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Brief Introduction to Guangdong Province (Yue for short)

Guangdong is located in the southern part of the south China Sea, encompassing a total 179,766 square kilometres. From north to south, the altitudes of landforms decreases. The highest mountain is the Shikengkong peak with a height of 1902 m above sea level. The mountain and hill areas cover most of Guangdong without many plains. There are many rivers such as the Zhujiang River (Pearl River), which is composed of the Xijiang River, the Beijiang River, the Dongjiang River, the Hanjiang River, the Rongjiang River and the Moyangjiang River.

Guangdong has a curved coastal line of 3368.1 km and many estuaries and more than 651 offshore islets. The Tropic of Cancer runs through Guangdong, the southwest part of which and the Leizhou Peninsula are in the tropical zone , and other parts in the subtropical zone. It is warm and rainy all the year round, the average temperature ranges from 19 to 26 centigrade degree, the average annual rainfall is more than 1500 mm, the rainy season is from April to September. 

Abort 130,000 years ago, the Home sapiens, the Beijing River "Mabaren", evolved into the Xijiang River "Fengkairen"about 12,000 years ago, and then to Baiyueren about 4,000 years ago. In 214 B.C. the first emperor in Qing Dynasty brought the Linnan under his control, and divided it into three parts: the Han People moved into these regions and the County. Since that time, the Han People moved into these regions and the Baiyue People became the members of Chinese nation. By now there are also many ethnic minorities such as the Miao, the Yao ,the Hui, the Man and the She in the Guangdong Province. 

In 1989 the population was estimated at 60,240,000. Besides, there are a large number of Guangdong people who have emigrated abroad. Guangdong Province was first set up in 1370 A.D. with Guangzhou as its capital. People in Guangdong Province have revolutionary traditions . The first page of Chinese modern history began in Guangdong (the Anti-imperialism's Opium War), which is also the starting point of Chinese Democratic Revolution. As the South Gate of China, Guangdong has been opining to the outside world for a long time. Since the adoption of opening and reforming policy in 1978, three special economic zones, Shen Zhen, Zhuhai and Shantou, have been established, Guangzhou, Zhanjiang, the Zhujiang (Pearl River) Delta areas and the whole coastal regions have been opened. More than 100 ports have also been opened. So Guangdong's transportation is convenient. Its industry is developing and agricultural products (rice, fruits, fishing, etc)are abundant. Its economy is developing rapidly.

The transport conditions in Guangdong Province are fairly good. So far, the water transportation has been playing a very important role. The ocean shops go from Guangzhou or Zhanjiang to South East Asia, Africa, Europe and America, and more than 40 ports in Shanghai , Dalian, Tianjin, Qingdao, Nantong, Ningbo, Yantai, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Wenzhou, Beihai and etc. Guangdong is also one of the provinces in China where the highways have been developed into the networks all over the province. And there are four railways: Beijiang to Guangzhou, Guangzhou to Jiulong, Guangzhou to Maoming and Litang to Zhanjiang. The air transport services are developing rapidly. Besides an airport in Guangzhou, there are some other airports in Zhanjing, Shantou, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Foshan, Huizhou, Wuhua, Meixian, Yangjiang etc. which connect with all the large cities in China. There are more than 10 international airlines.

The handicraft industry in Guangdong is in the lead in the whole country with a long history and unique features. As early as 1870s, the handicraft industry in Ganging had become well known as "guanghuo". Hardware(such as keys, knives, flashlights), umbrella, leather products, furniture (especial the carved mahogany furniture) are all well-known in the world. Among the art ware, the ivory carving, gem carving, iron carving, porcelain carving and golden-wood carving are well known for their excellent design. The Guangdong embroidery and the Chaozhou embroidery, one of the four kinds of best embroideries in China , are known for their beautiful patterns and exquisite craft. Besides, there are also Zhaoqing's ink stone, Dongguan's fireworks, Shiwan's porcelain and Xingning's folding fan.

The local culture in Guangdong is also well developed. The main dialects are Guangzhou dialects , Hakka dialects and Chao zhou dialects. There are Guangdong local music, Yue opera, Chaozhou opera and Guangdong Han opera. The Lingnan architecture, Guangdong cooking and folk custom are all fascinating. Guangdong is a place with beautiful mountains and rivers, moderate climate and many scenic spots. The Luofu Mountain, the Danxia mountain, the Dinghu Mountain and the Xiqiao Mountain are the four famous mountains in Guangdong Province. There are also many wonderful attractions for tourism and holidays all over the province.

Source http://www.gznet.edu.cn

1. Name: Guangdong Province
2. Areas: 177.901 thousand km²
3. Population:70.1373 million (registered population by the end of 1997)
4. Provincial Capital: Guangzhou City
5. Geography: Guangdong is one of the provinces on the south end of the mainland of China, and includes the mainland part and many islands. It is in the tropical and subtropical monsoon climate zone. Guandong is by the Nanling mountain range, and neighbors on Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi and Fujian, and borders on the southern China Sea in the south.
6. Natural Resources: Guangdong province is abounding in aquatic products, the fresh water cultivatable area in the whole province is 425.7 thousand hectares, and seawater cultivatable area is 775.7 thousand hectares. Guangdong has quite a lot of types of minerals, up till now, there are 128 types of minerals found, including 89 types of proved reserves, and most are nonferrous metal.
7. Economy: In 1997, the gross domestic product of Guangdong was 731.551 billion yuan, the per capita gross domestic product was 10,248 yuan. The gross industrial and agricultural output value was 1134.46 billion yuan. The total imports and exports were 130.12 billion US dollars; total provincial government revenue was 54.395 billion yuan; the yield of grain 19.6675 million tons.
8. People’s Life: By the end of 1997, Guangdong had labor force of 45.901 million people, and 37.019 million employed. The total wages of staff and workers was 85.835 billion yuan, and the average wage of staff and workers was 9,698 yuan. The per capita annual disposable income of urban households was 8,561.71 yuan, and the per capita net income of rural households was 3,467.69 yuan. The per capita living floor space was 16.97 m² for urban areas and 23.78 m² for rural areas. The average household consumption was 8108 yuan. The number of hospital beds per 1,000 persons was 2.06, and number of doctors per 1,000 persons was 1.48.
9. Education: By the end of 1997, there were 42 higher education institutions in Guangdong, with number of student enrolment 174,700 and teachers 16,900; 4795 secondary schools with number of student enrolment 4,612.3 thousand and teachers 235.6 thousand; 24,700 primary schools with number of student enrolment 9,113.4 thousand and teachers 346.4 thousand. The school-age student enrolment rate is 99.77%.

Guangdong is one of the provinces with large population. Its total population in 1997 was 70.1373 million, the 5th of China only next to Sichuan, Henan, Shandong and Jiangsu. The population density differs from high to low along with the terrain from low to high; The density is higher in plain, lower in the mountainous areas, higher in the middle, east and west, lower in the north. The province is intensely populated in the south and east part, sparsely populated in the north and west part; the population density increases from inland area to coastal area. Urban areas are intensely populated while rural areas are sparsely populated.

The population Development of Guangdong experienced five phases since the liberation. 1949-1958 was the period of fast population increase with an annual rate of 2.66%. The first baby boom appeared in this period. 1959-1961 was the period of slow population increase with an annual rate of 1.16%. 1962-1970 the second baby boom was observed in this period and the annual increase rate was 2.6%. 1971-1979 in this period, the population growth rate declined rapidly and the annual increase rate was 1.8%. This period was a turning point of the total population development. 1980-1989 was the period of planned population growth and the increase rate was 1.6%, much lower than that of most periods.

The sex ratio of Guangdong population increased gradually since 1949: 100.86 in 1949, 102.4 in 1953, 102.5 in 1960, 103.9 in 1964, 104.80 in 1982. It was since 1990 that the sex ratio declined; it was 104.80 in 1990 and became 102.64 in 1995.

In 1997, population aged 0-14 was 20,509; 15-64 population was 45,850 and the population at ages of 65 and above was 5,220. The total dependency ratio was 56.12% with the ratio of children 44.73% and of aged 11.39%.

