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Taishan 台山市 | |
|---|---|
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.png) Location of Taishan City (pink) within Jiangmen City (yellow) and Guangdong | |
  Taishan Location of theadministrative center in Guangdong Province | |
| Coordinates:22°15′07″N112°47′38″E / 22.252°N 112.794°E /22.252; 112.794 | |
| Country | China |
| Province | Guangdong |
| Prefecture-level city | Jiangmen |
| Area | |
| 3,286.3 km2 (1,268.8 sq mi) | |
| • Urban | 156.8 km2 (60.5 sq mi) |
| Population (2020 census[2]) | |
| 907,044 | |
| • Density | 276.01/km2 (714.86/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 194,500 |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
| Postal code | 529200–529267 |
| Area code | 750 |
| Taishan, Guangdong | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 台山 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 臺山 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Postal | Toishan | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Former names | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xinning | |||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 新寧 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 新宁 | ||||||||||||||||
| Postal | Sunning | ||||||||||||||||
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Taishan[a] is acounty-level city in the southwest ofGuangdong province, China. It is administered as part of theprefecture-level city ofJiangmen. During the2020 census, there were 907,354 inhabitants (941,095 in 2010), but only 433,266 were considered urban. Taishan calls itself the "First Home of the Overseas Chinese". An estimated half a millionChinese Americans are of Taishanese descent.[3]
Taishan is in thePearl River Delta, in southwesternJiangmen Prefecture. It has 95 islands and islets, includingShangchuan Island, Guangdong's largest island now thatHainan is a separate province. Taishan is one of Guangdong's "Four Counties" (Sze Yup), which excludedHeshan and is now part of theGreater Taishan Region.
| Climate data for Taishan, elevation 33 m (108 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 28.2 (82.8) | 29.4 (84.9) | 32.0 (89.6) | 33.4 (92.1) | 35.2 (95.4) | 37.2 (99.0) | 38.3 (100.9) | 37.3 (99.1) | 36.2 (97.2) | 34.2 (93.6) | 32.5 (90.5) | 29.3 (84.7) | 38.3 (100.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 18.8 (65.8) | 20.2 (68.4) | 22.8 (73.0) | 26.7 (80.1) | 30.0 (86.0) | 31.7 (89.1) | 32.5 (90.5) | 32.4 (90.3) | 31.3 (88.3) | 28.7 (83.7) | 24.9 (76.8) | 20.4 (68.7) | 26.7 (80.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 14.5 (58.1) | 16.0 (60.8) | 18.9 (66.0) | 22.9 (73.2) | 26.3 (79.3) | 28.0 (82.4) | 28.6 (83.5) | 28.3 (82.9) | 27.3 (81.1) | 24.7 (76.5) | 20.6 (69.1) | 16.1 (61.0) | 22.7 (72.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 11.6 (52.9) | 13.3 (55.9) | 16.3 (61.3) | 20.5 (68.9) | 23.7 (74.7) | 25.5 (77.9) | 25.9 (78.6) | 25.6 (78.1) | 24.6 (76.3) | 21.7 (71.1) | 17.6 (63.7) | 13.1 (55.6) | 20.0 (67.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 2.7 (36.9) | 2.7 (36.9) | 3.2 (37.8) | 8.6 (47.5) | 14.1 (57.4) | 18.2 (64.8) | 21.6 (70.9) | 21.9 (71.4) | 16.5 (61.7) | 11.1 (52.0) | 5.0 (41.0) | 2.0 (35.6) | 2.0 (35.6) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 41.3 (1.63) | 41.5 (1.63) | 68.3 (2.69) | 170.5 (6.71) | 292.2 (11.50) | 381.6 (15.02) | 299.3 (11.78) | 331.9 (13.07) | 228.4 (8.99) | 68.2 (2.69) | 34.3 (1.35) | 32.9 (1.30) | 1,990.4 (78.36) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 6.2 | 8.5 | 11.4 | 13.1 | 16.0 | 18.9 | 17.3 | 17.4 | 13.7 | 6.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 138.5 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 73 | 78 | 82 | 83 | 83 | 84 | 82 | 83 | 80 | 73 | 71 | 67 | 78 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 125.8 | 97.1 | 85.7 | 108.2 | 159.7 | 177.4 | 220.3 | 192.9 | 178.7 | 196.2 | 169.1 | 155.7 | 1,866.8 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 37 | 30 | 23 | 28 | 39 | 44 | 54 | 49 | 49 | 55 | 51 | 47 | 42 |
