Foshan (UK:/foʊˈʃæn/,US also/-ˈʃɑːn/;Chinese: 佛山) is aprefecture-level city in centralGuangdongProvince, China. The entire prefecture covers 3,848 km2 (1,486 sq mi) and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of thePearl River Delta megalopolis, aconurbation housing 86,100,000 inhabitants, making it the biggest urban area of the world.
Fóshān is thepinyinromanization of the city'sChinese name佛山, based on itsMandarin pronunciation. ThePostal Map spelling "Fatshan" derives from the same name's localCantonese pronunciation. Other romanizations includeFat-shan[3][4] andFat-shun.[5] Foshan means "BuddhaMountain" and, despite the more famous present-day statue ofGuanyin (or Kwanyin) onMount Xiqiao, who isn't a Buddha, it refers to a smaller hill near the centre of town where threebronzesculptures ofBuddha were discovered in AD 628. The town grew up around a monastery founded nearby that was destroyed in 1391.[6]
By the earlyMing, Foshan had grown into one of the four great markets in China, primarily on the strength of its localceramics but also on account of its metalwork.[7] Under theQing, its harbor on the Fen River was limited to ships of a thousand tons' burden but it remained well connected with Guangdong's other ports.[7] By the 19th century, Foshan was considered the "Birmingham of China", with its steel industry responsible for the consumption of the majority of the province's iron production.[5]
Foshan remained primarily focused on ceramic and steel production until the 1950s, when it became anurbanizing political center. On 26 June 1951, it leftNanhai County to become a separatecounty-level city and, in 1954, it was made the seat of the prefectural government.[7] Its economy stagnated as a result of theCultural Revolution—traditional ceramic ware was forbidden and its workshops were turned to producingMaoist andRevolutionaryfolderol—but it continued to grow, reaching 300,000 people by the 1970s, making it the province's second city after Guangzhou.[7]
As early as 1973, however, its agriculture and consumer industries were permitted to become an export production base and a modern highway linked it to Guangzhou soon after. This permitted its party secretaryTong Mengqing and mayorYu Fei to take full advantage whenDeng Xiaoping introducedhis Opening Up policies after the fall of theGang of Four.[7]
Since 2020, a Japanese-themed street in Foshan has become a hit with young people unable to travel abroad due to thecoronavirus pandemic.[8] The 100m-long road called Ichiban Street has been outfitted by a local property developer to resemble famous commercial streets in Japan, complete with a sakura tree, an icon of Japan.[8] The "exotic" street is attracting young people from nearby cities like Guangzhou, Zhongshan and Zhuhai as the younger Chinese generation likes many things about Japanese culture and design.[8] After negative responses and anti-Japanese sentiment, all Japanese signage was removed and the street has been mostly abandoned.
Foshan had a¥0.8 trilliongross domestic product in 2015,[needs update] raising its per capita GDP past$10,000.[citation needed]Shunde District in particular has a high manufacturing output, with its 3,000+ electronical appliance factories responsible for more than half of the world'sair conditioners andrefrigerators.[13] Foshan now has more than 30 towns specialized in particular industries, including furniture, machinery, and beverages.[13]
The Foshan Hi-Tech Development Zone, established in 1992, is a planned industrial area spanning 7.55 km² (2.92 sq mi). Its strategic location provides convenient access to major transportation networks, including proximity to the G325 national highway and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. The zone is a hub for several key industries, notably automobile assembly, biotechnology, and chemicals processing.[14]
Located in theSanyi region, the local dialects are based onCantonese and often used by the city natives, particularly among older generations.[citation needed] As the current national language,Mandarin is thelingua franca of government, business, and education—whereas the local dialects are used on informal occasions.
Two professional football teams have played in Foshan. From 1989 to 1997Foshan Fosti (now disbanded) played at theNew Plaza Stadium in Chancheng (now demolished). Foshan Fosti mainly played in the second tier, but did play in the eight team top tier in 1993. In 2007, newly createdGuangdong Sunray Cave played atNanhai District Stadium (now demolished), before moving to theCentury Lotus Stadium in 2008. Sunray Cave then moved to Guangzhou, although did play the final games of the 2013 China League One back at Century Lotus Stadium. They returned to Guangzhou in 2014 and then disbanded.[22]
^Theodore Shabad (1956).China's Changing Map: A Political and Economic Geography of the Chinese People's Republic. New York: Frederick A. Praeger. p. 166.LCCN55-11530.OCLC916993074.With the exception of Shiukwan on the Canton-Hankow railroad, Kwangtung's regional centers are situated along the coast, notably in the Canton delta. There, in addition to Canton, are the cities ofFatshan, Kongmoon and Shekki. The metropolis of western Kwangtung is Tsamkong, and Pakhoi is the chief town of the western panhandle.
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