Nantou, Shenzhen (historical)

Nantou (南頭; also transliterated as Nantau or Nam Tau) is an area at the back of Nantau Peninsula in Guangdong, China.

It was formerly a walled city facing Tai Shan Bay for coastal defense in Bao'an County and now is the district government seat of the Nanshan District in Shenzhen. It was also the administrative centre in the area surrounding including Hong Kong. The city was on the sea route in South China and was regarded as the gatekeeper of Pearl River and Guangzhou.

The walled city is also known as Nantoucheng (南頭城), "walled city of Nantou". The inhabitant of Nantou extended south along Tai Shan Wan to Chenwuwei (陳屋圍), including Guankou (關口) and Shiqiaotou (石橋頭).

History

The history of Nantou can be dated back to 331. It was known as Dongguan (東官) as it is the capital Dongguan prefecture. It is also known as Bao'an (寶安), Tunmen (屯門) and Xin'an (新安) in the course of history. The current walled city was built in 1394, when Ming revived the coastal defence after the fall of Mongolian rule. It remained the administrative centre afterwards. Nantou gradually lost its prestige as the completion of Kowloon-Canton Railway made the market town of Shenzhen east of Nantau more prosperous. The capital city of Bao'an County was moved to Shenzhen finally in 1953.