Guangxi

"Guǎng" (simplified Chinese: 广; traditional Chinese: 廣) means 'expanse' or 'vast', and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226.[8] Guangxi and neighboring Guangdong literally mean 'expanse west' and 'expanse east'. Together, Guangxi and Guangdong are called Leong gwong (Liangkwang; traditional Chinese: 兩廣; simplified Chinese: 两广; pinyin: liǎng guǎng; Cantonese Yale: léuhng gwóng; lit. 'Two Expanses', Vietnamese: Lưỡng Quảng, QuangTay province). During the Song dynasty, the Two Guangs were formally separated as Guǎngnán Xīlù (廣南西路; 广南西路; 'vast south west region') and Guǎngnán Dōnglù (廣南東路; 广南东路; 'vast south east region'), which became abbreviated as Guǎngxī Lù (廣西路; 广西路) and Guǎngdōng Lù (廣東路; 广东路).

Originally inhabited by a mixture of tribal groups known to the Chinese as the Baiyue ("Hundred Yue", Vietnamese: Bách Việt), the region first became part of China during the Qin dynasty. In 214 BC, the Han Chinese general Zhao Tuo (Vietnamese: Triệu Đà) claimed most of southern China for Qin Shi Huang before the emperor's death. The ensuing civil war permitted Zhao to establish a separate kingdom at Panyu known as Nanyue ("Southern Yue"). Alternatively submissive to and independent of Han dynasty control, Southern Yue expanded colonization and sinicization under its policy of "Harmonizing and Gathering the Hundred Yue" (和集百越) until its collapse in 111 BC during the southward expansion of the Han dynasty.

The name "Guangxi" can be traced to the "Expansive" or "Wide" province (廣州) of the Eastern Wu, which controlled southeastern China during the Three Kingdoms period. Guilin formed one of its commanderies.

Under the Tang dynasty, the Zhuang moved to support Piluoge's kingdom of Nanzhao in Yunnan, which successfully repulsed imperial armies in 751 and 754. Guangxi was then divided into an area of Zhuang ascendancy west of Nanning and an area of Han ascendancy east of Nanning.

After the collapse of the Southern Zhao, Liu Yan established the Southern Han (Nanhan) in Xingwangfu (modern Guangdong). Although this state gained minimal control over Guangxi, it was plagued by instability and annexed by the Song dynasty in 971. The name "Guangxi" itself can be traced to the Song, who administered the area as the Guangnanxi ("West Southern Expanse") Circuit. Harassed by both Song and the Jiaozhi in modern Vietnam, the Zhuang leader Nong Zhigao led a revolt in 1052 for which he is still remembered by the Zhuang people. His independent kingdom was short-lived, however, and the tattooed Song general Di Qing returned Guangxi to China.

The Yuan dynasty established control over Yunnan during its conquest of the Dali Kingdom in 1253 and eliminated the Southern Song following the Battle of Yamen in 1279. Rather than ruling Lingnan as a subject territory or military district, the Mongolians then established Guangxi ("Western Expanse") as a proper province. The area nonetheless continued to be unruly, leading the Ming dynasty to employ the different local groups against one another. At the Battle of Big Rattan Gorge between the Zhuang and the Yao in 1465, 20,000 deaths were reported.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, parts of Guangxi were ruled by the powerful Cen (岑) clan. The Cen were of Zhuang ethnicity and were recognized as tusi or local rulers by the Chinese emperors.

The Qing dynasty left the region alone until the imposition of direct rule in 1726, but the 19th century was one of constant unrest. A Yao revolt in 1831 was followed by the Jintian Uprising, the beginning of the Taiping Rebellion, in January 1851 and the Da Cheng Rebellion in April 1854. The execution of St. Auguste Chapdelaine by local officials in Guangxi provoked the Second Opium War in 1858 and the legalization of foreign interference in the interior. Although Louis Brière de l'Isle was unable to invade its depot at Longzhou, the Guangxi Army saw a great deal of action in the 1884 Sino-French War. Largely ineffective within Vietnam, it was still able to repulse the French from China itself at the Battle of Zhennan Pass (modern Friendship Pass) on 23 March 1885.

Following the Wuchang Uprising, Guangxi seceded from the Qing Empire on 6 November 1911. The Qing governor, Shen Bingdan, initially remained in place but was subsequently removed by a mutiny commanded by General Lu Rongting. General Lu's Old Guangxi clique overran Hunan and Guangdong as well and helped lead the National Protection War against Yuan Shikai's attempt to re-establish an imperial government. Zhuang's loyalty made his Self-Government Army cohesive but reluctant to move far beyond its own provinces. Subsequent feuding with Sun Yat-sen led to defeat in the 1920 and 1921 Guangdong–Guangxi War. After a brief occupation by Chen Jiongming's Cantonese forces, Guangxi fell into disunity and profound banditry for several years[9] until Li Zongren's Guangxi Pacification Army established the New Guangxi clique dominated by Li, Huang Shaohong, and Bai Chongxi.

Successful action in Hunan against Wu Peifu led to the Zhuang GPA becoming known as the "Flying Army" and the "Army of Steel." After the death of Sun Yat-sen, Li also repulsed Tang Jiyao's revolt and joined the Northern Expedition establishing control over other warlords by the Republic of China. His was one of the few Kuomintang units free from serious Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence and was therefore employed by Chiang Kai-shek for the Shanghai massacre of 1927. Within the People's Republic of China, Guangxi is also noted for the Baise Uprising, a failed CCP revolt led by Chen Zhaoli and Deng Xiaoping in 1929.

