Shunde District

Shunde 顺德
District
顺德区
Shunfengshan Park in Shunde
Coordinates: 22°50′11″N 113°15′09″E / 22.83639°N 113.25250°E / 22.83639; 113.25250Coordinates: 22°50′11″N 113°15′09″E / 22.83639°N 113.25250°E / 22.83639; 113.25250
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Guangdong
Prefecture-level city	Foshan
Area
• Total	806 km2 (311 sq mi)
	[1]
Population [1]
• Total	1,220,000
• Density	1,500/km2 (3,900/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	528300
Website	(Chinese) www.shunde.gov.cn

Shunde District, is a district in the city of Foshan in the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong Province, China. Once a traditional agricultural county, it has become one of the most affluent counties in Guangdong and mainland China. Since 2009, it is administrated independently of Foshan city, answerable directly to the Guangdong provincial government.

Administration Division

Shunde was a county-level city until December 8, 2002, when it became a district of Foshan prefecture-level city.^[2] Shunde has direct jurisdiction over four subdistricts and six towns:

Unique as a district of any prefecture-level city in China, Shunde has been granted a degree of prefecture-level administrative autonomy over certain matters, notably, economic development. It is independent of Foshan city and has been answerable directly to the Guangdong Provincial government since 2009.^[2]

Economy

Since the implementation of policies related to reform and openness began in 1978, the people of this area were given full control over their geographical position and culture. This has allowed Shunde, once a traditional agricultural county, to gradually develop into a modern industrial boomtown. Shunde was approved as a pilot city for the comprehensive reform of Guangdong in 1993,^[2] and also for taking the lead in accomplishing modernization in 1999. From 2000 to 2003, Shunde was ranked first among China's top 100 counties for Basic Economic Competitiveness for four consecutive years (released by National Bureau of Statistics of China). In 2005, Shunde achieved a GDP of 2170.13 billion.^[3]

Situated in the fertile Pearl River Delta, the its economy was once dominated by agriculture, fisheries and silk farming. Since the Chinese economic reform, this has been superseded by industrial manufacturing and development, especially the manufacturing of furniture and electric appliances.^[4] Some mainland Chinese product brands like Kelon (科龙) or Midea are made in Shunde. Recently a new technology industrial park has also been opened in this area, featuring car manufacturers such as Toyota.

Today, this area has become one of the most affluent counties in Guangdong and mainland China (according to official information from the Chinese government and the United Nations).^{[citation needed]} The GDP reached 127.5 billion yuan in 2007, an annual increase of 18%, and GDP per capita reached 107,991 yuan (ca. US $14,200).

Tourism

Tourist attractions include the Qinghui Garden (清晖园), which features fish ponds surrounded by osmanthus, bamboo and mulberry bushes,^[5] as well as the Bruce Lee Memorial Museum located in Jun'an. Shunfengshan Park was opened to the public in 2004 and has a memorial archway which is 88 metres (289 ft) wide and 38 metres (125 ft) high.^[6]

Famous residents and people from the area

Martial artist Bruce Lee's ancestral roots are traced to Gwan'on (Jun'an) in Seundak (Shunde). A street in the village is named after the actor, and his ancestral home is open to the public.

Others include:

• The former Lord Mayor of Melbourne John So.
• Real estate developer Lee Shau Kee, and, as of May 2013, the 24th richest person in the world.^[7]
• Real estate developer Yang Guoqiang

See also

• Shunde, China Furniture Wholesale Market
• Hisense Kelon

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shunde.

• Government of Shunde
• Destination guide
• Information about Shunde