Autonomous region · South China
Guangxi
广西
Karst hills, the Zhuang homeland and China's gateway to South-East Asia
The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region lies in southern China between Guangdong, the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau and the Gulf of Tonkin, bordering Vietnam. Its capital is Nanning. It is the home of the Zhuang, China's largest ethnic minority, and of the karst landscapes of Guilin and Yangshuo, and its ports and border crossings make it a main link between China and the ASEAN countries.
Key facts
- Capital
- Nanning
- Abbreviation
- 桂 (Guì)
- Area
- about 237,600 km²[1]
- Resident population
- 49.89 million(as of end of 2025)[2]
- Gross regional product
- CNY 2.97 trillion(as of 2025)[2]
- Census population
- 50.13 million(as of 2020 census)[3]
- Autonomous region since
- 1958
- Divisions
- 14 prefecture-level cities[1]
- UNESCO World Heritage sites
- 2, one of them shared (2014, 2016)[4]
Profile
- Chinese name
- 广西
- Abbreviation (简称)
- 桂
- Type
- Autonomous region
- Region
- South China
- Capital
- Nanning
- Area
- about 237,600 km²
- Divisions
- 14 prefecture-level cities
- Ethnic groups
- Han, Zhuang, Yao, Miao, Dong, Mulao, Maonan, Jing
- Languages
- Zhuang, Cantonese (Baihua), Guiliu Mandarin, Pinghua, Hakka
- Borders
- Vietnam
Languages
Zhuang
壮语
A Tai language, related to Thai and Lao, spoken by most rural Zhuang; it has an official romanised script, and street signs in Nanning are bilingual.
Cantonese (Baihua)
白话
Spoken in Nanning, Wuzhou, Yulin, Beihai and the south-east.
Guiliu Mandarin
桂柳话
The Southwestern Mandarin of Guilin and Liuzhou in the north.
Pinghua
平话
Old Chinese varieties spoken along the rivers around Nanning and Guilin.
Hakka
客家话
Spoken in pockets in the south-east and centre.
Name and abbreviation
Like Guangdong, the name derives from the Song-dynasty circuits of Guangnan East and West — Guangxi being the western one, the lands west of the old seat of Guangxin. The abbreviation 桂 comes from Guilin commandery, created by the Qin in 214 BCE and named after the osmanthus trees (桂) of the region; the city of Guilin was the provincial capital for most of the imperial period. The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region was established in 1958.
Historic names
桂林郡
One of the three commanderies the Qin created in Lingnan in 214 BCE.
广南西路
The Song circuit from which the province took its name.
八桂
“eight osmanthus trees”
Literary name for Guangxi from an ancient description of the south.
Land and climate
Guangxi is a basin tilted towards the south-east, ringed by mountains and drained by the rivers of the Xi Jiang system towards Guangdong. Much of the region is karst: limestone towers, cones, caves and sinkholes, from the tower karst of Guilin and Yangshuo to the giant sinkholes (tiankeng) of Leye in the north-west. The south faces the Gulf of Tonkin (Beibu Gulf) with a coast of bays, mangroves and islands.
Landforms
Guilin karst
桂林山水
Tower karst along the Li River between Guilin and Yangshuo, part of the South China Karst World Heritage site.
Leye tiankeng
乐业天坑群
A cluster of giant karst sinkholes in Leye county, Baise, with forest on their floors.
Mount Mao'er
猫儿山
The highest peak in South China (2,141 m), in the north near Guilin; source of the Li River.
Shiwan Mountains
十万大山
The “hundred thousand mountains” near the coast and the Vietnamese border.
Weizhou Island
涠洲岛
A young volcanic island in the Gulf of Tonkin off Beihai.
Rivers and lakes
Xi River
西江
The main stem of the Pearl River system, formed from the Hongshui, Qian, Xun and Gui rivers and flowing out past Wuzhou into Guangdong.
Li River
漓江
The river of Guilin and Yangshuo, flowing between karst peaks.
Yong River
邕江
The river of Nanning, formed by the Zuo and You rivers just upstream of the city.
Zuo River
左江
Flows in from Vietnam past the Huashan rock paintings.
Hongshui River
红水河
The “red water river” of the north-west, dammed for hydropower.
Climate
Subtropical monsoon climate: long, hot and wet summers, with typhoons reaching the coast; mild, mostly dry winters, though the north around Guilin can be cold and damp. Autumn (October–November) is the most settled season; spring is often wet and misty, which suits the karst views.
