Guangdong (redirected from Kuangtung)

Guangdong or Kwangtung (both: gwäng`dng`), province (1994 est. pop. 66,910,000), c.76,000 sq mi (196,891 sq km), S China. The capital is Guangzhou. On coastal islands and adjacent mainland territories are Hong Kong and Macao. The island of Hainan, once part of Guangdong, became a separate province in 1988. The hilly coastline is the longest of any province (constituting more than one fifth of the country's total coastline); the only real breaks to the interior are at Shantou on the Han River delta and at Guangzhou at the Pearl River delta. Inland transportation is good; before the 1950s water routes predominated, but now railroads and highways have taken over the freighting.

Between 15% and 20% of the province is under cultivation, primarily in the delta areas, which are among the most populous in China. There the climate is subtropical and the rainfall heavy most of the year. Two or three crops are generally harvested. Guangdong is the country's leading producer of sugarcane; rice and silk are other major crops, although the silk industry is no longer as important as it once was. Other commercial crops include hemp, tobacco, tea, tropical and subtropical fruits, and peanuts. Fishing in Guangdong accounts for about 20% of China's catch.

Guangdong has tungsten, iron, manganese, titanium, tin, lead, uranium, and bismuth deposits. Shale oil deposits are found in the south, and there is offshore drilling for oil; the province has several oil refineries. There are also lumber and paper mills, and food-processing, printing, cement, and fertilizer plants. The large handicraft industry, which once thrived on European trade, has dwindled, but the apparel and electronics industries grew significantly in the late 20th cent.

Guangzhou, an "open" economic city, is still the heart of the province, with a great range of manufactures. Zhanjiang, another "open" city, has grown significantly due to foreign trade and investment since the late 1970s. Three of the country's first four special economic zones were established in Guangdong, at Shantou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai. In early 1990s the province accounted for two thirds of China's exports; its portion has slowly decreased as economic development has increased in other provinces. The return of Hong Kong to China in the late 1990s, however, has spurred additional growth in areas of Guangdong near the Hong Kong border.

The Cantonese constitute the bulk of Guangdong's population, which is non-Mandarin speaking. The people of the province are known around the world; one half of the overseas Chinese are from Guangdong province.

The region, originally settled by Miao, Li, and Yao tribes, continually attracted migrating groups from the north; some (notably the Hakka) retained their own languages. Guangdong came under Chinese suzerainty during the unification under the Ch'in dynasty (c.211 B.C.), and was more firmly absorbed during the Han dynasty. Guangdong was the main scene of China's early foreign contact, chiefly through Guangzhou; there was trade with the west during the Roman Empire, trade with the Arabs during the T'ang dynasty, and European trade that originated during the 16th cent. with the Portuguese. Guangdong has been a center of revolutionary activity; there the Kuomintang was formed (1912) under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen, and there Chiang Kai-shek began his drive (1920s) for the unification of the country.

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Guangdong

 or Kuang-tung conventional Kwangtung

Southernmost mainland province (pop., 2002 est.: 78,590,000) of China. It is bounded by the South China Sea to the south, and along its coast are Hong Kong and Macau; also bordering it are Fujian, Jiangxi, and Hunan provinces and Guangxi autonomous region. It has an area of 76,100 sq mi (197,100 sq km). The capital is Guangzhou (Canton). It was first incorporated into the Chinese empire in 222 BC. Overseas trade through Guangzhou swelled the population of the province in the 16th–17th century. It was the site of illicit opium importation by the British, which led to the first Opium War (1839–42). Kowloon was ceded to Britain in 1860 and Macau to Portugal in 1887; both were restored to China in the late 1990s. Guangdong was a base for the Nationalists under Sun Yat-sen from 1912. Japanese forces occupied the province in 1938–45. Its centuries of foreign contact have given it a degree of self-sufficiency that sets it apart from the rest of China; more recently it has developed several special economic zones.

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Guangdong, Kwangtung

a province of SE China, on the South China Sea: includes the Leizhou Peninsula, with densely populated river valleys; traditionally also including Macao and Hong Kong; the only true tropical climate in China. Capital: Canton. Pop.: Pop.: 79 540 000 (2003 est.). Area: 197 100 sq. km (76 100 sq. miles)