Guangxi

Guangxi (Simplified Chinese: 广西; Traditional Chinese: 廣西; pinyin: Guǎngxī; Wade-Giles: Kuang-hsi; Postal System Pinyin: Kwangsi; Zhuang: Gvangjsih Bouxcuengh Swcigi or (old orthography} Gvaŋзsiƅ Bouчcueŋƅ Sɯcigi) is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its formal name is the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

"Guang" itself means "expanse", and was associated with the region from the Western Jin Dynasty onwards. "Guangxi" and neighbouring Guangdong literally mean "Guang West" and "Guang East". Together, Guangdong and Guangxi are called the "Two Guangs" (兩廣 liăng guăng).

The abbreviation of the province is 桂 (Gui), which comes from Guilin, a major city in the autonomous region.

History

The region officially part of China in 214 BC, when the army of the Qin Dynasty claimed most of southern China. The name "Guangxi" can be traced to the Song Dynasty, which administered the area as a circuit called the Guangnanxi Circuit (literally "Guang-South West Circuit"). During the late Mongol Yuan Dynasty the name was revived again to name a province in the region, but it was shortened to "Guangxi", or "Guang-West". For the next six centuries, Guangxi was a province of China, until its conversion into an autonomous region by the People's Republic of China.

During the late Qing Dynasty, Guangxi was the site of the Jintian Uprising (金田起義), which occurred what is now Guiping county-level city in eastern Guangxi on January 11, 1851. On March 23, 1885, Zhennan Pass (now Youyi Pass) on the border with Vietnam was also the site of the Battle of Zhennan Pass (鎮南關戰役) during the Sino-French War (1884–1885). During the battle, a French incursion was routed by Chinese forces under Feng Zicai (馮子才), an event that has been exalted by subsequent Chinese nationalism.

After the founding of the Republic of China, Guangxi became the base to one of the most powerful warlord cliques of China: the Old Guangxi Clique. Led by Lu Jung-t'ing (陸榮廷) and others, the clique was able to take control of neighbouring Hunan and Guangdong provinces as well. The Old Guangxi Clique crumbled in the early 1920s, and was replaced by the New Guangxi Clique, led by Li Tsung-jen and Pai Ch'ung-hsi. Guangxi is also noted for the Baise Uprising (百色起義), a communist uprising led by Deng Xiaoping in 1929. Communist base areas were set up, though eventually they were destroyed by Kuomintang forces.

In 1944 near the end of World War II, Japan invaded Guangxi as part of Operation Ichigo (also known as the Henan-Hunan-Guangxi Campaign), in an attempt to seize the Hunan-Guangxi railway line and open up a land link to French Indochina. The Japanese succeeded, and most major cities in Guangxi came under Japanese occupation.

Being in the far south, Guangxi was conquered by communist forces rather late. The province changed hands in December 1949, two months after the founding of the people's republic. In 1958, Guangxi was converted into an autonomous region for the Zhuang, by recommendation of premier Zhou Enlai. This decision was made because the Zhuang were one of the biggest minority groups in China, and were mostly concentrated in Guangxi; however, they form a minority of Guangxi's population.

For most of its history, Guangxi was landlocked. In 1952 a small section of Guangdong's coastline was given to Guangxi, giving it access to the sea. This was reversed in 1955, and reversed back in 1965.

Administration

Guangxi is divided into 14 prefecture-level cities: Nanning, Guilin, Liuzhou, Wuzhou, Guigang, Yulin, Qinzhou, Beihai, Fangchenggang, Chongzuo, Baise, Hechi, Laibin, and Hezhou. These are subdivided into 56 counties, 34 districts, 12 ethnic autonomous counties and 7 county-level cities.

Geography

Located in the southern part of the country, Guangxi is bordered by Yunnan to the west, Guizhou to the north, Hunan to the northeast, and Guangdong to the southeast, and by Vietnam and the Beibu Bay (South China Sea) to the southwest.

Major cities include: Nanning, Beihai, Guilin, Liuzhou.

Notable towns include: Longmen, Sanjiang, Yangshuo.

Economy

Demographics

The region has a high concentration of Zhuang. Over 90% of the Chinese Zhuang people inhabit this region. There is also a significant number of both Dong and Miao minority people. Other ethnic groups include: Yao, Hui, Yi and Shui.

Culture

Tourism

The major tourist attraction of Guangxi is Guilin, a town famed across China and the world for its spectacular setting by the Li river amongst severe karst peaks. It also used to be the capital of Guangxi, and Jingjiang Princes City, the old princes residence, is open to the public. South of Guilin down the river is the town of Yangshuo, which has become a favourite destination for foreign tourists, particularly backpackers.

Ethnic minorities native to Guangxi, such as the Zhuang and Dong, are also interesting for tourists. The northern part of the province, bordering with Guizhou, is home to the Longmen rice terraces, said to be some of the steepest in the world. Nearby Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County features unique Dong minority architecture.

Miscellaneous topics

External links

• Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region