Guangdong
Discover Guangdong
Guangdong (广东; Gwóngdūng in Cantonese; Guǎngdōng in Mandarin) in South China is the country's most populous province, and one of the richest. A global center for manufacturing and trade, Guangdong has a long history connecting China with the outside world, with maritime trade going back centuries, borders with Hong Kong and Macau, and as the ancestral homeland of many overseas Chinese. And it's not just big cities and historic sites: the province also has beautiful mountains, idyllic villages, popular beaches, and world-famous cuisine. If Guangdong were a country, then as of 2012 its population of 104 million would make it 12th in the world (after Mexico, ahead of the Philippines) and its GDP of $850 billion would be 16th (after South Korea, ahead of Indonesia). Both population and GDP are still growing.
What to Experience in Guangdong
Taste of Guangdong...
Cantonese cuisine (粤菜, yuè cài) is well known around the world, in one form or another, as the source of much overseas Chinese cuisine. Not too spicy, with fresh ingredients and a wide variety of meats (influenced by Guangzhou's history as an international trading hub). Particularly well known is dim sum (点心, diǎnxīn), where diners eat a variety of small bite-sized portions of food served in small steamer baskets or on small plates, and siu mei (烧味), which includes dishes such as roast duck (烧鸭), crispy-skin pork belly (烧肉), barbecued pork (叉烧) and soy sauce chicken (豉油鸡). Shunde is known as the culinary capital of Guangdong due to the fact that many world-class Cantonese chefs were born and trained there. Different cities also have their own local specialities. For instance, Dongguan is known for its Chinese sausages (腊肠), Qingyuan and Zhanjiang are known for their chicken, Zhuhai is known for its seafood, and Zhaoqing is known for its rice dumplings (裹蒸粽). The Hakka and Teochew people have their own distinctive cuisines. Hakka cuisine is known for several signature dishes such as lei cha (擂茶), salt-baked chicken (盐焗鸡), stuffed tofu (酿豆腐), braised pork belly with preserved mustard (梅菜扣肉), and braised pork belly with taro (芋头扣肉). Teochew cuisine is known for seafood and for vegetarian dishes, and is in many ways more similar to South Fujian cuisine than to Cantonese cuisine.
Essential Information
Getting There
Multiple OptionsGuangdong has a special visa-free scheme. Citizens of all countries that maintain diplomatic relations with the PRC may visit the cities of Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Guangzhou, Foshan, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing, Huizhou and Shantou for up to 144 hours (6 days) provided they join an approved group tour from Hong Kong or Macau, and do not travel beyond those ten cities. There are several large modern airports in the region: Guangzhou (CAN) is the main hub of China Southern Airlines and one of China's main intercontinental hubs, serving a wide array of international flights to every inhabited continent except South America. The airports in Shenzhen (SZX) and Shantou (SWA) also serve a limited number of international flights to other Asian countries. Many other cities also have an airport, but these cater almost entirely for domestic Chinese flights. Alternatively, travellers can consider flying into Hong Kong or Macau and crossing the border by land or ferry....
Regions
Explore AreasShenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou are Special Economic Zones (SEZs) where various government programs encourage investment. The area that is now Guangdong was once inhabited by non-Chinese ethnic groups co…...
Getting Around & Staying
Getting Around
As elsewhere in China, there is an extensive rail network; Guangzhou is one of the major hubs. Rail is the main means of inter-city travel for the Chinese themselves, and many visitors travel that way as well. The system now includes fast bullet trains on some routes; unless your budget is very tight, these are the best way to go — fast, clean and comfortable. All the major cities have airports with good domestic connections; some have international connections as well. See the individual city articles for details. Guangdong boasts the longest and densest expressway network in China, and other highways are also extensive, much of it of good condition. Buses go almost anywhere, somewhat cheaper than the trains. See the China article for more. Driving is also possible, but often problematic; see Driving in China. Most of the public transit systems in the province accept the multi-purpose Lingnan Pass - Yang Cheng Tong (岭南通-羊城通) stored value card.
Language & Talk
Mandarin is widely spoken (almost universally so by educated people, especially in areas like Shenzhen which have been built through migration from all across China). However, the historic and main language of the province is Cantonese. Cantonese people are extremely proud and protective of their language (this applies in Hong Kong as well) and they all continue to use it widely despite efforts at Mandarinization. Cantonese itself is more closely related to the language of the great Tang Dynasty than the more modern (circa Yuan Dynasty) Mandarin. Cantonese people worldwide tend to refer to themselves as "Tong Yan" (People of the Tang in Cantonese) rather than Han, the standard appellation for ethnic Chinese.
Safety Information
Safety Overview
The major cities of Guangdong have a problem with pickpocketing, and anyone who does not look Chinese is a prime target. For some info on defenses, see pickpockets. A route West from Guangdong into areas with lower prices and colourful minority ethnic groups is covered in Hong Kong to Kunming overland. Extensions of that route into other areas with similar characteristics are described at Yunnan tourist trail and Overland to Tibet. Nearby places include the major tourist area around Guilin (on the Hong Kong to Kunming route), the beach resorts of Hainan, the unique semi-autonomous cities of Hong Kong and Macau, and the whole of Fujian province which includes several world heritage sites and the lively city of Xiamen.
Glimpses of Guangdong
city buildings under blue sky during daytime
深圳南山区后海天际线Houhai Skyline, Nanshan District, Shenzhen
yellow and white animal plush toy
Sun Yat Sen Memorial in Guangzhou
Just love my city. wanna share with everyone.
birds
Beautiful river view of Huizhou City
coastline in ShanTou
Done with dinner
people walking on sidewalk near store during daytime
city buildings under blue sky during daytime
深圳南山区后海天际线Houhai Skyline, Nanshan District, Shenzhen
yellow and white animal plush toy