Guizhou

 

or Kweichow (both: gwā'jō') , province (1994 est. pop. 33,800,000), c.66,000 sq mi (170,940 sq km), SW China. Guiyang is the capital and chief city; Zunyi and Duyun are important towns. Guizhou is almost entirely a high plateau, and its sheer limestone hills form some of the most spectacular karst scenery in the world. Guizhou has many deep river valleys, notably those of the Wu (the major river), the He, and the Yuan. The climate is mild and the rainfall adequate, but the soil is poor and there is little arable land. Rice is the major crop; the same amount of acreage is given to corn but with about half the yield. Soybeans, wheat, oats, barley, sweet potatoes, sorghum, and beans are raised for food. Commerical crops include rapeseed, tobacco, tea, peanuts, oakleaf silk, sugarcane, and indigo. Cotton is being developed. Guizhou has rich forests, and lumber, tung oil, lacquer, and paint are produced. Mineral resources, which are important to the province, include mercury, coal, iron, zinc, lead, copper, manganese, and gold. With unnavigable rivers, a limited railway system, and well-developed highways, transportation in the province is adequate. The province has two autonomous districts: one in the southeast, peopled by Miao (known for their embroideries) and Dong; and another in the south, inhabited by Puyi and Miao. Chinese settlement of the region began around 2,000 years ago, but it was only in the 10th cent. that it passed under the suzerainty of China. Guizhou became a province in the 17th cent. under the Ming dynasty, but the native Miaos were not completely subdued until about 1870. The traditional name of Guizhou is Kien or Qian. Guizhou Univ. is in Guiyang.

Coordinates: 26°50′N, 106°50′E

贵州省 Guìzhōu Shěng
Abbreviations: 黔 or 贵  (Pinyin: Qián or Guì)
Origin of name	贵 guì - Gui Mountains 州 zhōu - zhou (prefecture)
Administration type	Province
Capital (and largest city)	Guiyang
CPC Ctte Secretary	Shi Zongyuan
Governor	Lin Shusen (acting)
Area	176,100 km² (16th)
Population (2004)  - Density	39,040,000 (15th) 222/km² (18th)
GDP (2005)  - per capita	CNY 194.2 billion (26th) CNY 5,111 (31st)
HDI (2005)	0.639 (medium) (30th)
Major nationalities	Han - 62% Miao - 12% Buyi - 8% Dong - 5% Tujia - 4% Yi - 2% Undistinguished - 2% Gelao - 2% Shui - 1%
Prefecture-level	9 divisions
County-level	88 divisions
Township-level†	1539 divisions
ISO 3166-2	CN-52
Official website http://www.gzgov.gov.cn (Simplified Chinese)
Source for population and GDP data: 《中国统计年鉴—2005》 China Statistical Yearbook 2005 ISBN 7503747382 Source for nationalities data: 《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》 Tabulation on nationalities of 2000 population census of China ISBN 7105054255 † As at December 31, 2004

 Guizhou? (simplified Chinese: 贵州; traditional Chinese: 貴州; pinyin: Gùizhōu; Wade-Giles: Kuei-chou; also spelled Kweichow) is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.

History

Guizhou was well known by the Chinese for thousands of years but it was not until the Ming dynasty that it came under Chinese domination during which it was made a province. This prompted mass migration from Sichuan, Hunan and its surrounding provinces into Guizhou.

Countless rebellions by its native Miao people occurred throughout the Qing dynasty. It was said in the Qing dynasty that every thirty years there would be minor revolts, while every sixty years there would be major rebellions. All the revolts would be violently suppressed by the government.

Geography

Guizhou adjoins Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality to the north, Yunnan Province to the west, Guangxi Province to the south and Hunan Province to the east. Overall Guizhou is a mountainous province however it is more hilly in the west while the eastern and southern portions are relatively flat. The western part of the province forms part of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.

Other cities include: Anshun, Kaili, Zunyi, Duyun, Liupanshui and Qingzhen.

Guizhou has a subtropical humid climate. There are few seasonal changes. Its annual average temperature is roughly 10 to 20°C, with January temperatures ranging from 1 to 10°C and July temperatures ranging from 17 to 28°C.

Administrative divisions

Main article: List of administrative divisions of Guizhou

Economy

Guizhou is a relatively poor and undeveloped province. It also has a small economy compared to the coastal provinces. Its nominal GDP for 2004 was 159.2 billion yuan (19.75 billion USD). Its per capita GDP of 3568 RMB (470 USD) ranks last in all of the PRC.

Its natural industry includes timber and forestry. Other important industries in the province include energy (electricity generation) and mining, especially in coal, limestone, arsenic, gypsum, and oil shale. Guizhou's total output of coal was 110 million tons in 2005, a 12% growth from the previous year. [1]

Demographics

Guizhou is one of the provinces that contains the most minority groups. The minority groups account for more than 37% of the total population and they include Yao, Miao, Yi, Qiang, Dong, Zhuang, Buyi, Bai, Tujia, Gelao and Shui. 55.5% of the province area is designated as autonomous regions for them. Guizhou is the province with highest TFR in China with 2.19. (Urban-1.31, Rural-2.42) [2]

Culture

Guizhou is the home of the Moutai Distillery, distillers of Maotai liquor, China's most famous alcoholic beverage. The Chinese name of the distillery is Zhongguo Guizhou Maotai Jiuchang.

Tourism

The province has many covered bridges, called Wind and Rain Bridges. These were built by the Dong minority people.

The southeastern corner of the province is known for its unique Dong minority culture. Towns such as Rongjiang, Liping, Diping and Zhaoxing are scattered amongst the hills along the border with Guangxi.

The rich population of minorities in Guizhou allow for a great many ethnic festivals throughout the lunar calendar. During the first lunar month (usually February), the early festival in Kaili (east of Guiyang) celebrates local culture with acts of bullfighting, horse racing, pipe playing, and comedy works.

Miscellaneous topics

Colleges and universities

• Guizhou University (Guiyang)

Guizhou Normal University (Guiyang); Zunyi Medical College (Zunyi); Guiyang Medical University (Guiyang); Guizhou University for Nationalities (Guiyang); Guizhou College of Finace and Economics (Guiyang); Commercial College of Guizhou (Guiyang); Bijie University; Anshun Vocational and Technology College (Anshun)

Communications

Guizhou Daily

External links

• Guizhou's Provincial Government (Chinese)
• Large map of Guizhou
• Guizhou Moutai

Province-level divisions administered by the People's Republic of China (PRC)
Provinces	Anhui · Fujian · Gansu · Guangdong · Guizhou · Hainan · Hebei · Heilongjiang · Henan · Hubei · Hunan · Jiangsu · Jiangxi · Jilin · Liaoning · Qinghai · Shaanxi · Shandong · Shanxi · Sichuan · Taiwan1 · Yunnan · Zhejiang
Autonomous regions	Guangxi · Inner Mongolia · Ningxia · Tibet (Xizang) · Xinjiang
Municipalities	Beijing · Chongqing · Shanghai · Tianjin
Special administrative regions	Hong Kong · Macau
1 Claimed by the People's Republic of China, but currently ruled by the Republic of China. See also Political status of Taiwan.

Prefecture-level divisions of Guizhou Prefecture-level cities: Anshun | Guiyang | Liupanshui | Zunyi Prefectures: Bijie | Tongren Autonomous prefectures: Qiandongnan | Qiannan | Qianxinan

List of Guizhou County-level divisions

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