| Source:China Meteorological Administration[4][5] | |||||||||||||
During theMing dynasty, the area of present-day Taishan was carved out ofXinhui County on 12 February 1499 as "Xinning County". By the 19th century, Xinning was already a source of migrant and emigrant workers, but a series of subsequent natural and political disasters in the area exacerbated the situation. Aside from the disruption of theSea Ban regulations (Haijin) themselves, their revocation led to an influx ofnorthern settlers who began long-running feuds with thereturning locals; this erupted intofull-scale war in the 1850s and '60s.[6] The 1842Treaty of Nanking that ended theFirst Opium War opened China to greater foreign trade just before theCalifornia Gold Rush made the prospect of emigration to the United States appealing. Many also served as contract workers abroad, as inHawaii,Peru andCuba and—most famously—for theCentral Pacific half of America'sTranscontinental Railroad, where the Chinese made up 80% of the company's workforce as they laid track over the mountains and deserts of the west.[7] By 1870, there were 63,000 Chinese in the U.S., almost all inCalifornia.[8]
Chin Gee Hee'sSun Ning Railway Company connected Sun Ning (Xinning) with its hinterland in 1908 and reachedJiangmen (Kongmoon) in 1913. It was notable as one of only three railways financed, built, owned, and run by the Chinese themselves before the 1949Communist victory in theChinese Civil War.[9]
In 1914, the newRepublican government renamed the area Taishan County to avoid confusion withother places named Xinning.[10][11] (Foreign sources now frequently confuse it withMount Tai inShandong.) During theSecond World War, the Sun Ning Railway was destroyed to prevent its use by theJapanese.[9] Japanese soldiers enteredTaicheng, the county seat, in March 1941 and killed nearly 280 people. One quarter of the "Flying Tigers", a joint American and Chinese group of airmen who fought the Japanese before the U.S. entered the Second World War, hailed from Taishan.[12]
Taishan was promoted to county-level city status on 17 April 1992, reflecting its increasing level ofurbanization.[11]
Taishan administers onesubdistrict and 16towns,[13] which in turn are subdivided into 313 administrative villages (村委会), and residential communities (社区委会).[11] The city has 3,655 natural villages, but they do not function as administrative divisions (自然村).[11]
Taishan'stownship-level divisions are:
| Name | Chinese (S)[13] | Hanyu Pinyin | Population (2010)[14] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taicheng Subdistrict | 台城街道 | Táichéng Jiēdào | 246,844 |
| Dajiang [zh] town | 大江镇 | Dàjiāng Zhèn | 46,674 |
| Shuibu town | 水步镇 | Shuǐbù Zhèn | 42,578 |
| Sijiu town | 四九镇 | Sìjiǔ Zhèn | 37,402 |
| Baisha town | 白沙镇 | Báishā Zhèn | 52,462 |
| Sanhe town | 三合镇 | Sānhé Zhèn | 36,215 |
| Chonglou town | 冲蒌镇 | Chōnglóu Zhèn | 32,483 |
| Doushan town | 斗山镇 | Dòushān Zhèn | 48,229 |
| Duhu [zh] town | 都斛镇 | Dōuhú Zhèn | 42,657 |
| Chixi [zh] town (Chihkai; Chihchi) | 赤溪镇 | Chìxī Zhèn | 34,450 |
| Duanfen town | 端芬镇 | Duānfēn Zhèn | 45,729 |
| Guanghai town | 广海镇 | Guǎnghǎi Zhèn | 43,465 |
| Haiyan town | 海宴镇 | Hǎiyàn Zhèn | 73,212 |
| Wencun [zh] town | 汶村镇 | Wèncūn Zhèn | 49,565 |
| Shenjing [zh] town | 深井镇 | Shēnjǐng Zhèn | 52,767 |
| Beidou [zh] town | 北陡镇 | Běidǒu Zhèn | 28,091 |
| Chuandao town | 川岛镇 | Chuāndǎo Zhèn | 28,272 |
Some of the city's natural villages includeAnnanjiangchao (安南江潮),Bihou (庇厚),Jilong, andGuanbuli (官步里).
