China's Provinces in Brief: Guangdong

Guangdong (广东): Located at the southern tip of China, just below Fujian, Guangdong has long been a site for international trade. Today it is one of China’s most developed provinces.

Size: 68,600 square miles (177,600 sq. km.)

Population: 92 million in 2005.

Major Cities: Guangzhou (capital), Chaozhou, Dongguan, Shenzhen, Shantou, Zhuhai.

Economy: 2007 GDP: 3 trillion yuan ($440 billion).

Major Crops/Industry food processing, textiles, sugar refining, silk processing, metal processing, manufacture of machinery, shipbuilding, rice.

Historical Note: Guangdong has been an established administrative region of China for over 2,000 years. Its name was given in the Ming Dynasty. In the 1800s, thousands of Chinese laborers migrated from Guangdong to the United States to participate in the gold rush and build the trans-continental railroad.

Official Chinese Website: http://www.gd.gov.cn/