History
The ancestors of the Zhuang and other Tai-speaking peoples lived in the river valleys long before Qin armies arrived in 214 BCE and dug the Lingqu canal to supply them. Between about the fifth century BCE and the second century CE, the Luoyue painted the cliffs of the Zuo River at Huashan. Imperial rule long relied on hereditary native chieftains, and the eleventh-century rising of Nong Zhigao was one of the great challenges to Song authority in the south. In the nineteenth century the Taiping Rebellion began at Jintian in Guangxi, and in the Sino-French War Chinese forces won at Zhennan Pass on the Vietnamese border. In the Republican era the Guangxi Clique made the province a power in national politics. Since 1958 it has been an autonomous region of the Zhuang.
c. 5th century BCE – 2nd century CE
Rock paintings of the Zuo River
The Luoyue painted thousands of figures on the cliffs at Huashan and along the Zuo River, depicting ceremonies with bronze drums.
214 BCE
Qin conquest and the Lingqu canal
The canal at Xing'an joined the Xiang and Li rivers, linking the Yangtze and Pearl River systems for the first time.
1052
Rising of Nong Zhigao
The Zhuang leader founded a short-lived state, took Yongzhou (Nanning) and advanced on Guangzhou before being defeated by the Song general Di Qing.
1372
Ming princes of Jingjiang at Guilin
A branch of the Ming imperial family ruled from a palace in Guilin for more than two and a half centuries; their tombs lie east of the city.
1851
Jintian Uprising
Hong Xiuquan proclaimed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom at Jintian in Guiping, beginning the Taiping Rebellion.
1885
Battle of Zhennan Pass
Chinese forces under Feng Zicai defeated the French at the pass now called Friendship Pass.
1920s–1940s
The Guangxi Clique
Under Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi, Guangxi became a model province and a rival power centre to Chiang Kai-shek's government.
1944
Battle of Guilin–Liuzhou
Japanese forces took Guilin and Liuzhou during the Ichigo offensive; Guilin, a wartime refuge for writers and artists, was largely destroyed.
1958
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
The province was reconstituted as an autonomous region of the Zhuang.
2004
First China–ASEAN Expo in Nanning
Nanning became the permanent venue of the expo, confirming Guangxi's role in China's relations with South-East Asia.
World heritage
World Heritage sites
Natural · inscribed 2014 · shared
中国南方喀斯特
Guilin and Huanjiang were added in the second phase of 2014 to the serial site first inscribed in 2007, which also covers areas in Yunnan, Guizhou and Chongqing.
Cultural · inscribed 2016
Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape
左江花山岩画文化景观
Red ochre paintings of human figures, drums and animals on thirty-eight cliffs along the Zuo River in Ningming and Longzhou.
Intangible cultural heritage (UNESCO lists)
Inscribed 2022
Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China
中国传统制茶技艺及其相关习俗
A nationwide element that includes the dark tea of Liubao in Cangwu county, Wuzhou.
Culture
Guangxi's culture is shaped by its peoples: the Zhuang in the west and centre, the Yao and Miao in the mountains, the Dong in the north with their wooden drum towers and roofed bridges, and the Jing, a Vietnamese-speaking people on the coast near Dongxing. Singing is central to Zhuang life; the antiphonal songs of young men and women, and the legendary singer Liu Sanjie, are known across China.
桂林山水甲天下Guìlín shānshuǐ jiǎ tiānxià
“The mountains and waters of Guilin are the finest under heaven.”
— Saying, first recorded in a poem by Wang Zhenggong (王正功), 1201
Opera, music and dance
Zhuang song fairs
壮族歌圩
Gatherings for antiphonal singing, held above all on the third day of the third lunar month (三月三), a public holiday in Guangxi.
Gui opera
桂剧
Regional opera of the Guilin area, sung in Guiliu Mandarin.
Caidiao
彩调
Light folk opera with song and dance; the story of Liu Sanjie was first staged in this form.
Dong grand song
侗族大歌
Polyphonic choral singing of the Dong, also found in Sanjiang county.
Crafts
Zhuang brocade
壮锦
One of China's Four Great Brocades, woven in bright geometric patterns.
Bronze drums
铜鼓
Cast for over two thousand years and still played at Zhuang and Yao festivals; the Guangxi Museum of Nationalities holds hundreds.
Nixing pottery
坭兴陶
Unglazed, polished pottery from Qinzhou, often made into teapots.
Wind-and-rain bridges
风雨桥
Roofed wooden bridges of the Dong, built without nails; the Chengyang Bridge in Sanjiang is the best known.
Festivals and customs
Sanyuesan
三月三
Festival of the third day of the third lunar month, with song fairs, five-colour sticky rice and embroidered-ball throwing.
Panwang Festival
盘王节
Yao festival honouring their ancestor King Pan, held in the tenth lunar month.
Ha Festival
哈节
Song festival of the Jing people on the islands near Dongxing.
Oil tea
打油茶
Tea leaves fried in oil and boiled with ginger, served with puffed rice and peanuts in Yao and Dong households.
Cuisine
Guangxi food is built on rice noodles, sour flavours and the produce of the subtropics. Almost every city has its own rice-noodle dish; pickled bamboo shoots, sour vegetables and chilli are common seasonings; and the coast adds seafood. Minority cuisines contribute oil tea, sticky rice dyed with plant colours and cured meats.
