General Introduction

The southernmost province, Guangdong is bounded by the South China Sea and is the southern gateway of China. Apart from its mainland area, it includes Hainan Island and the numerous islands and reefs on the South China Sea. It has an area of more than 210,000 square kilometers and a population of 57.8 million, of which 50.47 million, or 87.3 per cent of the total, live in the rural areas. Guangdong is one of the home provinces of overseas Chinese. The Zhujiang Delta in this densely populated province-is one of the most densely populated regions in the world. Guangdong has very convenient ties with other countries in the world. Under a decision made by the Party Central Committee and the State Council in 1979, it has been given more independence in the sense that it may adopt special policies and flexible measures in its foreign economic activities. Parts of the areas in the three cities of Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou have been set aside as special economic zones.

Scenic Spots

Bright Filial Piety Temple
Conghua Hot Springs -- Health Resort
Foshan -- City of Handicrafts
Maluan Mountain, One of Shenzhen's Best-kept Secrets
Shenzhen -- a Special Economic Zone
Xiqiao Mountain -- 'Water Flies a Thousand Feet'
Yuexiu Park
Zhaoqing -- Thriving River Port

Topography

Guangdong is high in the north and low in the south, with wide areas of hills and mountains. Of its total area, mountains make up 33 per cent, hills 25 per cent, plains 23 per cent, and tablelands 19 per cent. Guangdong may be divided into six zones according to its complicated terrain: 1) The Zhujiang Delta near the outlet to the sea in the lower Zhujiang River is the general name for the Xijiang, Beijiang and Dongjiang river deltas and their neighboring islands. Formed of the alluvial deposits of the Zhujiang River, it has many waterways and a fertile soft and is known as a "land of affluence". 2) The Northeastern Guangdong Mountain Area and the Southeastern Guangdong Hilly Region include mainly the Qingyun, Jiulian, Luofou, Lianhua and Haian ranges mostly 1,000 meters in elevation. Xingning and Meixian are the larger of the numerous intermontane basins. There are narrow plains along the sea coast, the largest being the Chaosban (Chaozhou-Shantou) Plain in the lower reaches of the Hanjiang River. 3) The Northern Guangdong Mountain Area consists mainly of the Dayuling and Qitianling mountains of the Nanling range 1,000-1,500 meters in elevation. Flatlands are few and far between here. 4) The Western Guangdong Mountainous Tableland covers the vast areas west of the Zhujiang Delta, and the Leizhou Peninsula, comprising the Yunkaidashan and Yunwu mountains 1,000 meters above sea level. 5) Hainan, China's second largest island, consists of hills, mountains arid tablelands. 6) The South China Sea islands are composed of the Dongsha, Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island groups. Zengmu Reef in the Nansha island group is the southernmost territory of China.

The numerous rivers in Guangdong have huge volumes of flow, little silt content, long high-water seasons and wide hydroelectric power potentials. The larger ones are the Zhujiang, Hanjiang, Nandu, Moyang and Jianjiang rivers. The Zhujiang, the general name of the Xijiang, Dongjiang and Beijiang after their confluence, drains half of Guangdong's total area. Its large flow (eight times that of the Huanghe) and long high-water seasons (six months) facilitate navigation, irrigation and power-generation. The Hanjiang in eastern Guangdong is the second largest river in the province.

Climate

Crossed by the Tropic of Cancer in the central part of its continental portion, tropical and sub-tropical Guangdong has a climate marked by high temperature and plentiful rainfall. It has the highest mean annual temperature of any province which increases from 19ºC. in the north to 25ºC. on Hainan Island. With the exception of the highlands in the north, the province has long summers and no winters and is green all year round. Thanks to the breeze from the ocean, it is generally cooler in Guangdong than in the middle Yangtze River valley. The Leizhou Peninsula and Hainan Island are in the tropics where tropical plants grow in profusion. The greater part of the province has a mean annual precipitation of more than 1,500 mm. and 140-160 rainy days. The coastal regions are frequently visited by typhoons between May and November.

Communications

Inland shipping figures prominently in the transport system of Guangdong whose rivers have a navigable length of 16,000 kilometers. With the Zhujiang River as the trunk, the radiating water transport network composed of the Xijiang, Beijiang, Dongjiang and the numerous other rivers on the Zhujiang Delta serves half of the province's regions. Guangdong has a maritime transport service which serves its coastal regions as well as foreign trade. Of its 100 or more harbors, the major ones are Guangzhou, Zhanjiang, Shantou, Basuo, Haikou and Sanya. Huangpu Port at Guangzhou and the newly built Zhanjiang Port are important foreign trade ports in south China. The Huangpu and Zhanjiang harbors each have 12 and 8 berths capable of accommodating ships above the.10,000-ton class. Railway mileage is not long in Guangdong where there are the Beijing-Guangzhou, Guangzhou-Kowloon, Litang-Zhanjiang and Guangzhou-Sanshui railways. Guangdong with its road mileage of 31,000 kilometers is among the provinces with the most developed highway systems where practically all the rural people's communes can be reached by bus. Communications between Guangzhou and Hongkong are very convenient.