Guangxi's location, in mountainous terrain in the far south of China, has placed it on the frontier of Chinese civilization throughout much ofChinese history. The current name "Guang" means "expanse" and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in 226 AD. It was givenprovincial level status during theYuan dynasty, but even into the 20th century, it was considered an open, wild territory. The abbreviation of the region (Chinese:桂;Hanyu pinyin:Guì; Zhuang:Gvei) comes from the name of the city ofGuilin, the provincial capital during both theMing andQing dynasties.
Guangxi has the largest ethnic minority population in China. In 2021, a report stated the Zhuang people accounted for 31.36% of the region's population. Various regional languages and dialects such asPinghua,Zhuang,Kam,Cantonese,Hakka, andMin are spoken alongsideMandarin Chinese.[6]
"Guǎng" (simplified Chinese:广;traditional Chinese:廣) means 'expanse' or 'vast', and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226.[7] Guangxi and neighboringGuangdong literally mean 'expanse west' and 'expanse east'. Together, Guangxi and Guangdong are calledLiangguang (Liangkwang;traditional Chinese:兩廣;simplified Chinese:两广;pinyin:liǎng guǎng;Cantonese Yale:léuhng gwóng;lit. 'Two Expanses',Vietnamese:Lưỡng Quảng). During theSong dynasty, the Two Guangs were formally separated asGuǎngnán Xīlù (廣南西路;广南西路; 'vast south west region') andGuǎngnán Dōnglù (廣南東路;广南东路; 'vast south east region'), which became abbreviated asGuǎngxī Lù (廣西路;广西路) andGuǎngdōng Lù (廣東路;广东路).
Guangxi was also previously spelled asKwangsi inpostal andWade–Giles romanizations. The spelling of the province was replaced by the pinyin spelling ofGuangxi in 1958 and has been widely used internationally after 1986.[citation needed] The official name was also known asKwangsi Chuang Autonomous Region in a number of Western publications outside of China published in the 1950s to 1970s.[8]
Originally inhabited by a mixture of tribal groups known to the Chinese as theBaiyue ("Hundred Yue",Vietnamese:Bách Việt), the region first became part of China during theQin dynasty. In 214 BC, theHan Chinese generalZhao Tuo (Vietnamese:Triệu Đà) claimed most of southern China forQin Shi Huang before the emperor's death. The ensuing civil war permitted Zhao to establish a separate kingdom atPanyu known asNanyue ("Southern Yue"). Alternatively submissive to and independent ofHan dynasty control, Southern Yue expanded colonization andsinicization under its policy of "Harmonizing and Gathering the Hundred Yue" (和集百越) untilits collapse in 111 BC during thesouthward expansion of the Han dynasty.[9]
The name "Guangxi" can be traced to the "Expansive" or "Wide" province (廣州) of theEastern Wu, which controlled southeastern China during theThree Kingdoms period.Guilin formed one of its commanderies.[citation needed]
Under theTang dynasty, the Zhuang moved to supportPiluoge's kingdom ofNanzhao inYunnan, which successfully repulsed imperial armies in 751 and 754. Guangxi was then divided into an area of Zhuang ascendancy west of Nanning and an area of Han ascendancy east of Nanning.[citation needed]
After the collapse of the Southern Zhao,Liu Yan established theSouthern Han (Nanhan) in Xingwangfu (modernGuangdong). Although this state gained minimal control over Guangxi, it was plagued by instability and annexed by theSong dynasty in 971. The name "Guangxi" itself can be traced to the Song, who administered the area as the Guangnanxi ("West Southern Expanse")Circuit. Harassed by both Song and theJiaozhi in modernVietnam, the Zhuang leaderNong Zhigao led a revolt in 1052 for which he is still remembered by the Zhuang people. His independent kingdom was short-lived, however, and the tattooed Song generalDi Qing returned Guangxi to China.[citation needed]
TheYuan dynasty established control over Yunnan during its conquest of theDali Kingdom in 1253 and eliminated theSouthern Song following theBattle of Yamen in 1279. Rather than rulingLingnan as a subject territory or military district, the Mongolians then established Guangxi ("Western Expanse") as a proper province. The area nonetheless continued to be unruly, leading theMing dynasty to employ the different local groups against one another. At theBattle of Big Rattan Gorge between the Zhuang and theYao in 1465, 20,000 deaths were reported.[citation needed]
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, parts of Guangxi were ruled by the powerfulCen (岑) clan. The Cen were of Zhuang ethnicity and were recognized astusi or local rulers by the Chinese emperors.
