| Guangzhou 广州 |
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|---|---|
| — Sub-provincial city — | |
| 广州市 | |
| From top: Zhujiang New Town's Skyline, the Canton Tower & Chigang Pagoda, Haizhu Bridge, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Statue of Five Goats, Zhenhai Tower in Yuexiu Park, and Sacred Heart Cathedral. | |
| Location of Guangzhou City (yellow) in Guangdong | |
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Guangzhou
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Guangdong |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sub-provincial city |
| • CPC Ctte Secretary | Lin Yuanhe |
| • Mayor | Wan Qingliang |
| Area[1] | |
| • Sub-provincial city | 7,434 km2 (2,870 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 3,843 km2 (1,484 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 21 m (68 ft) |
| Population (2010)[2] | |
| • Sub-provincial city | 12,700,800 |
| • Density | 1,708/km2 (4,425/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 11,070,654 |
| Demonym | Guangzhouese Cantonese |
| Time zone | China standard time (UTC+8) |
| Postal code | 510000 |
| Area code(s) | 20 |
| GDP[3] | 2010 |
| - Total | CN¥1060.448 billion (US$163.3 billion) |
| - Per capita | CN¥83,494 (US$12,860) |
| - Growth | 13.0% |
| Licence plate prefixes | 粤A |
| Website | gz.gov.cn |
| Guangzhou | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Guangzhou", as written in Simplified Chinese | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 广州 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 廣州 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cantonese Jyutping | Gwong² zau1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cantonese Yale | Gwóngjàu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Guǎngzhōu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Wide State or Capital of Guangfu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Guangzhou (Chinese: 广州; Mandarin pronunciation: [kwɑ̀ŋʈʂóʊ̯]), known historically as Canton or Kwangchow,[4] is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port.[5] One of the five National Central Cities,[6] it holds sub-provincial administrative status.
Guangzhou is the third largest city in China and southern China's largest city. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 12.78 million.[7] Some estimates place the population of the entire Pearl River Delta Mega City built up area as high as 40 million including Shenzhen (10.36 million), Dongguan (8.22 million) and most parts of Foshan (7.19 million), Jiangmen (4.45 million), Zhongshan (3.12 million) and a small part of Huizhou adjoining Dongguan and Shenzhen, with an area of about 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) (about the size of US state of New Jersey). In 2008 Guangzhou was identified as a Beta World City by the global city index produced by GaWC.[8]
Guangzhou's earliest recorded name is Panyu (Chinese: 番禺; Jyutping: Pun1 Jyu4), a name borrowed from two nearby mountains anciently called Pan and Yu.[9] Its recorded history begins with China's conquering of the area during the Qin Dynasty. Panyu expanded when it became capital of the Nanyue Kingdom (南越) in 206 BC, the territory of the Nanyue Kingdom included what is now Vietnam.
The Han Dynasty annexed the Nanyue Kingdom in 111 BC and Panyu became a provincial capital and remains so today. In 226 AD, Panyu became the seat of Guang Prefecture (廣州; Guangzhou). While originally referring to prefecture only, local citizens gradually adopted the custom of using the same name for their city.
Although Guangzhou replaced Panyu as the name of the walled city, Panyu was still the name of the area surrounding the walled city until the end of Qing Dynasty. . Today, Panyu is a district of Guangzhou south of Haizhu District separated from the rest of the city by the Pearl River.
Arab and Persian pirates sacked Guangzhou (known to them as Sin-Kalan) in AD 758, according to a local Guangzhou government report on October 30, 758, which corresponded to the day of Guisi (癸巳) of the ninth lunar month in the first year of the Qianyuan era of Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty.[10][11][12][13] The Arab historian Abu Zayd Hasan of Siraf reports that in 878 followers of the Chinese rebel leader Huang Chao besieged the city and massacred a large number of foreign merchants resident there.[14][15]
From the tenth to twelfth century, Persian women were to be found in Guangzhou. Multiple women originating from the Persian Gulf lived in Guangzhou's foreign quarter.[16][17][18] Some scholars did not differentiate between Persian and Arab, and some say that the Chinese called all women coming from the Persian Gulf "Persian Women".[19]
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the celebrated poet Su Shi (Shisu) visited Guangzhou's Baozhuangyan Temple and wrote the inscription "Liu Rong" (Six Banyan Trees) because of the six banyan trees he saw there. It has since been called the Temple of the 6 Banyan Trees.