Signature dishes
Luosifen
螺蛳粉
Liuzhou rice noodles in a river-snail broth with pickled bamboo shoots, known for their strong smell; packaged versions are sold nationwide.
Guilin rice noodles
桂林米粉
Round rice noodles with a braising brine, crisp pork and peanuts.
Laoyou noodles
老友粉
Nanning's “old friend” noodles with pickled bamboo shoots, chilli and fermented black beans.
Beer fish
啤酒鱼
River fish braised in beer with tomatoes and peppers, the dish of Yangshuo.
Five-colour sticky rice
五色糯米饭
Glutinous rice dyed with plant extracts, made for Sanyuesan and Qingming.
Lipu taro with pork
荔浦芋扣肉
Slices of pork belly and taro steamed together in a bowl.
Specialities
Hepu pearls
合浦南珠
Sea pearls from the Beihai coast, famous since the Han dynasty.
Liubao tea
六堡茶
Aged dark tea from Wuzhou, long exported to South-East Asia.
Monk fruit
罗汉果
A sweet gourd grown around Yongfu near Guilin, dried for tea and sweeteners.
Shatian pomelo
沙田柚
Pomelo variety from Rong county.
Guilin Sanhua liquor
桂林三花酒
Rice baijiu, traditionally aged in the caves of Elephant Trunk Hill.
Notable people
Nong Zhigao (c. 1025–1055)
侬智高
Zhuang leader who rose against the Song in 1052; a hero of Zhuang history.
Shitao (1642–1707)
石涛
Painter and theorist, born a prince of the Ming Jingjiang line in Guilin.
Liu Yongfu (1837–1917)
刘永福
Leader of the Black Flag Army against the French in Vietnam, from Qinzhou (then in Guangdong).
Li Zongren (1891–1969)
李宗仁
Leader of the New Guangxi Clique, general and acting President of the Republic of China in 1949.
Bai Chongxi (1893–1966)
白崇禧
Hui Muslim general from Guilin, a strategist of the Guangxi Clique.
Wei Baqun (1894–1932)
韦拔群
Zhuang revolutionary from Donglan who led the peasant movement of the Youjiang region.
Economy
Guangxi's economy rests on agriculture and processing, heavy industry, and its position as China's land and sea gateway to South-East Asia. It produces most of China's cane sugar and large amounts of fruit, timber and silk; Liuzhou is a centre of vehicles and machinery, and the north-west has major aluminium, manganese and tin resources. The Beibu Gulf ports of Qinzhou, Fangchenggang and Beihai anchor the New Western Land–Sea Corridor from western China to the sea.
Main industries
- Sugar refining from cane
- Automobiles and construction machinery (Liuzhou)
- Aluminium, manganese and non-ferrous metals
- Port logistics and petrochemicals on the Beibu Gulf
- Forestry, wood panels and paper
- Silk and sericulture
- Tourism
Zones, ports and hubs
Beibu Gulf Economic Zone
北部湾经济区
Development region around Nanning and the three coastal cities.
China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone
中国（广西）自由贸易试验区
Established in 2019 with areas in Nanning, at Qinzhou port and in Chongzuo on the Vietnamese border.
New Western Land–Sea Corridor
西部陆海新通道
Rail-sea route from Chongqing and western China through the Beibu Gulf ports.
Cities
- Nanning南宁Capital · Border city · Cultural centreGreen City on the Yong River, gateway to South-East Asia
- Guilin桂林Historic city · Scenic area · Cultural centreKarst peaks and the Li River, “finest under heaven”
- Liuzhou柳州Industrial centre · Historic city · Cultural centreIndustrial city in a bend of the Liu River, home of luosifen
- Beihai北海Port · Historic city · Scenic areaGulf of Tonkin port of pearls, arcades and Weizhou Island
- Chongzuo崇左Border city · Historic city · Scenic areaZhuang borderland of the Huashan cliff paintings and Detian falls
Getting there
- Nanning Wuxu and Guilin Liangjiang are the main international airports; Beihai and Liuzhou have regional airports.
- High-speed lines link Nanning and Guilin with Guangzhou, Guiyang, Changsha and Kunming, and run along the coast to Beihai and Fangchenggang.
- Nanning is the Chinese terminus of international trains to Hanoi via Pingxiang and Friendship Pass; road crossings at Friendship Pass and Dongxing lead into Vietnam. Ferries run from Beihai to Weizhou Island and Hainan.
Entry rules for foreign visitors are on the visa and entry pages.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region People's Government — People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- 2025年广西壮族自治区国民经济和社会发展统计公报 (Statistical Communiqué of Guangxi on the 2025 National Economic and Social Development) — Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 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)
- Guangxi — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
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