Being in the far south, Guangxi did not fall during theChinese Civil War, but joined the People's Republic in December 1949, two months after its founding.[citation needed]
In 1952, a small section of Guangdong's coastline (Qinzhou, Lianzhou (nowHepu County),Fangchenggang andBeihai) was given to Guangxi, giving it access to the sea. This was reversed in 1955, and then restored in 1965.[citation needed] This made Guangxi the only autonomous region which is notlandlocked.[15]
While some development ofheavy industry occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, the region remained largely a scenic tourist destination.[citation needed] Even the economic growth of the 1990s seemed to leave Guangxi behind. However, in recent years, there has been a growing amount of industrialization and increasing concentration on cash crops. Per capita GDP has risen as industries in Guangdong transfer production to comparatively lower-wage areas in Guangxi.[citation needed]
During the1979 Sino-Vietnamese War, Guangxi communities were important to the Chinese war effort.[18]: 101 They supplied logistical support to thePeople's Liberation Army, including food and housing.[18]: 101 Militia members from Guangxi performed tasks including building roads, bridges, trenches, other logistical efforts, and caring for the wounded.[18]: 101
Karst landforms,[21] characterized by steep mountains and large caverns,[19] are common in Guangxi, accounting for 37.8 percent of its total land area.[20]
Guangxi is also home to several river systems, which flow into several different bodies of water: theQin River and theNanliu River both flow into the Gulf of Tonkin, several tributary rivers flow into the largerXiang River in neighbouring Hunan province, and theXi River system flows southeast through the autonomous region into theSouth China Sea.[19]
Xi River systemschematic (italics indicates rivers outside Guangxi)
Guangxi has asubtropical climate.[20] Summers are generally long, hot, and humid, lasting from April to October.[19] Winters are mild, and snow is rare.[19] The autonomous region's average annual temperature ranges from 17.5 °C (63.5 °F) to 23.5 °C (74.3 °F),[20] with January temperatures typically ranging from 4 °C (39 °F) to 16 °C (61 °F),[19] and July temperatures typically ranging from 27 °C (81 °F) to 32 °C (90 °F).[19]
Due to frequent rain-bearingmonsoon winds, average annual precipitation is quite high in Guangxi, ranging from 1,080 millimetres (43 in) in drier zones to 1,730 millimetres (68 in) in wetter zones.[19] The region also experiences monsoons, blowing from south-southwest from late April to the beginning of October.[citation needed] Most of the precipitation occurs between May and August.[19]Microbursts can also occasionally occur in the extreme south of the region, from July to September.[19] This is caused bytyphoons blowing from theSouth China Sea.[19]
^New district established after 2010 census:Wuming (Wuming County). The new district not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
^New district established after 2010 census:Liujiang (Liujiang County). The new district not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
^New district established after 2010 census:Lingui (Lingui County). The new district not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
^New district established after 2010 census:Longxu by splitting from parts ofCangwu County. The new district areas from Cangwu County not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
^New district established after 2010 census:Pinggui by splitting from parts ofZhongshan County and parts of Babu. The new district areas from Zhongshan County not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
^New district established after 2010 census:Tianyang (Tianyang County). The new district not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
^abNew district established after 2010 census:Yizhou (Yizhou CLC). The new district not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
^Pingguo County is currently known as Pingguo CLC after 2010 census.
^Jingxi County is currently known as Jingxi CLC after 2010 census.
^Lipu County is currently known as Lipu CLC after 2010 census.
