Guangdong Province

Guangdong From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search Not to be confused with Guandong. Guangdong Province 广东省 Province Name transcription(s) • Chinese 广东省 (Guǎngdōng Shěng) • Abbreviation GD / 粤 (pinyin: Yuè, Jyutping: Jyut6) Views of Mount Danxia Views of Mount Danxia Map showing the location of Guangdong Province Map showing the location of Guangdong Province Coordinates: 23°24′N 113°30′ECoordinates: 23°24′N 113°30′E Named for Abbreviated from "Guǎngnándōng Lù" (A "lù" was equal to a province or a state in Song China) 广 = wide, vast, expanse 东 = east literally, "At the East of the Expanse" (Guangxi being the West) Capital (and largest city) Guangzhou Divisions 21 prefectures, 121 counties, 1642 townships Government • Secretary Li Xi • Governor Ma Xingrui Area[2] • Total 179,800 km2 (69,400 sq mi) Area rank 15th Highest elevation 1,902 m (6,240 ft) Population (2018)[3] • Total 113,460,000[1] • Rank 1st • Density rank 7th Demonym(s) Cantonese Demographics • Ethnic composition Han – 99% Zhuang – 0.7% Yao – 0.2% • Languages and dialects Cantonese and other Yue languages, Hakka, Min Nan languages (Teochew & Leizhou Min), Tuhua, Mandarin, Zhuang ISO 3166 code CN-GD GDP (2018) CNY 9.73 trillion US$1.47 trillion[1] (1st) • per capita CNY 87,763 US$13,257 (8th) HDI (2017) 0.786[4] (high) (5th) Website www.gd.gov.cn (in Chinese) Guangdong Guangdong (Chinese characters).svg "Guangdong" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters Simplified Chinese 广东 Traditional Chinese 廣東 Literal meaning "Eastern Expanse" showTranscriptions Abbreviation Simplified Chinese 粤 Traditional Chinese 粵 Literal meaning [an ancient name for southern China's Yue people] showTranscriptions Guangdong (alternately romanized as Canton Province or Kwangtung) is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 113.46 million (as of 2018[5]) across a total area of about 179,800 km2 (69,400 sq mi),[2] Guangdong is the most populous province of China and the 15th-largest by area. Its economy is larger than that of any other province in the nation and the 6th largest sub-national economy in the world with a GDP size of 1.47 trillion US dollars (9.73 trillion Chinese yuan) in 2018.[5] The Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, a Chinese megalopolis, is a core for high technology, manufacturing and foreign trade. Located in this zone are two of the four top Chinese cities and the top two Chinese prefecture-level cities by GDP; Guangzhou, the capital of the province, and Shenzhen, the first special economic zone in the country. These two are among the most populous and important cities in China, and have now become two of the world's most populous megacities. The province of Guangdong surpassed Henan and Shandong to become the most populous province in China in January 2005, registering 79.1 million permanent residents and 31 million migrants who lived in the province for at least six months of the year;[6][7] the total population was 104,303,132 in the 2010 census, accounting for 7.79 percent of Mainland China's population.[8] This makes it the most populous first-level administrative subdivision of any country outside of South Asia, as its population is surpassed only by those of the Pakistani province of Punjab[9] and the Indian states of Bihar, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.[10] Its population increase since the census has been modest, the province registering 108,500,000 people in 2015.[11] Most of the historical Guangdong Province is administered by the People's Republic of China (PRC). However, the archipelagos of Pratas in the South China Sea are controlled by the Republic of China (ROC, a.k.a. Taiwan), and were previously part of Guangdong Province before the Chinese Civil War.[12][13] Guangdong has a highly diversified economy. Since 1989, Guangdong has topped the total GDP rankings among all provincial-level divisions, with Jiangsu and Shandong second and third in rank. As of 2018, Guangdong's GDP reached 1.47 trillion US dollars (CNY 9.73 trillion), exceeding that of Spain with GDP of 1.43 trillion US dollars, the 13th largest in the world.[14] The province contributes approximately 12% of the total economic output of mainland China, and is home to the production facilities and offices of a wide-ranging set of Chinese and foreign corporations. Guangdong has benefited from its proximity to the financial hub of Hong Kong, which it borders to the south. Guangdong also hosts the largest import and export fair in China, the Canton Fair, hosted in the provincial capital of Guangzhou. After the unification of Lingnan region in the Qin Dynasty, the immigrants from the Central Plains moved in and formed the local culture with a unique style. With the outward movement of the Guangdong people, the Hakka and Cantonese languages, music, cuisine, opera and tea ceremony have been spread throughout the nation, Southeast Asia and other countries. The two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao fall within the scope of Guangdong cultural influence, and Guangdong culture still has profound influences on the Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia.