Guangxi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Abbreviations: 桂 (Pinyin: Guì) | |
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| Origin of name | 广 guǎng - region name 西 xī - west "western Guang" |
| Administration type | Autonomous region |
| Capital (and largest city) |
Nanning |
| CPC Ctte Secretary | Liu Qibao |
| Chairman | Lu Bing |
| Area | 236,700 km² (9th) |
| Population (2004) - Density |
48,890,000 (10th) 207/km² (20th) |
| GDP (2004) - per capita |
CNY 332.0 billion (17th) CNY 6790 (28th) |
| HDI (2005) | 0.731 (medium) (22nd) |
| Major nationalities | Han - 62% Zhuang - 32% Yao - 3% Miao - 1% Dong - 0.7% Gelao - 0.4% |
| Prefecture-level | 14 divisions |
| County-level | 109 divisions |
| Township-level† | 1396 divisions |
| ISO 3166-2 | CN-45 |
| Official website http://www.gxi.gov.cn (Simplified Chinese) |
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| Source for population and GDP data:
《中国统计年鉴—2005》 China Statistical Yearbook 2005
Source for nationalities data:
ISBN 7503747382 《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》 Tabulation on nationalities of 2000 population census of China
† As at December 31, 2004ISBN 7105054255 |
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Guangxi (Zhuang: Gvangjsih; old orthography: Gvaŋзsiƅ; Simplified Chinese: 广西; Traditional Chinese: 廣西; pinyin: Guǎngxī; Wade-Giles: Kuang-hsi; Postal map spelling: Kwangsi), full name Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Zhuang: Gvangjsih Bouxcuengh Swcigih; old orthography: Gvaŋзsiƅ Bouчcueŋƅ Sɯcigiƅ; Simplified Chinese: 广西壮族自治区; Traditional Chinese: 廣西壯族自治區; pinyin: Guǎngxī Zhuàngzú Zìzhìqū) is a Zhuang autonomous region of the People's Republic of China.
"Guang" itself means "expanse", and was associated with the region from the Western Jin Dynasty onwards. "Guangxi" and neighbouring Guangdong literally mean "Guang West" and "Guang East". Together, Guangdong and Guangxi are called the "Two Guangs" (两广 Liǎng Guǎng).
The abbreviation of the province is 桂 (Gui), which comes from Guilin, a major city in the autonomous region.
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[edit] History
The region officially became part of China in 214 BC, when the army of the Qin Dynasty claimed most of southern China. The name "Guangxi" can be traced to the Song Dynasty, which administered the area as a circuit called the Guangnanxi Circuit (literally "Guang-South West Circuit"). During the late Mongol Yuan Dynasty the name was revived again to name a province in the region, but it was shortened to "Guangxi", or "Guang-West". For the next six centuries, Guangxi was a province of China, until its conversion into an autonomous region by the People's Republic of China because of its large minority population.
During the late Qing Dynasty, Guangxi was the site of the Jintian Uprising (金田起义), which occurred in what is now Guiping county in eastern Guangxi on January 11, 1851. On March 23, 1885, Zhennan Pass (now Youyi Pass) on the border with Vietnam was also the site of the Battle of Zhennan Pass (镇南关战役) during the Franco-Chinese War. During the battle, a French incursion was routed by Chinese forces under Feng Zicai (冯子才), an event that has been exalted by subsequent Chinese nationalism.
After the founding of the Republic of China, Guangxi served as the base for one of the most powerful warlord cliques of China: the Old Guangxi Clique. Led by Lu Jung-t'ing (陆荣廷) and others, the clique was able to take control of neighbouring Hunan and Guangdong provinces as well. The Old Guangxi Clique crumbled in the early 1920s, to be replaced by the New Guangxi Clique, led by Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi. Guangxi is also noted for the Baise Uprising (百色起义), a communist uprising led by Deng Xiaoping in 1929. Communist bases were set up, but eventually destroyed by Kuomintang forces.
In 1944, near the end of World War II, Japan invaded Guangxi as part of Operation Ichigo (also known as the Henan-Hunan-Guangxi Campaign (豫湘桂战役), in an attempt to seize the Hunan-Guangxi railway line and open a land link to French Indochina. The operation succeeded and most major cities in Guangxi came under Japanese occupation.
Being in the far south, Guangxi was not freed by communist forces until after the People's Republic was formed; it joined in December 1949, two months after the Republic's foundation. In 1958, Guangxi was converted into an autonomous region for the Zhuang, by recommendation of Premier Zhou Enlai. This decision was made because the Zhuang were one of the biggest minority groups in China, and were mostly concentrated in Guangxi; however, they form a minority of Guangxi's population.
For most of its history, Guangxi was landlocked. In 1952, a small section of Guangdong's coastline was given to Guangxi, giving it access to the sea. This was reversed in 1955, then restored in 1965.
While some development of heavy industry occurred in the province in the 1960s and 1970s, it remained largely a tourist destination and home of scenery which brought people from all over the world. Even the economic growth in China in the 1990s seemed to leave Guangxi behind. However in recent years there has been a growing amount of industrialization, and concentration on cash crops. Per capita GDP has begun rising more rapidly, as industries in Guangdong seek a way to locate production to lower wage areas.
[edit] Administrative divisions
Guangxi is divided into fourteen prefecture-level cities, fifty-six counties, thirty-four districts, twelve ethnic autonomous counties and seven county-level cities. The fourteen prefecture-level cities are:
- Chongzuo (崇左市)
- Baise (百色市)
- Beihai (北海市)
- Fangchenggang (防城港市)
- Guigang (贵港市)
- Guilin (桂林市)
- Hechi (河池市)
- Hezhou (贺州市)
- Laibin (来宾市)
- Liuzhou (柳州市)
- Nanning (南宁市)
- Qinzhou (钦州市)
- Wuzhou (梧州市)
- Yulin (玉林市)
[edit] Geography
Located in the southern part of the country, Guangxi is bordered by Yunnan to the west, Guizhou to the north, Hunan to the northeast, and Guangdong to the southeast. It is also bounded by Vietnam in the southwest and the Gulf of Tonkin in the south.
Guangxi is a mountainous region. The Nanling Mountains are found in the northeast border, with the Yuecheng Mountains (越城岭) and Haiyang Mountains (海洋山) being its shorter branching ridges. Nearer to the center of the region are the Dayao Mountains (大瑶山) and the Daming Mountains (大明山). To the north there are the Duyao Mountains (都阳山) and the Fenghuang Mountains (凤凰山), while on the southeast border there are the Yunkai Mountains (云开大山). The highest point is Mount Mao'er (猫儿山) located in the Yuecheng Mountains, at 2141 m.
Many rivers cut valleys through the mountains. Most of these rivers from the tributary basin of the West River:
| Xijiang River system schematic (italics indicates rivers outside Guangxi) |
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| 贺江 Hejiang River | 西江 Xijiang River | |||
| 西江 Lijiang River | 桂江 Guijiang River | |||
| 北盘江 Beipan River | 红水河 Hongshui River | 黔江 Qianjiang River | 浔江 Xunjiang River | |
| 南盘江 Nanpan River | ||||
| 融江 Rongjiang River | 柳江 Liujiang River | |||
| 龙江 Longjiang River | ||||
| 右江 Youjiang River | 邕江 Yongjiang River | 郁江 Yujiang River | ||
| 左江 Zuojiang River | ||||
Guangxi has a short coastline on the Gulf of Tonkin. Important seaports include Beihai, Qinzhou and Fangchenggang.
Guangxi has a subtropical climate. Summers are generally long and hot. Average annual temperature is 17 to 23°C, while average annual precipitation is 1250 to 1750 mm.
Major cities include: Nanning, Beihai, Guilin, Liuzhou.
Notable towns include: Longmen, Sanjiang, Yangshuo.
[edit] Economy
Important crops in Guangxi include rice, maize, sweet potatoes, and wheat. Cash crops include sugar cane, peanuts, tobacco, and kenaf.
Guangxi has more tin, manganese, and indium deposits than any other province of China.
In recent years Guangxi's economy has languished behind that of its wealthy neighbour and twin, the province of Guangdong.
Guangxi's 2004 nominal GDP was about 332.0 billion yuan (US$41.19 billion) and ranked seventeenth in China. Its per capita GDP was 5,630 yuan (US$680).
[edit] Demographics
The region has a high concentration of Zhuang, over 14 million, one of the major minority ethnicities of China. Over 90% of Zhuang in China live in Guangxi, especially in the central and western regions. There is also a significant number of both Dong and Miao minority peoples. Other ethnic groups include: Yao, Hui, Yi (Lolo), Shui, and Gin (Vietnamese).
[edit] Culture
Guangxi is known for its linguistic diversity. In the capital of Nanning, for example, four dialect-languages are spoken locally: Southwestern Mandarin, Cantonese, Pinghua, and Zhuang.
[edit] Institutions of higher learning
- Guangxi University
- Guangxi Medical University
- Guangxi Normal University
- Guilin University of Electronic Technology
[edit] Tourism
The major tourist attraction of Guangxi is Guilin, a town famed across China and the world for its spectacular setting by the Lijiang River (Li River) amongst severe karst peaks. It also used to be the capital of Guangxi, and Jingjiang Princes City, the old princes residence, is open to the public. South of Guilin down the river is the town of Yangshuo, which has become a favourite destination for foreign tourists, particularly backpackers.
Ethnic minorities native to Guangxi, such as the Zhuang and Dong, are also interesting for tourists. The northern part of the province, bordering with Guizhou, is home to the Longmen rice terraces, said to be some of the steepest in the world. Nearby Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County.
[edit] See also
- Prefecture Apostolic of Kwang-si (historic Catholic mission)
[edit] External links
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| Provinces | Anhui · Fujian · Gansu · Guangdong · Guizhou · Hainan · Hebei · Heilongjiang · Henan · Hubei · Hunan · Jiangsu · Jiangxi · Jilin · Liaoning · Qinghai · Shaanxi · Shandong · Shanxi · Sichuan · Taiwan1 · Yunnan · Zhejiang |  |
| Autonomous regions | Guangxi · Inner Mongolia · Ningxia · Tibet (Xizang) · Xinjiang | |
| Municipalities | Beijing · Chongqing · Shanghai · Tianjin | |
| Special administrative regions | Hong Kong · Macau | |
| 1 Claimed by the PRC, but currently ruled by the Republic of China ("Taiwan"). See also Political status of Taiwan. | ||