TheHan Chinese are the largest ethnic group in Guangxi. Han Chinese populations in Guangxi largely live along the autonomous region's southern coast and eastern portions.[20] Of these, the main subgroups are those that speakYue andSouthwestern Mandarin varieties ofChinese. Qinzhou and Goulou Yue are spoken in the southern and eastern regions, respectively.Pinghua is spoken in Nanning and Guilin. There are Hakka-speaking regions inLuchuan County,Bobai County and in some areas bordering Vietnam.
Guangxi has over 16 millionZhuangs, the largest minority ethnicity in China. Over 90 percent of Zhuang in China live in Guangxi, especially in the central and western regions. High concentrations of Zhuang people can be found inNanning,Liuzhou,Chongzuo,Baise,Hechi, andLaibin.[20] The highest concentration of ethnic Zhuang people is found in thecounty-level city ofJingxi, with a 2021 publication by the People's Government of Guangxi stating that Jingxi's population is 99.7% Zhuang.[20]
85 percent of the world'sstar anise is grown in Guangxi. It is a major ingredient in the antiviraloseltamivir.[46]
Guangxi is one of China's key production centers for nonferrous metals. The region holds approximately 1/3 of alltin andmanganese deposits in China.[47]
Liuzhou is the main industrial center and a major motor vehicle manufacturing center.General Motors have a manufacturing base here in a joint venture asSAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile. The city also has a large steel factory and several related industries. The local government of Guangxi hopes to expand the region's manufacturing sector, and during the drafting of China's Five Year Plan in 2011, earmarked 2.6 trillion RMB for investment in the region's Beibu Gulf Economic Zone(See Below).[47]
In recent years Guangxi's economy has languished behind that of its wealthy neighbor and twin,Guangdong. Guangxi's 2017nominal GDP was about 2039.63 billion yuan (US$302.09 billion) and ranked 17th in China. Itsper capita GDP was 38,102 yuan (US$5,770).[48]
Due to its lack of a major manufacturing industry in comparison to other provincial-level regions, Guangxi is the fourth most energy efficient provincial-level region in China, helping to further boost its green image.[49]
Beihai Silver Beach National Tourist Holiday Resort
Beihai Export Processing Zone
Approved by the State Council, Beihai Export Processing Zone (BHEPZ) was established in March 2003. Total planned area is 1.454 square kilometres (0.561 sq mi). The first phase of the developed area is 1.135 square kilometres (0.438 sq mi). It was verified and accepted by the Customs General Administration and eight ministries of the state, on 26 December 2003. It is the Export Processing Zone nearest to ASEAN in China and also the only one bordering the sea in western China. It is situated next to Beihai Port.[51]
Dongxing Border Economic Cooperation Area
Guilin National New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone
Guilin Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was established in May 1988. In 1991, it was approved as a national-level industrial zone. It has an area of 12.07 square kilometres (4.66 sq mi). Encouraged industries include electronic information, biomedical, new materials, and environmental protection.[52]
Nanning Economic & Technological Development Area
Established in 1992, Nanning Economic and Technological Development Zone was approved to be a national-level zone in May 2001. Its total planned area of 10.796 square kilometres (4.168 sq mi). It is located in the south of Nanning. It has become the new developing zone with fine chemical engineering, auto parts, aluminum processing, biological medicine and other industries.[53]
Nanning National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone
Nanning Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was established in 1988 and was approved as a national-level industrial zone in 1992. The zone has a planned area of 43.7 square kilometres (16.9 sq mi), and it encourages industries that do electronic information, bioengineering and pharmaceutical, mechanical and electrical integration, and the new materials industry.[54]
Pingxiang Border Economic Cooperation Zone
In 1992, Pinxiang Border Economic Cooperation Zone was established. It has a total area of 7.2 square kilometres (2.8 sq mi). It focuses on the development of hardware mechanical and electrical products, daily-use chemical processing, services, and the international logistics-based storage and information industry.[55]
