Province · South China
Guangdong
广东
Lingnan, the Pearl River Delta and China's southern gateway to the sea
Guangdong is China's most populous province and its largest provincial economy, on the South China Sea around the Pearl River Delta. Its capital is Guangzhou, for two millennia the country's principal port for trade with the south seas; with Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau it forms the Greater Bay Area. Guangdong is the homeland of Cantonese, Hakka and Teochew culture and of the diaspora that carried them overseas.
Key facts
- Capital
- Guangzhou
- Abbreviation
- 粤 (Yuè)
- Area
- about 179,800 km²[1]
- Resident population
- 128.59 million(as of end of 2025)[2]
- Gross regional product
- CNY 14.58 trillion(as of 2025)[2]
- Census population
- 126.01 million(as of 2020 census)[3]
- Divisions
- 21 prefecture-level cities[1]
- UNESCO World Heritage sites
- 2, one of them shared (2007, 2010)[4]
Profile
- Chinese name
- 广东
- Abbreviation (简称)
- 粤
- Type
- Province
- Region
- South China
- Capital
- Guangzhou
- Area
- about 179,800 km²
- Divisions
- 21 prefecture-level cities, two of them (Guangzhou and Shenzhen) at sub-provincial level
- Ethnic groups
- Han, Zhuang, Yao, She, Hui
- Languages
- Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew, Leizhou Min, Mandarin
Languages
Cantonese
粤语
The Yue language of the Pearl River Delta and the west, with the Guangzhou variety as its standard; not mutually intelligible with Mandarin.
Hakka
客家话
Spoken in the hilly north and east, with Meizhou as its cultural centre.
Teochew
潮州话
A Southern Min language spoken in Chaozhou, Shantou and Jieyang, and by a large diaspora in South-East Asia.
Leizhou Min
雷州话
Spoken on the Leizhou Peninsula in the far south-west.
Mandarin
普通话
The language of schools and administration, and the everyday language of Shenzhen and other cities with large migrant populations.
Name and abbreviation
The name goes back to the Song-dynasty circuits of Guangnan East and Guangnan West (广南东路, 广南西路) — “east and west of Guang”. Guang itself derives from Guangxin (广信), a Han-dynasty seat near the present border with Guangxi, and from the prefecture of Guangzhou created in 226. The abbreviation 粤 is a form of Yue, the name of the peoples of the south (百越) and of the kingdom of Nanyue; the Chinese name of the Cantonese language, 粤语, uses the same character.
Historic names
岭南
“south of the ranges”
The lands south of the Nanling mountains — Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan — and the name of the region's culture, painting school and architecture.
南越
The kingdom founded by Zhao Tuo in 204 BCE with its capital at Panyu (Guangzhou), conquered by the Han in 111 BCE.
百越
The “hundred Yue”, the ancient non-Han peoples of southern China.
广州
Before it became the name of the city, the name of a province of the Three Kingdoms and later dynasties covering much of Lingnan.
Land and climate
Guangdong slopes from the Nanling mountains in the north to a long, indented coast on the South China Sea — the longest mainland coastline of any province. At its centre the West, North and East rivers converge in the Pearl River Delta, a lowland of distributary channels, reclaimed land and dense cities. The east around Chaozhou and Shantou forms a separate delta on the Han River; the south-west ends in the Leizhou Peninsula, opposite Hainan across the Qiongzhou Strait.
Landforms
Pearl River Delta
珠江三角洲
The low-lying delta between Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau, one of the most densely urbanised regions in the world.
Nanling Mountains
南岭
The ranges on the northern border; the Meiling Pass was the historic road over them to Jiangxi.
Mount Danxia
丹霞山
Red sandstone cliffs near Shaoguan that gave their name to Danxia landforms worldwide.
Leizhou Peninsula
雷州半岛
Volcanic peninsula in the south-west, the southernmost point of mainland China.
Mount Luofu
罗浮山
Daoist mountain near Huizhou, associated with the alchemist Ge Hong.
Rivers and lakes
Pearl River
珠江
The river system formed by the West, North and East rivers, and the name of the channel flowing through Guangzhou.
