Location: Guangdong is situated in the southern most part of China.
Area: 177,600 square kilometers
Climate: Guangdong is located in the subtropical zone. Most pasts of it belong to the subtropical monsoon climate. So it has long summers and warm winters. The average annual temperature rises gradually from the north to the south, that is ,from about 19℃to22℃.The average annual rainfall is over 1,500 mm. Therefore the whole province is green all the year round and is seething with life everywhere.
Provincial capital: Guangzhou
Population: 86.42 millions (March 2001)
Ethnic groups: Guangdong is a multi-national provice. Besides the ltan people, there are other ethnic groups, such as Yao, Hui, Manchu, Yi, Li, Miao and so on, totaling 42.
Major Cities: Chaozhou; Dongguan; Shantou; Shenzhen; Shunde; Zhuhai;
Agriculture: In as much as only about 15 percent of its land is under cultivation, agriculture is of necessity extremely intensive. The limited extent of sown land avaialble is, however, partly offset by repeated uses of it. Two crops of rice a year can be grown on most cultivated land, the annual yields resulting from two harvests exceed the national average. Rice is is the leading crop, occupying 76 percent of the total cultivated area and accounting for over 80 percent of Guangdong's total food production.
Industry: Light industry has always been of significance in the province. Apart from handicrafts, light industry -- especially food processing and the manufacture of textiles -- accounts considerablly the provincial industry. Sugar refining is centred in Guangzhou, Dongguan, Shunde, Jiangmen and Shantou, while silk filature (the reeling of silk from cocoons) and weaving are well developed in Guangzhou, Foshan and Shunde. Heavy industry include metal processing, the manufacture of machinery, shipbuilding and ship repairing, the production of hydroelectricity and mining.