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in Guangzhou by sea in 1514, establishing a monopoly on the external trade out of its harbour by 1517.[20] They were later expelled from their settlements in Guangzhou (Cantão in Portuguese), but instead granted use of Macau as a trade base with the city in 1557. They would keep a near monopoly on foreign trade in the region until the arrival of the Dutch in the early 17th century.
It is believed that the romanisation "Canton" originated from the Portuguese Cantão, which was transcribed from Guangdong. Nevertheless, because at the time of the Portuguese arrival, the capital city had no specific appellation other than Shaang2 Sheng4(省城, lit. the provincial capital) by its people, the province name was adopted for the walled city by the Europeans. The etymology of Canton, as well as the similar pronunciation with the province name Guangdong might have partly contributed to the recent confusion of Canton and Guangdong by certain English speakers. However, definitive English lexica, such as Merriam–Webster's Dictionary, American Heritage Dictionary and Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English do not list 'Guangdong' as a synonym (or variant) under 'Canton'.
After China gained control of Taiwan in 1683, the Qing government became more open to foreign trade. Guangzhou quickly emerged as one of the most suitable ports for international trade and before long ships arrived from all over the world.
The Portuguese in Macau, the Spanish in Manila, Arabs from the Middle East and Muslims from India were already actively trading in the port by the 1690s, when the French and English began frequenting the port through the Canton System.
Other companies were soon to follow: the Ostend General India company in 1717; Dutch East India Company in 1729; the first Danish ship in 1731, which was followed by a Danish Asiatic Company ship in 1734; the Swedish East India Company in 1732; followed by an occasional Prussian and Trieste Company ship; the Americans in 1784; and the first ships from Australia in 1788.
By the middle of the 18th century, Guangzhou had emerged as one of the world's great trading ports under the Thirteen Factories, which was a distinction it maintained until the outbreak of the First Opium War in 1839 and the opening of other ports in China in 1842. The privilege during this period made Guangzhou one of the top 3 cities in the world.[21] During the war, the British captured Canton on March 18, 1841. The Second Battle of Canton was fought in May 1841.
The plague epidemic – part of the Third Pandemic – have reached Guangzhou in 1894, causing the death of 60,000 people in a few weeks.[22] In 1918, the city's urban council was established and "Guangzhou" became the official name of the city. Panyu became a county's name to the southern side of Guangzhou.
In both 1930 and 1953, Guangzhou was promoted to the status of a Municipality, but each time promotion was rescinded within a year.
Japanese troops occupied Guangzhou from October 12, 1938, to September 16, 1945, after violent bombings. In the city, the Imperial Japanese Army conducted bacteriological research unit 8604, a section of unit 731, where Japanese doctors experimented on human prisoners.
After the fall of the capital Nanjing in April 1949, the Nationalist government under the acting president Li Zongren relocated to Guangzhou.
Communist forces entered the city on October 14, 1949. This led the nationalists to blow up the Haizhu Bridge as the major link across the Pearl River and to the acting president's leaving for New York, whereas Chiang Kai-shek set up the capital for the Nationalist government in Chongqing again. The urban renewal projects of the new communist government improved the lives of some residents. New housing on the shores of the Pearl River provided homes for the poor boat people. Reforms by Deng Xiaoping, who came to power in the late 1970s, led to rapid economic growth due to the city's close proximity to Hong Kong and access to the Pearl River.
As labour costs increased in Hong Kong, manufacturers opened new plants in the cities of Guangdong including Guangzhou. As the largest city in one of China's wealthiest provinces, Guangzhou attracts farmers from the countryside looking for factory work. Cantonese links to overseas Chinese and beneficial tax reforms of the 1990s have aided the city's rapid growth.
In 2000, Huadu and Panyu were merged into Guangzhou as districts, and Conghua and Zengcheng became county-level cities of Guangzhou.