West River
西江
The largest branch, flowing in from Guangxi past Zhaoqing.
North River
北江
Flows south from the Nanling past Shaoguan and Qingyuan.
East River
东江
Flows past Heyuan and Huizhou; its water supplies Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
Han River (Guangdong)
韩江
The river of the Chaoshan region, named after the Tang writer Han Yu.
Climate
Subtropical in most of the province and tropical in the far south. Summers are long, hot and wet, with typhoons from July to October; winters are mild and dry. In spring, warm moist air condensing on cold walls and floors produces the damp spells Cantonese call 回南天 (“the south wind returns”). October to December is the most comfortable time to visit.
History
Lingnan was the land of the Yue peoples until Qin armies conquered it in 214 BCE. After the fall of Qin, the general Zhao Tuo founded the kingdom of Nanyue at Panyu, which the Han annexed in 111 BCE. For two thousand years Guangzhou was China's chief port for the maritime trade with South-East Asia, India and the Islamic world. From 1757 to 1842 it was the only port open to Western merchants, and the tensions of that trade led to the Opium War, the cession of Hong Kong and the opening of China. Guangdong was the base of Sun Yat-sen's revolution and of the Nationalists' Northern Expedition. Since 1980 the special economic zones of Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou have made it the leading province of reform and export manufacturing.
214 BCE
Qin conquest of Lingnan
Qin armies, supplied through the newly dug Lingqu canal, created the Nanhai commandery with its seat at Panyu.
204–111 BCE
Kingdom of Nanyue
Zhao Tuo ruled an independent kingdom from Panyu; the tomb of his grandson, found in Guangzhou in 1983, is one of the great Han-era finds.
676
Huineng begins teaching
The Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, a native of Xinzhou, was ordained at Guangxiao Temple in Guangzhou and later taught at Caoxi near Shaoguan.
c. 714
Maritime trade commissioner at Guangzhou
The Tang court appointed an official to manage the foreign trade of Guangzhou, where Arab, Persian and South-East Asian merchants lived in their own quarter.
1279
Battle of Yamen
The last Southern Song fleet was destroyed by the Yuan off Xinhui; the minister Lu Xiufu leapt into the sea with the child emperor.
1757–1842
The Canton System
Western trade was restricted to Guangzhou, conducted through licensed Chinese merchants (the Thirteen Hongs).
1839
Lin Zexu destroys opium at Humen
The imperial commissioner's destruction of confiscated British opium led to the First Opium War.
1842
Treaty of Nanking
China ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain and opened five treaty ports.
1911
Huanghuagang Uprising
A failed revolutionary rising in Guangzhou in April 1911; the 72 martyrs buried at Huanghuagang became symbols of the revolution that succeeded later that year.
1924
Whampoa Military Academy
Founded on Changzhou Island by the Nationalists with Soviet help; its graduates led both Nationalist and Communist armies.
1957
First Canton Fair
The China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou became the country's main window on foreign trade.
1980
Special economic zones
Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou were designated special economic zones, opening Guangdong to foreign investment.
1992
Deng Xiaoping's southern tour
His visits to Shenzhen and Zhuhai relaunched market reforms after a period of retrenchment.
2019
Greater Bay Area outline plan
The central government published a development plan integrating nine Guangdong cities with Hong Kong and Macau.
World heritage
World Heritage sites
Cultural · inscribed 2007
开平碉楼与村落
Multi-storey fortified towers built in the early twentieth century by returning emigrants, mixing Chinese and Western styles.
Natural · inscribed 2010 · shared
中国丹霞·丹霞山
Guangdong's component is Mount Danxia near Shaoguan, the type locality of Danxia landforms; the serial site includes five other provinces.
Intangible cultural heritage (UNESCO lists)
Inscribed 2009
Yueju opera
粤剧
Cantonese opera, inscribed as a joint element of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau.