Counting the totalGreater Taishan Region orSze Yap Region, which includesKaiping,Xinhui,Enping and Taishan, there are about 8 to 9 millionTaishanese people worldwide. According to American historianHim Mark Lai, approximately 430,000 or 70% ofChinese Americans in the 1980s were Taishanese according to 1988 data.[15] About 500,000 Chinese Americans claim Taishanese origins today.[15]
While Taishan itself has a population of about 1 million, there are around 1.3 million Taishanese people overseas, distributed in 91 countries and regions.[16] It is estimated that, up to the mid- to late-20th century, over 75% of all overseas Chinese in North America claimed origin in Taishan, so Taishan has been called the "Home of Overseas Chinese".[3][17]
Taishan's main dialect isTaishanese (台山话;台山話).[citation needed] Most Taishanese today useMandarin in school or formal occasions, butTaishanese is thelingua franca.[citation needed] Schools require their students to speak Mandarin in the classroom, and teachers are required to lecture in Mandarin.[citation needed]
Taishanese is a language of theYue Chinese, a large group that includes, but is broader than, the Cantonese spoken inHong Kong and Guangzhou.[citation needed] Cantonese and Taishanese are thus related but distinct.[18]Cantonese is also widely known in Taishan, as it serves as Guangdong Province'slingua franca.[citation needed]
Before the 1980s, Taishanese was the predominant Chinese language spoken throughout North America'sChinatowns.[3]
In 2018, Taishan'sGDP reached 43.25 billionYuan, government revenue was 2.92 billion Yuan,fixed-asset investment was 27.33 billion Yuan, retail sales totaled 25.52 billion Yuan, and foreign trade totaled 13.76 billion Yuan.[1]
Taishan is home to two major power plants: theGuohua Taishan Power Station and theTaishan Nuclear Power Plant.[1]
Taishan is nicknamed the "hometown ofvolleyball",[1] after the game was introduced to the city in 1915 byLingnan University student Wu Xiumin (伍秀民).[19] Many prominent Chinese volleyball players have hailed from Taishan.[19] In recent years, local governments in the city have invested in the area's volleyball programs, and the city hosted a number ofVolleyball Women's Nations League matches in 2018.[19]9-man is a form of volleyball from Taishan brought to American Chinatowns by Taishanese immigrants.
Taishan andGuangzhou are the birthplaces ofGuangdong music.[citation needed]
Parts of the movieLet the Bullets Fly were filmed in Taishan in 2010.[20][21]
Education enjoys significant support from Overseas Chinese professionals and businessmen. Many secondary schools were built and financed by Chinese living in China'sSpecial Administrative Regions, as well as various foreign countries, such as the United States, Canada, and Brazil. To honor their benefactors, these schools often bear either their names or the names of said donor's parents.
The Peng Quan School (鹏权中学;鵬權中學) is a prime example, which was constructed during 1999–2001 and is now integrated into Taishan's public school system. It is situated on the west side of Taicheng and was built by a Hong Kong businessman.[22]
There are many middle schools and high schools in Taishan but no academic universities. Students must study rigorously in order to be accepted at universities located in other cities.
Taishan schools include:
University:
Secondary schools (including combined junior-senior high schools and senior high schools):
.jpg)
Taishan is accessible by bus with a long-distance bus station in Taicheng, and through a port atGongYi on theTan River which flows into thePearl River Delta.[citation needed] The ferry service between GongYi and Hong Kong has been discontinued.[citation needed]
Ferry services connect the island ofShangchuan with the mainland, sailing between the Sanzhou Harbor (三洲港) on Shangchuan, andShanzui Harbor (山咀港) in the town ofChuandao.[23][24] There are also daily ferry services between Sanzhou Harbor and the nearby island ofXiachuan.[24]
In 2018,Taishan railway station opened inTaicheng Subdistrict, connecting the city via rail.[25] The station, located 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) north of the city center, is a stop on theShenzhen–Zhanjiang high-speed railway, and has a couple dozen trains a day running toGuangzhou South railway station.[citation needed]
| Sub-provincial cities |
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Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area) | ||
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| Guangdong Province |  | |
| Special administrative regions | ||
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| National | |
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