Guangdong Province

Guangdong Province is located in the southern part of China's mainland where it occupies an area of over 180,000 square kilometers (69,502 square miles) and has permanent population of 74,730,000. It also has 3,368 kilometers (1,300 miles) of winding coastline, which is the longest in the country. Rivers from all over the province meandering through the fertile Pearl River Delta discharges into the South China Sea at the half waypoint of the coastline. The Pearl River Delta is one of China's most densely cultivated areas. Situated right at the top of this river delta at the confluence of the North River, East River and West River is the provincial capital city of Guangzhou, which was formerly known as Canton to the western world. The fertile Pearl River Delta is well-known as a land rich in fish and rice.

The province is high in the north and low in the south. Mountains make up 31.7 percent of the total area, hilly areas 28.5 percent, terraced farmland 16.1 percent and plains 23.7 percent.

Most areas enjoy a subtropical monsoon climate with adequate rainfall, long summers and warm winters. Annual precipitation averages 1,336 mm while annual evaporation averages 1,100 mm so Guangdong is moist. Its average annual temperature is 22 °C and it averages 1,828 hours of sunshine a year. Guangdong is a green place where plants grow vigorously all the year round.

There are 53 ethnical groups living in the province, and the population of the minority ethnical groups accounts for 0.7 percent of the province’s total. The main minority ethnical groups are Zhuang, Yao, She, Hui and Manchu.