Culture
Guangdong's culture is Lingnan culture, but it has three distinct strands: Cantonese in the Pearl River Delta and the west, Hakka in the northern hills, and Teochew in the Chaoshan plain. All three have large emigrant communities: much of the historic Chinese diaspora in South-East Asia, North America and Australia came from Guangdong, and remittances from abroad built the diaolou of Kaiping and the arcaded streets of many towns. Local life is known for its practical, commercial spirit, its temple festivals and its devotion to food.
日啖荔枝三百颗，不辞长作岭南人。Rì dàn lìzhī sānbǎi kē, bù cí cháng zuò Lǐngnán rén.
“Three hundred lychees a day — I would not mind staying a man of Lingnan for ever.”
— Su Shi, “Eating Lychees” (食荔枝), written in exile at Huizhou, c. 1096
Opera, music and dance
Cantonese opera
粤剧
Opera sung in Cantonese, with elaborate costumes and martial scenes; Foshan is regarded as its birthplace.
Teochew opera
潮剧
Opera of the Chaoshan region, known for its clown roles and fan work, performed widely in South-East Asia.
Cantonese music
广东音乐
Instrumental ensemble music led by the high-pitched gaohu fiddle, with pieces such as “Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake”.
Southern lion dance
醒狮
The acrobatic Cantonese lion dance, performed at festivals and openings to drums, gongs and cymbals.
Crafts
Cantonese embroidery
粤绣
One of the Four Great Embroideries, known for crowded compositions and bright colours, including Chaozhou raised gold work.
Duan inkstones
端砚
Inkstones from Zhaoqing, prized since the Tang as the finest of China's four famous inkstones.
Shiwan ceramic figures
石湾陶塑
Glazed pottery figures from the Foshan kilns.
Canton enamelled porcelain
广彩
Porcelain from Jingdezhen painted with overglaze enamels in Guangzhou for export to the West.
Chaozhou woodcarving
潮州木雕
Gilded, deeply pierced carving for temples, ancestral halls and shrines.
Festivals and customs
Yum cha
饮茶
“Drinking tea” — morning or afternoon dim sum with tea in a teahouse, a family and social ritual.
Spring Festival flower markets
迎春花市
Night flower fairs held in the days before the Lunar New Year, selling peach blossom, kumquat trees and narcissus.
Gongfu tea
工夫茶
The Chaoshan way of brewing oolong in tiny pots and cups, a part of daily life in the east of the province.
Dragon-boat racing
扒龙舟
Village boat races and “dragon-boat visiting” between clans on the delta's waterways.
Cuisine
Cantonese cuisine (粤菜) is one of the Eight Great Cuisines and, through emigration, the Chinese food best known abroad. It values freshness and the natural taste of ingredients — steaming, quick stir-frying over high heat (镬气, “breath of the wok”), slow-simmered soups and roasting. Teochew and Hakka cooking are separate traditions within the province: the first known for seafood, braised goose and beef hotpot, the second for salt-baked chicken and stuffed tofu.
Signature dishes
Har gow
虾饺
Shrimp dumplings in a translucent wheat-starch wrapper, a test of a dim sum kitchen.
Char siu
叉烧
Pork roasted on skewers with a honeyed, red-tinged glaze.
White-cut chicken
白切鸡
Chicken poached just until done and served with ginger and spring-onion oil.
Roast goose
烧鹅
Goose roasted to a lacquered skin, eaten with plum sauce.
Slow-fire soup
老火汤
Soups simmered for hours with meat, dried ingredients and herbs, chosen for their effect on the body.
Chaoshan beef hotpot
潮汕牛肉火锅
Freshly cut beef, sorted by cut, dipped briefly in clear broth.
Salt-baked chicken
盐焗鸡
The Hakka classic, originally baked in hot salt.
Specialities
Xinhui dried tangerine peel
新会陈皮
Aged citrus peel from Xinhui in Jiangmen, used in cooking and medicine; the older the more valued.
Phoenix Dancong tea
凤凰单丛
Oolong from single-bush selections on Phoenix Mountain in Chaozhou, known for its fruit and flower aromas.
Lychees
荔枝
Guangdong grows much of China's lychee crop; Zengcheng and Conghua are known for old varieties.
