General Introduction
Shaoguan City
【General Introduction】
Shaoguan is located in northern Guangdong, adjacent to Jiangxi and Hunan Provinces. It covers an area of 18,500 square kilometers, with a population of 3.2 million. It exercises jurisdiction over 3 districts (Qujiang, Wujiang, Zhenjiang), 7 cities and counties (Lechang, Nanxiong, Renhua, Shixing, Wengyuan, Xinfeng and Ruyuan). The Han people account for the majority, with some minorities, such as Yao and She.
【History】
Since the early Western Han Dynasty, current downtown Shaoguan has been a county-level region. It was China's coalmine industry center in the Tang Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, it was an important customs gateway. Shaoguan is the hometown of well-known Maba Man, the earliest aboriginal people lived in Guangdong. The famous Nan Hua Temple is an influential shrine of Buddhism.
【Economy】
Shaoguan has obvious advantages in agriculture. Vegetable, quality rice, poultry, fish, special fruits, bamboo and tobacco have become its pillar industries. Shaoguan is also a heavy-industry city with focuses on metallurgy, electricity and tobacco production.
【Transportation】
Located on the busiest logistic transportation line between northern and southern China, Shaoguan is an important traffic pivot. Beijing-Zhuhai Express, Beijing-HongKong Railway, National Highway No.105, 106 and 107 and BeijiangRiver waterway have formed a convenient communication network. It only takes one hour to travel from downtown Shaoguan to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and two hours to downtown Guangzhou. Shaoguan Railway Station lies on the Beijing-Kowloon Route. Everyday, over 200 passenger and cargo trains, including Beijing-Kowloon and Shanghai-Kowloon trains, depart from or stop at the station.
【Local Specialty】
Sanhua plum, Maba rice, Yanxi Mountain Baimao tea.
Qingyuan City
【General Introduction】
Located in north central Guangdong, Qingyuan has a size of 19,200 square kilometers. Under its jurisdiction are Qingcheng District, Qinxing, Fogang, Lianshan, Liannan and Yangshan Counties
and Lianzhou and Yingde county-level cities. It's the largest municipality in Guangdong, with a population of 3.97 million. The minority population is about 200,000 with mostly Yao and Zhuang nationalities.
【History】
In the Qin Dynasty, Qingyuan was named Liejiang County, meaning abundant rivers and beautiful water. It was named Zhongsu County in 111 BC and renamed Qingyuan County in 509. It officially became a municipality in 1998.
【Economy】
In 2004, Qingyuan gained 4 top places. 1 in Guangdong in terms of economic growth indexes. In 2005 and 2006, Qingyuan claimed seven more top places and one second place in the province, which is called "Qingyuan Phenomenon". In spite of the high-speed growth, Qingyuan maintains a clean environment. The hot spring and rafting in Qingyuan were awarded one of the top ten favorite scenic spots for European tourists by International Tourism Federation.
【Transportation】
Qingyuan is the largest municipality in Guangdong with its area totaling 19,153 square kilometers,190 kilometers from north to south and 230 kilometers from east to west. It is 60 kilometers from downtown Qingyuan to downtown Guangzhou and only 30 kilometers to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.