Located in the south-central portion of Guangdong, Guangzhou spans from 112° 57' to 114° 03' E longitude and 22° 26' to 23° 56' N latitude. The city is part of the Pearl River Delta and the city centre is situated next to the Baiyun Mountain, which is locally referred to as ‘the lung of the city’ (市肺).[5][23] The total area under the city's administration is 7,434.4 square kilometres (2,870.4 sq mi), with the 10 districts occupying 3,843.43 square kilometres (1,483.96 sq mi), or 51.7% of the total, while the two county-level cities occupy the rest.
The elevation of the prefecture generally increases from southwest to northeast, with mountains forming the backbone of the city, and the ocean comprising the front.
Located just south of the Tropic of Cancer, Guangzhou has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) influenced by the Asian monsoon. Summers are wet with high temperatures, high humidity and a high heat index. Winters are mild and comparatively dry. Guangzhou has a lengthy monsoon season, spanning from April through September. Monthly averages range from 13.6 °C (56.5 °F) in January to 28.6 °C (83.5 °F) in July, while The annual average temperature in Guangzhou is 22.6 °C (72.7 °F),[5] the relative humidity is approximately 68%, whereas annual rainfall in the metropolitan area is over 1,700 mm (67 in).[5] Extreme temperatures have ranged from 0 °C (32 °F) to 39.1 °C (102 °F).[24] The last recorded snowfall in the city was in January 1893.
| Climate data for Guangzhou (1971−2000) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 18.3 (64.9) |
18.5 (65.3) |
21.6 (70.9) |
25.7 (78.3) |
29.3 (84.7) |
31.5 (88.7) |
32.8 (91.0) |
32.7 (90.9) |
31.5 (88.7) |
28.8 (83.8) |
24.5 (76.1) |
20.6 (69.1) |
26.3 (79.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 10.3 (50.5) |
11.7 (53.1) |
15.2 (59.4) |
19.5 (67.1) |
22.7 (72.9) |
24.8 (76.6) |
25.5 (77.9) |
25.4 (77.7) |
24.0 (75.2) |
20.8 (69.4) |
15.9 (60.6) |
11.5 (52.7) |
18.9 (66.0) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 40.9 (1.61) |
69.4 (2.732) |
84.7 (3.335) |
201.2 (7.921) |
283.7 (11.169) |
276.2 (10.874) |
232.5 (9.154) |
227.0 (8.937) |
166.2 (6.543) |
87.3 (3.437) |
35.4 (1.394) |
31.6 (1.244) |
1,736.1 (68.35) |
| % humidity | 72 | 78 | 82 | 84 | 84 | 84 | 82 | 82 | 78 | 72 | 66 | 66 | 77.5 |
| Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 7.5 | 11.2 | 15.0 | 16.3 | 18.3 | 18.2 | 15.9 | 16.8 | 12.5 | 7.1 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 149.2 |
| Sunshine hours | 118.5 | 71.6 | 62.4 | 65.1 | 104.0 | 140.2 | 202.0 | 173.5 | 170.2 | 181.8 | 172.7 | 166.0 | 1,628.0 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration[25] | |||||||||||||
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1953[26] | 1,598,900 | — |
| 1964[26] | 3,031,486 | +89.6% |
| 1982[26] | 5,630,733 | +85.7% |
| 1990[27] | 6,299,943 | +11.9% |
| 1995[27] | 8,117,100 | +28.8% |
| 2000[27] | 9,942,022 | +22.5% |
| 2002[27] | 10,106,229 | +1.7% |
| 2010[2] | 12,700,800 | +25.7% |
| Population size may be affected by changes on administrative divisions. | ||
Guangzhou is a sub-provincial city. It has direct jurisdiction over ten districts (区 qu) and two county-level cities (市 shi) :
| Map | # | Name | Hanzi | Hanyu Pinyin | Population (2010 census)[2] |
Area (km2)[1] |
Density (/km2)[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central districts | 7,727,163 | 1,166.37 | 6,625 | ||||
| 1 | Yuexiu District | 越秀区 | Yuèxiù Qū | 1,157,277 | 33.80 | 34,239 | |
| 2 | Liwan District | 荔湾区 | Lìwān Qū | 898,204 | 59.10 | 15,198 | |
| 3 | Haizhu District | 海珠区 | Hǎizhū Qū | 1,558,663 | 90.40 | 17,242 | |
| 4 | Tianhe District | 天河区 | Tiānhé Qū | 1,432,431 | 96.33 | 14,870 | |
| 5 | Baiyun District | 白云区 | Báiyún Qū | 2,222,658 | 795.79 | 2,793 | |
| 6 | Huangpu District | 黄埔区 | Huángpù Qū | 457,930 | 90.95 | 5,035 | |
