Zhanjiang - in the West, near Hainan
• 🌍 Zhuhai - fast growing town on border with Macau, SEZ

Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou are Special Economic Zones (SEZs) where various government programs encourage investment.

Other destinations

• Kaiping - A small town famous for its mixture of western and eastern style castle-like dwellings built by overseas Chinese and the setting for the popular Chinese film "Let the Bullets Fly" 《让子弹飞》.

Talk

Main article: Cantonese phrasebook

Although Mandarin is widely spoken, almost universally by educated people, especially in areas like Shenzhen and Zhuhai which have been built through migration from all across China, the historic and main language of the province is Cantonese. Cantonese people are extremely proud and protective of their language (this applies in Hong Kong as well) and they all continue to use it widely despite efforts at Mandarinization. Cantonese itself is more closely related to the language of the great Tang Dynasty than the more modern (circa Yuan Dynasty) Mandarin. Cantonese people worldwide tend to refer to themselves as "Tong Yan" (People of the Tang in Cantonese) rather than Han, the standard appellation for ethnic Chinese.

There are significant dialectal variations within Cantonese, and the Cantonese spoken in areas in the far Western reaches of Guangdong (e.g. Taishan) is only marginally, or sometimes even not mutually intelligible with the Cantonese spoken in Hong Kong or Guangzhou. Cantonese is also the native language of the neighboring northeastern part of Guangxi province. Nevertheless, the Guangzhou dialect of Cantonese is considered to be the prestige dialect, and is generally understood throughout the Cantonese-speaking areas.

At the coastal areas near the border with Fujian, most notably Chaozhou and Shantou, a language called Teochew (the native pronunciation of Chaozhou) is spoken. Teochew is not mutually intelligible with Cantonese or Mandarin, but is to a small extent mutually intelligible with the Xiamen dialect of Hokkien, which is part of the Min Nan group. Certain parts of the province, especially the border areas, are also home to Hakka communities whose Hakka dialect is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin or Teochew and only slightly with Cantonese. Speakers of these languages are typically trilingual in their local tongue, Cantonese and Mandarin.

As with elsewhere in China, English is not widely spoken, though airline and high-end hotel staff in the major cities will usually have a basic grasp of English, and Guangzhou and Shenzhen are home to numerous foreigner-friendly bars and restaurants with English-speaking staff due to their large expatriate populations.

Get in

There are several large modern airports in the region: Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is one of China's main international airports and serving an increasing number of long-haul intercontinental flights. The airports in Shenzhen and Shantou also serve a limited number of international flights to other Asian countries. Many other cities also have an airport, but these cater almost entirely for domestic Chinese flights. Alternatively, travellers can consider flying into Hong Kong or Macau and crossing the border by land or ferry.

The area is also well connected to the rest of China by road and rail.

There are also many ports, mainly container ports handling massive freight traffic (2.4 million tons in 2003), but with some passenger services. In particular, there are ferries (mostly fast hydrofoils) connecting Hong Kong and Macau with the neighboring Guangdong cities Shenzhen and Zhuhai, and some even run upriver to Guangzhou. See the city articles for details.

Get around

As elsewhere in China, there is an extensive rail network; Guangzhou is one of the major hubs. Rail is the main means of inter-city travel for the Chinese themselves, and many visitors travel that way as well. The system now includes fast bullet trains on some routes; unless your budget is very tight, these are the best way to go — fast, clean and comfortable.

All the major cities have airports with good domestic connections; some have international connections as well. See the individual city articles for details.

There is also an extensive highway network, much of it very good. Buses go almost anywhere, somewhat cheaper than the trains. See the China article for more. Driving yourself is also possible, but often problematic; see Driving in China.

Most of the public transit systems in the province accept the multi-purpose Lingnan Pass - Yang Cheng Tong (岭南通-羊城通) stored value card. It's accepted in all prefecture-level cities in the province except Shenzhen. The card costs ¥50, which includes an ¥18 deposit and a starting balance of ¥32. You can purchase and recharge the cards in many places, including metro customer service counters and some convenience stores. Returning your card at the end of the trip can be done at any Yang Cheng Tong service centers.

See

Danxia landscape near Danxiashan

These are some tourists' hot spots when they visit Guangdong:

• Baiyun Hill in Guangzhou
• Xiangjiang Wildlife Park in Guangzhou
• Overseas Chinese Town in Shenzhen
• Guanlan Golf Course in Shenzhen
• Yuanming New Park in Zhuhai
• Dr. Sun Yat-sen's birthplace in Zhongshan
• Star Lake in Zhaoqing
• Mount Sijiao in Foshan
• Mount Danxia in Shaoguan
• Qingxin Hot Springs in Qingyuan
• Hailing Island's Dajiao Bay in Yangjiang
• Nanling national forest park in Shaoguan
• The China Danxia landscape near Danxiashan are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

By visiting these destinations, a visitor can gain an understanding of China's history and culture as well as experience the customs and cultural differences both between their own culture and China and between Guangdong and other regions of China.

Do

Eat

Cantonese cuisine (粤菜, yuè cài) is well known around the world, in one form or another, as the source of much overseas Chinese cuisine. Not too spicy, with fresh ingredients and a wide variety of meats (influenced by Guangzhou's history as an international trading hub). Particularly well known is dim sum (点心, diǎnxīn), where diners eat a variety of small bite-sized portions of food served in small steamer baskets or on small plates.

The Hakka and Teochew people have their own distinctive cuisines. Teochew cuisine is known for seafood and for vegetarian dishes.

Guangdong has a many restaurants, with Guangzhou in particular having a reputation as a diner's paradise. Other than sit-down restaurants, bustling night markets provide an eclectic mix of inexpensive finger foods, snacks, and delicacies. These markets are filled with shops and food carts integrating the eating and window-shopping experiences. Night markets are usually very crowded with both tourists and locals.

At some restaurants, when you sit down, your table may be given a large plastic bowl and hot water or tea, which you're supposed to use to rinse your dishes and chopsticks before you eat. Rinsing isn't really necessary (the dishes are already clean), but maybe it gives people peace of mind. If each place setting includes both a plate and a small bowl, eat from the bowl and use the plate to discard unwanted scraps.

Drink

Guangdong is known for herbal tea (凉茶 liángchá).

Stay safe

The major cities of Guangdong are heavily infested with pickpockets, and anyone who does not look Chinese is a prime target. For some info on defenses, see pickpockets.

Go next

A route West from Guangdong into areas with lower prices and colourful minority ethnic groups is covered in Hong Kong to Kunming overland. Extensions of that route into other areas with similar characteristics are described at Yunnan tourist trail and Overland to Tibet.

Nearby places include the major tourist area around Guilin (on the Hong Kong to Kunming route), the beach resorts of Hainan, the unique semi-autonomous cities of Hong Kong and Macau, and the whole of Fujian province which includes several world heritage sites and the lively city of Xiamen.