Seventy-one Taiwanese ventures started up in Guangxi in 2007, with contracts bringing up to US$149 million of investment, while gross exports surpassed US$1 billion. There are a total of 1182 Taiwan ventures in Guangxi, and by the end of 2006, they have brought a total of US$4.27 billion of investment into the autonomous region. During the first half of 2007, 43 projects worthy of RMB2.6 billion (US$342 million) have already been contracted between Guangxi and Taiwan investors. Cooperation between Guangxi and Taiwan companies mainly relates to manufacturing, high-tech electronic industries, agriculture, energy resources, and tourism.[citation needed]
Guangxi Power Grid invested 180 million yuan in 2007 in projects to bring power to areas that still lacked access toelectricity. The areas affected includeNanning,Hechi,Bose andGuigang. Around 125,000 people have gained access to electricity. The money has been used to build or alter 738 10-kilovolt distribution units with a total length of wire reaching 1,831.8 kilometers.[citation needed]
Due to a lack of investment in construction in thepower grid net in rural areas, more than 400 villages in Guangxi Province were not included in the projects. Around 500,000 cannot participate in the policy known as "The Same Grid, the Same Price". Guangxi Power Grid will invest 4.6 billion yuan in improving the power grid during the 11th Five Year Plan.[citation needed]
Guangxi Power Grid invested 2.5 billion yuan in building an electric power system in the first half of 2007. Of the total investment, 2.3 billion yuan has been put into the project of the main power grid. So far, four new transformer substations in Guangxi are in various stages of completion. Wenfu substation went into operation in the city of Hechi in January 2007, and since then it has become a major hub of the electrical power system of the surrounding three counties. When the Cangwu substation was completed, it doubled the local transformer capacity. In June 2007, the new substation in Chongzuo passed its operation tests. And in the same month, Qiulong commenced production too. This shall support the power supply system ofQiulong City, as well as the northern part of the Guangxi region, and facilitate the nationwide project to transmit power from west to east.[citation needed]
In late February 2008, the central government approved China's first international and regional economic cooperation zone in Guangxi. The construction of theBeibu Gulf Economic Zone began in 2006. With the approval, the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone will be formally incorporated into national development strategies.[citation needed]
The Beibu Gulf Economic Zone covers six coastal cities along theBeibu Gulf. It integrates the cities ofNanning, the region's capital,Beihai,Qinzhou,Fangchenggang,Chongzuo andYulin. The state will adopt policies and measures to support mechanism innovation, rational industry layout, and infrastructure construction in the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone.[citation needed]
Guangxi has pledged a 100 billion yuan (US$14 billion) investment over the next five years[when?] for building and repairing 2,500 km (1,600 mi) railways to form a network hub in the area. Beibu Gulf Zone will serve as thelogistics base, business base, processing and manufacturing base, and information exchange center for China-ASEAN cooperation. Beibu Gulf Zone promises broad prospects for further development and its growth potential is rapidly released. But the shortage of talent and professionals inpetrochemicals,iron andsteel,electricity,finance,tourism,port planning, logistics andmarine industries are bottlenecks.[citation needed]
The regional government is also working on speeding up key cooperation projects includingtransportation, the marine industry, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy development, cross-border tourism, and environmental protection. Beibu Gulf has already attracted several major projects such as Qinzhouoil refinery projects andStora Enso, aFortune 500 forest products company based inFinland. In January 2008 trade import and export in the Beibu Gulf zone exceeded US$1.3 billion, a record high.[citation needed]
In September 2007, China'sMinistry of Commerce said that it has found 120 million tons of newbauxite reserves in Guangxi. The ministry said that the new reserves, which are located inChongzhou in the southern region ofYoujiang, have very high-quality bauxite, a raw material for makingaluminum. Currently, the proven reserves of bauxite in Guangxi are about 1 billion tons, making the province one of the country's biggest bauxite sources.
TheLuoyang–Zhanjiang Railway (Luozhan Line), which intersects with the Xianggui Line on the Hunan side of the border atYongzhou, runs south throughHezhou andWuzhou in eastern Guangxi and joins the Lizhan Line at Yulin. AtCenxi, a branch of the Luozhan Line heads east toMaoming, Guangdong, forming a second rail outlet from Guangxi to Guangdong.