| New districts | 3,343,491 | 2,677.06 | 1,249 | ||||
| 7 | Panyu District | 番禺区 | Pānyú Qū | 1,764,869 | 786.15 | 2,245 | |
| 8 | Huadu District | 花都区 | Huādū Qū | 945,053 | 970.04 | 974 | |
| 9 | Nansha District | 南沙区 | Nánshā Qū | 259,899 | 527.65 | 493 | |
| 10 | Luogang District | 萝岗区 | Luógāng Qū | 373,670 | 393.22 | 950 | |
| County-level cities | 1,630,146 | 3,590.97 | 454 | ||||
| 11 | Zengcheng | 增城市 | Zēngchéng Shì | 1,036,731 | 1,616.47 | 641 | |
| 12 | Conghua | 从化市 | Cónghuà Shì | 593,415 | 1,974.50 | 301 | |
| Total | 12,700,800 | 7,434.40 | 1,708 | ||||
As of April 28, 2005, the districts of Dongshan and Fangcun have been abolished and merged into Yuexiu and Liwan respectively; at the same time the district of Nansha was established out of parts of Panyu, and the district of Luogang was established out of parts of Baiyun, Tianhe, and Zengcheng, plus a part of Huangpu, making an exclave next to Huangpu.
In January 2009 the National People's Congress approved a development plan for the Pearl River Delta Region. On March 19, 2009 the Guangzhou Municipal Government and Foshan Municipal Government both agreed to establish a framework to merge the two cities.[28]
Guangzhou is the main manufacturing hub of the Pearl River Delta, one of mainland China's leading commercial and manufacturing regions. In 2009, the GDP reached ¥911.28 billion (US $133.5 billion), per capita was ¥89,498 (US $13,111).[29]
The China Import and Export Fair, also called "Canton Fair", is held every year in April and October by Ministry of Trading. Inaugurated in the spring of 1957, the Fair is a major event for the city. From the 104th session, Liuhua Complex is not in use to hold Canton Fair. All the booths have been transferred to Pazhou Complex. From the 104th session, Canton Fair has been arranged in 3 phases instead of 2 phases.
The zone was founded in 2005. Its total planned area is 1.36 km2 (0.53 sq mi).[30] It is located in Nansha District and it belongs to the provincial capital, Guangzhou. The major industries encouraged in the zone include auto-mobile assembly, biotechnology and heavy industry. It is situated near to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Shenzhen Port.[30]
The zone was founded in 1992. It is located in the east of Huangpu District and located near to Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone. It is situated very close to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport.[31] The major industries encouraged in the zone include international trade, logistics, processing industry and computer software.
When the first line of the Guangzhou Metro opening in 1997, Guangzhou was the fourth city in Mainland China to have an underground railway system, behind Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. Currently the underground network is made up of eight lines, covering a total length of 236 km (147 mi). A long term plan is to make the city's underground system expand over 500 km (310 mi) by 2020 with 15 lines in operation.
The existing eight lines of Guangzhou Metro network:
in 2010 Guangzhou introduced the second largest Bus Rapid Transit system in use, after Bogota's TransMilenio, the Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit (or GBRT). The 22.5 km (13.98 mi) line currently handles more than 800.000 passengers per day, and has through-running with the city's wider bus system. Several future extensions are planned.
According to a report on the China Daily of July 6, 2007, all buses and taxis in Guangzhou will be LPG-fueled by 2010 to promote clean energy for transport and improve the environment.[32] At present, Guangzhou is the city that uses the most LPG-fueled vehicles in the world. As of the end of 2006, 6,500 buses and 16,000 taxis were using LPG, taking up 85% of all buses and taxis.
Effective January 1, 2007, the municipal government has banned motorcycles in urban areas. Motorcycles found violating the ban will be confiscated.[33] The Guangzhou traffic bureau claimed to have reported reduced traffic problems and accidents in the downtown area since the ban.[34]
Guangzhou's main airport is the Baiyun International Airport in Huadu District opened on August 5, 2004. This airport is also the 2nd busiest airport in terms of traffic movements in China. It replaced the old Baiyun International Airport, which was very close to the city centre and failed to meet the fast-growing air traffic demand.
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport now has two runways, with three more planned to be built.[35]
Guangzhou now has the JingGuang railway (Beijing-Guangzhou), the GuangShen railway (Guangzhou-Shenzhen), the GuangMao railway (Guangzhou-Maoming) and the GuangMeiShan railway (Guangzhou-Meizhou-Shantou). In late 2009, the Wuhan–Guangzhou High-Speed Railway started its service, which enables Multiple unit to cover 980 km (608.94 mi) at an average speed of 320 km/h. In January 2011, the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Railway started its service at an average speed of 200 km/h (124 mph).
Guangzhou is well connected to Hong Kong by train, coach and ferry. The Guangdong Through Train departs from the Guangzhou East railway station (广州东站) and arrive at the Hung Hom KCR station in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The route is approximately 182 km (113 mi) in length and the ride takes less than two hours. Frequent coach services are also provided with coaches departing every day from different locations (mostly major hotels) around the city.
There are daily high-speed catamaran services between Nansha Ferry Terminal and Lianhua Shan Ferry Terminal in Guangzhou and the Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal, as well as between Nansha Ferry Terminal and Macau Ferry Pier in Hong Kong.
According to the official People's Daily newspaper, Cantonese is the first language for half of the 14 million residents of the provincial capital Guangzhou, while the other half speak mainly Mandarin.[36] Other languages such as Hakka are spoken in significant numbers as well.
Huaisheng Mosque is among the oldest mosques in China.[37] Buddhism has remained the most influential religion in the life of Guangzhou people.[38]
Guangzhou has a Jewish community, Guangzhou Buddhist Association, and Guangzhou Daoist Association.[39][40] There is official pressure against underground churches in Guangzhou.[41]
The Eight Sights of Guangzhou are the 8 most famous tourist attractions listed by rulers in different ages. The followings are those chosen through public appraisal and brought out in 2011.
Guangzhou has a humid, hot sub-tropical climate. Annual average temperature is 21.8 degrees. Autumn, from October to December, is very moderate, cool and windy, and is the best travel time.[42] There are many tourist attractions around the city which include:
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Guangzhou has two local radio stations: the provincial Radio Guangdong and the municipal Radio Guangzhou. Together they broadcast in more than a dozen channels. The primary language of both radio stations is Cantonese. Traditionally only one channel of Radio Guangdong is dedicated to Mandarin (Putonghua), however in recent years there has been an increase in Mandarin programmes in most Cantonese channels. Radio stations from cities around Guangzhou mainly broadcast in Cantonese, and these programmes can be received in different areas of the city, depending on the radio stations' locations and transmission power. On the other hand, the Beijing based China National Radio broadcasts Mandarin programmes in the city. Radio Guangdong produces a 15 minute weekly English programme, Guangdong Today, which is broadcast globally through the WRN Broadcast. Daily English news programmes are also broadcasted by Radio Guangdong.
Guangzhou has some of the best Chinese-language newspapers and magazines in mainland China, most of which are published by three big newspaper companies in the city. The Guangzhou Daily Press Group, Nanfang Press Corporation and Yangcheng Evening News Group dominate the newspaper market of Guangdong Province. The two leading newspapers of the city are Guangzhou Daily and Southern Metropolis Daily. Guangzhou Daily, with a circulation of 1.8 million, has been China's most successful newspaper for 14 years in terms of advertising revenue while Southern Metropolis Daily is considered one of the most liberal newspapers in mainland China. In addition to Guangzhou's Chinese-language publications, there are a few English magazines and newspapers, most notably that's PRD (formerly that's Guangzhou) which was started more than a decade ago and has since blossomed into one of China's leading expat magazines with issues in Beijing, Shanghai and formerly Suzhou.
Universities and colleges
Note: Institutes without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.
Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Centre also known as Guangzhou University Town is a large university complex located in the southeast suburbs of Guangzhou. This huge higher education centre occupies the entire Xiaoguwei island in Panyu District, covering an area of about 18 square kilometres. It houses new campuses from ten universities, nine of which still maintain their old campuses in downtown Guangzhou. The whole Higher Education Mega Centre can eventually accommodate up to 200,000 students, 20,000 teachers and 50,000 staff.[44]
Higher education institutions with campuses in the Mega Centre:
In 2010, Guangzhou hosted the 16th Asian Games from November 12 to 27 and the first Asian Para Games from December 12 to 19, which were the largest sports events the city ever hosted.
Guangzhou also hosted the following major sports events:
Current professional sports clubs (football and basketball) based in Guangzhou include:
| Sport | League | Tier | Club | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Football | Chinese Super League | 1st | Guangzhou Evergrande | Tianhe Stadium |
| Football | Chinese Super League | 1st | Guangzhou R&F | Yuexiushan Stadium |
| Football | China League One | 2nd | Guangdong Sunray Cave | Guangdong Provincial People's Stadium |
| Basketball | National Basketball League | 2nd | Guangzhou Freemen | Tianhe Stadium |
| Basketball | National Basketball League | 2nd | Guangzhou Six-rice | Huangpu Stadium |
| Baseball | China Baseball League | 1st | Guangdong Leopards | Guangdong Olympic Stadium |
Guangzhou is twinned with the following cities:[45]
| Country | City | Geographical location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | Fukuoka | Fukuoka | May 2, 1979 |
| United States | Los Angeles | California | December 8, 1981 |
| Philippines | Manila | Metro Manila | November 5, 1982 |
| Canada | Vancouver | British Columbia | March 27, 1985 |
| Australia | Sydney | New South Wales | May 12, 1986 |
| Italy | Bari | Bari | November 12, 1986 |
| France | Lyon | Rhône | January 19, 1988 |
| Germany | Frankfurt | Hessen | April 11, 1988 |
| New Zealand | Auckland | Auckland | February 17, 1989 |
| South Korea | Gwangju | Metropolitan city | October 25, 1996 |
| Sweden | Linköping | Östergötland | November 24, 1997 |
| South Africa | Durban | KwaZulu-Natal | July 17, 2000 |
| United Kingdom | Bristol | England | May 23, 2001 |
| Russia | Yekaterinburg | Sverdlovsk | July 10, 2002 |
| Peru | Arequipa | Arequipa | October 27, 2004 |
| Indonesia | Surabaya | East Java | December 21, 2005 |
| Lithuania | Vilnius | Vilnius | October 12, 2006 |
| United Kingdom | Birmingham | England | December 4, 2006 |
| Sri Lanka | Hambantota | Hambantota | February 27, 2007 |
| Brazil | Recife | Pernambuco | October 22, 2007 |
| Finland | Tampere | Pirkanmaa | December 2, 2008 |
| Thailand | Bangkok | Bangkok | November 13, 2009 |
Guangzhou has the following friendship cities:[46]
| Country | City | Geographical location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Salvador | Bahia | April 6, 1996 |
| Vietnam | Ho Chi Minh City | Centrally-governed city | April 11, 1996 |
| Japan | Ōita | Ōita | October 9, 1997 |
| Russia | Khabarovsk | Khabarovsk | October 15, 1997 |
| United Arab Emirates | Dubai | Dubai | June 1, 2000 |
| United States | Guam | Unincorporated organized territories | March 28, 2002 |
| Japan | Noboribetsu | Hokkaidō | May 19, 2002 |
| Australia | Melbourne | Victoria | April 9, 2003 |
| Egypt | Alexandria | Alexandria | July 17, 2003 |
| Spain | Barcelona | Catalonia | October 23, 2003 |
| Kyrgyzstan | Bishkek | Chuy | December 1, 2004 |
| Cuba | Havana | Havana | June 15, 2005 |
| Germany | Düsseldorf | North Rhine-Westphalia | July 25, 2006 |
| Preceded by Nanjing |
Capital of the Republic of China (during Chinese Civil War) 1949 |
Succeeded by Chongqing |