Yingde black tea
英德红茶
Black tea from Yingde in the north of the province.
Duan inkstones
端砚
Carved from stone quarried in the hills east of Zhaoqing.
Notable people
Huineng (638–713)
惠能
The Sixth Patriarch of Chan (Zen) Buddhism, born in Xinzhou; the Platform Sutra records his teaching.
Zhang Jiuling (678–740)
张九龄
Tang chancellor and poet from Shaoguan, who had the road over the Meiling Pass rebuilt.
Kang Youwei (1858–1927)
康有为
Reformer from Nanhai who led the Hundred Days' Reform of 1898.
Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925)
孙中山
Leader of the revolution of 1911 and founder of the Nationalist Party, born in Cuiheng village, Xiangshan (now Zhongshan).
Liang Qichao (1873–1929)
梁启超
Journalist, scholar and reformer from Xinhui.
Zhan Tianyou (1861–1919)
詹天佑
Engineer from Nanhai who built the Beijing–Zhangjiakou railway, the first major railway designed by Chinese engineers.
Economy
Guangdong has been China's largest provincial economy since the late 1980s. The Pearl River Delta grew from export processing into a centre of electronics, telecommunications equipment, household appliances, electric vehicles and advanced manufacturing, while Shenzhen became a hub of technology companies and venture finance. The province is also the largest foreign-trade province in China, with some of the world's busiest container ports; the east and west wings and the northern mountains remain far less developed than the delta.
Main industries
- Electronics and telecommunications equipment
- Household appliances (Foshan, Zhuhai)
- Electric vehicles and batteries
- Petrochemicals (Huizhou, Maoming, Zhanjiang)
- Textiles, garments, furniture and ceramics
- Finance, logistics and trade
- Agriculture: rice, lychees, longan, sugar cane, aquaculture
Zones, ports and hubs
Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area
粤港澳大湾区
The planned city region of nine Guangdong cities plus Hong Kong and Macau, with an outline plan published in 2019.
China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone
中国（广东）自由贸易试验区
Established in 2015 with areas at Nansha (Guangzhou), Qianhai–Shekou (Shenzhen) and Hengqin (Zhuhai).
Hengqin Guangdong–Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone
横琴粤澳深度合作区
Established in 2021 on Hengqin Island beside Macau and jointly administered by Guangdong and Macau.
Nansha New Area
南沙新区
National-level new area at the southern tip of Guangzhou, with a deep-water container port.
Cities
- Guangzhou广州Capital · Historic city · PortCity of Rams on the Pearl River, China's oldest open port
- Shenzhen深圳Industrial centre · Port · Border cityChina's first special economic zone, across the river from Hong Kong
- Foshan佛山Historic city · Industrial centre · Cultural centreCeramics, kung fu and Cantonese opera next door to Guangzhou
- Zhuhai珠海Port · Border city · Scenic areaCoastal special economic zone on the border with Macau
- Chaozhou潮州Historic city · Cultural centreWalled Teochew city on the Han River
- Jiangmen江门Historic city · Cultural centreHomeland of the overseas Chinese and the Kaiping diaolou
Getting there
- Guangzhou Baiyun and Shenzhen Bao'an are major international airports; Zhuhai, Jieyang Chaoshan and Zhanjiang have regional airports.
- Guangzhou South is the southern terminus of the Beijing–Guangzhou high-speed line and a hub for lines to Guilin, Guiyang, Xiamen and Nanning; the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link runs to West Kowloon.
- The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge links the west of the delta with Hong Kong; ferries connect the delta ports with Hong Kong and Macau, and train ferries cross the Qiongzhou Strait to Hainan.
Travel guide: guangzhou
Entry rules for foreign visitors are on the visa and entry pages.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Guangdong Provincial People's Government — Guangdong Provincial People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- 2025年广东省国民经济和社会发展统计公报 (Statistical Communiqué of Guangdong on the 2025 National Economic and Social Development) — Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Statistics (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- World Heritage List: China — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Intangible Cultural Heritage: China — UNESCO (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Guangdong — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
All provinces · 中国省级行政区
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