Since 1949, the fertility of Guangdong has been declining from 37.60‰ in 1950 to 21.96‰ in 1989, and the total fertility rate decreased from 6.12 in 1957 to 2.49 in 1989. Since 1990s, it kept declining though the province experienced the third baby boom and the total women of reproductive age increased. The total fertility rate was 2.48 in 1990, while in 1997 the birth rate was 16.90‰, and the natural increase rate was 11.50‰. According to population projections in 3 scenarios of high, medium, and low, the total fertility rate will decline to 1.9 in the next century and the birth rate will be between 13.65 and 12.95‰.

The mortality of Guangdong kept declining since the liberation, much lower than the national level and among the provinces with low mortality. The mortality is 15.00 per thousand in 1949, 5.92 per thousand in 1980. Since 1990s, the mortality bounced back slightly, 6.17 per thousand in 1992 and 5.40 per thousand in 1997. The life expectancy of Guangdong (including Hainan) was 71.29 in 1981, 68.53 for males and 73.74 for females, and it was 73.59 in 1989, 71.12 for males and 76.60 for females.

In 1997, among the total 51.071 million population aged 15 and above, males were 25.406 million and females were 25.664 million. The never-married males were 7.244 million, females 5.445 million; the currently-married males of first marriage were 17.012 million, females 17.450 million; the currently-married males of second marriage were 251 thousand million, females 281 thousand; the divorced males were 171 thousand and females were 84 thousand; the widowed males were 728 thousand and females were 2,403 thousand.

Since 1982, the family size declined gradually. The family structure presented a “smaller in the two ends, larger in the middle” patterns. The seven-person and above households decreased and the three-or-four-person households increased rapidly. This means that the family size of Guangdong is becoming smaller.

In recent years, with the strengthening of population control, the number of newborns decreased and the life expectancy prolonged which resulted in the aging of population. It was estimated that among the 70.5115 million population, population aged 0-14 were 20.20 million, made up 28.65 % of the total; the population of 65 and above were 5.14 million, 7.29% of the total. Compared with 1995, child population decreased by 940 thousand, 2.28 percentage point lower. Instead the old population increased by 250 thousand and the percentage raised 0.17. According to the standard of 7%, Guangdong’s population has become an old one. This change of age structure has two results: one is the rich labor force, which makes pressure on employment. In 1997, the total labor force of Guangdong reached 40.26 million, made up 57% of the total population. The other is the old age support issue. In 1997, the total dependency ratio was 44.73% with 11.39% for old population aged 65 and above. Faced with the aggravated old-age problem, it is demanded to build up and perfect the social support system for elderly. Meanwhile the role of family in old age support should be emphasized alike.

Under the strategy “Rejuvenating the Province through Science and Education”, since the 90s, the education level of Guangdong population improved rapidly. The educated population increased from 53.47 million in 1995 to 57.37 million in 1977, and the percentage increased from 78.2% to 81.36%. At the same time, the population of illiteracy and half illiteracy decreased from 5.34 million to 4.84 million, and the total illiteracy rate declined from 7.81% to 6.86%. In 1990, the college-illiteracy ratio was 12.86%. The increase of educated population, especially of higher education population provides an excellent foundation for the development of information and technology industry of Guangdong.

Guangdong has been one of provinces with frequent migration and mobility. During the five years from 1985 to1990, the intra-migration and inter-migration took the first place in all the provinces of China. The direction of migration was from neighboring provinces, inland provinces and remote mountainous areas to Zhujiang River Delta; the rural population moved towards urban areas. The main reason of migration in recent years is doing business and labor work in cities, which is quite different from that before Opening and Reform. Marriage migration, job transfer, going and seeking refugee with relatives and friends, accompanying migration and so on were main reasons for migration at that time.

Guangdong is one of the provinces with poor resource and serious environment problem. As a result of excessively rapid population growth and the low education level, the pressure imposed by population on the environment heightened. To meet the demand of increasing population, the environment and resources were overexploited and destroyed. The heavy population burden delayed the economic construction and social development, while the deterioration of environment in return endangered the survival of people.

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