"Guangxi" and neighbouringGuangdong literally mean "Western Expanse" and "Eastern Expanse". Together, Guangdong and Guangxi are called the "Two Expanses" (simplified Chinese:两广; traditional Chinese:兩廣; pinyin:Liǎngguǎng).
Its culture and language are reflected in this. Though now associated with theZhuang ethnic minority, Guangxi's culture traditionally has had a close connection with Cantonese. Cantonese culture and language followed the Xi River valley from Guangdong and are still predominant in the eastern half of Guangxi today. Outside of this area, there is a huge variety of ethnicities and language groups represented.
Guangxi cuisine is known asChinese:桂菜;pinyin:guìcài however it is not as affluent as its more known neighbours likeSichuan,Hunan orGuangdong. Much of Guangxi's local cuisine is centered around the cuisine of its ethnic minorities. This includes the more well knownLuosifen soup,Chinese:桂林米粉;pinyin:guìlín mǐfěn and a variety of pickled dishes.
Significant populations of almost all top-levelChinese language families can be found in Guangxi.[57]
11.6 millionYue Chinese speakers live in Guangxi, with the majority of them speaking eitherGoulou (6.8 million) orYongxun (4.7 million) varieties. Smaller populations ofGuangfu (720 thousand) andQinlian (3.9 million) speakers can also be found, primarily distributed along thePearl River and the southern coast of the province respectively.
Of the 5.4 milliondialectal Mandarin speakers who call Guangxi home, 5.2 million speakGuiliu Mandarin, a subgroup ofSouthwestern Mandarin. Smaller populations speak varieties closely related to that of southernGuizhou (265 thousand) andYunnan (123 thousand). These speakers of dialectal Mandarin are primarily distributed in the north and west of the province, in prefectures such asGuilin andLiuzhou.
Populations of what is typically calledPinghua can also be found. 1.8 million speakNorthern Pinghua, and 2.4 million speakSouthern Pinghua; the latter of which is more closely related to Yue. There are also around 1.3 millionXiang Chinese speakers, primarily found in and aroundQuanzhou county, and 140 thousandMin Chinese speakers.
Almost all counties in Guangxi have multiple varieties of Chinese natively spoken.[58]
The major tourist attraction of Guangxi isGuilin, a city famed across China and the world for its spectacular setting by theLi Jiang (Li River) amongkarst peaks. It also used to be the capital of Guangxi andJingjiang Princes' City, the old princes' residence, is open to the public. South of Guilin down the river is the town ofYangshuo, which has become a favourite destination for foreign tourists.
And people not bound to, nor practicing any, institutional or diffuse religion.
^The data was collected by the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) of 2009 and by the Chinese Spiritual Life Survey (CSLS) of 2007, reported and assembled by Xiuhua Wang (2015)[43] to confront the proportion of people identifying with two similar social structures: ① Christian churches, and ② the traditional Chinese religion of the lineage (i. e. people believing and worshipping ancestral deities often organised intolineage "churches" andancestral shrines). Data for other religions with a significant presence in China (deity cults, Buddhism, Taoism, folk religious sects, Islam, et al.) was not reported by Wang.
^Shen, Jianfa; Yeung, Yue-man (2004).Developing China's West: A Critical Path to Balanced National Development. China University Press. p. 8.ISBN9789629961572.
^Yan, Lebin.我参与处理广西文革遗留问题 (in Chinese). 炎黄春秋. Archived fromthe original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved29 November 2019.
^abcdefghijkl"Overview". People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. 11 May 2021.Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved10 August 2021.
^"广西地形概况" [Topographical overview of Guangxi].Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region People's Government Portal. 17 July 2006.Archived from the original on 28 February 2009.
^Census Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China; Population and Employment Statistics Division of the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China (2012).中国2010人口普查分乡、镇、街道资料 (1 ed.). Beijing: China Statistics Print.ISBN978-7-5037-6660-2.
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