In 1937, the Guangxi Women's Battalion was founded as a response to Soong Mei-ling's appeal for women to support the Sino-Japanese War.[10][11] Reports on the size of the battalion vary from 130 students,[12] to 500,[13] to 800.[10]

Being in the far south, Guangxi did not fall during the Chinese Civil War, but joined the People's Republic in December 1949, two months after its founding.

In 1952, a small section of Guangdong's coastline (Qinzhou, Lianzhou (now Hepu County), Fangchenggang and Beihai) was given to Guangxi, giving it access to the sea. This was reversed in 1955, and then restored in 1965.

The Guangxi Massacre, during the Cultural Revolution, involved the killing of 100,000 to 150,000 in the province in 1967 and 1968.[14][15]

While some development of heavy industry occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, the province remained largely a scenic tourist destination. Even the economic growth of the 1990s seemed to leave Guangxi behind. However, in recent years, there has been a growing amount of industrialization and increasing concentration on cash crops. Per capita GDP has risen as industries in Guangdong transfer production to comparatively lower-wage areas in Guangxi.

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 east and southeast.[16][17] It is also bordered by Vietnam in the southwest and the Gulf of Tonkin in the south.[16][17] Its proximity to Guangdong is reflected in its name, with "Guang" (simplified Chinese: 广; traditional Chinese: 廣; pinyin: Guǎng) being used in both names.[16]

Large portions of Guangxi are hilly and mountainous.[16][17] The northwest portion of Guangxi includes part of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau,[16] the Jiuwan Mountains and the Fenghuang Mountains both run through the north,[16] the Nanling Mountains form the region's north-east border, and the Yuecheng[16] and Haiyang Mountains both branch from the Nanling Mountains. Also in the north are the Duyao Mountains. The Duyang Mountains run through the west of Guangxi.[16] Near the center of the region are the Da Yao and Da Ming Mountains. On the southeastern border are the Yunkai Mountains. Guangxi's highest point is Kitten Mountain, in the Yuecheng Mountains, at 2,141 metres (7,024 ft).[17]

Karst landforms, characterized by steep mountains and large caverns,[16] are common in Guangxi, accounting for 37.8 percent of its total land area.[17]

Guangxi is also home to several river systems, which flow into several different bodies of water: the Qin River and the Nanliu River both flow into the Gulf of Tonkin, several tributary rivers flow into the larger Xiang River in neighbouring Hunan province, and the Xi River system flows southeast through the autonomous region into the South China Sea.[16]

Along the border with Vietnam there is the Ban Gioc–Detian waterfall (pinyin: Dé Tiān Pùbù), which separates the two countries.

About one-quarter of Guangxi's area is forested.[16]

Guangxi is divided into fourteen prefecture-level divisions: all prefecture-level cities:

Administrative divisions of Guangxi
Nanning Liuzhou Guilin Wuzhou Beihai Fangchenggang Qinzhou Guigang Yulin Baise Hezhou Hechi Laibin Chongzuo
Division code[19]	Division	Area in km2[20]	Population 2020[21]	Seat	Divisions[22]
					Districts	Counties	Aut. counties	CL cities
450000	Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region	236700.00	50,126,804	Nanning city	41	48	12	10
450100	Nanning city	22,099.31	8,741,584	Qingxiu District	7	4		1
450200	Liuzhou city	18,596.64	4,157,934	Liubei District	5	3	2
450300	Guilin city	27,667.28	4,931,137	Lingui District	6	8	2	1
450400	Wuzhou city	12,572.44	2,820,977	Changzhou District	3	3		1
450500	Beihai city	3,988.67	1,853,227	Haicheng District	3	1
450600	Fangchenggang city	6181.19	1,046,068	Gangkou District	2	1		1
450700	Qinzhou city	10820.85	3,302,238	Qinnan District	2	2
450800	Guigang city	10605.44	4,316,262	Gangbei District	3	1		1
450900	Yulin city	12828.11	5,796,766	Yuzhou District	2	4		1
451000	Baise city	36203.85	3,571,505	Youjiang District	2	7	1	2
451100	Hezhou city	11771.54	2,007,858	Babu District	2	2	1
451200	Hechi city	33487.65	3,417,945	Yizhou District	2	4	5
451300	Laibin city	13391.59	2,074,611	Xingbin District	1	3	1	1
451400	Chongzuo city	17345.47	2,088,692	Jiangzhou District	1	5		1

These 14 prefecture-level cities are in turn subdivided into 111 county-level divisions (41 districts, 10 county-level cities, 48 counties, and 12 autonomous counties). At the year-end of 2021, the total population is 48.85 million.

Zhuang people in Longzhou

The Han Chinese are the largest ethnic group in Guangxi. Han Chinese populations in Guangxi largely live along the autonomous region's southern coast and eastern portions.[17] Of these, the main subgroups are those that speak Yue and Southwestern Mandarin varieties of Chinese. Qinzhou and Goulou Yue are spoken in the southern and eastern regions, respectively. Pinghua is spoken in Nanning and Guilin. There are Hakka-speaking regions in Luchuan County, Bobai County and in some areas bordering Vietnam.

Guangxi has over 14 million Zhuangs, the largest minority ethnicity in China. Over 90 percent of Zhuang in China live in Guangxi, especially in the central and western regions. High concentrations of Zhuang people can be found in Nanning, Liuzhou, Chongzuo, Baise, Hechi, and Laibin.[17] The highest concentration of ethnic Zhuang people is found in the county-level city of Jingxi, with a 2021 publication by the People's Government of Guangxi stating that Jingxi's population is 99.7% Zhuang.[17]

The autonomous region also has sizable populations of indigenous Yao, Miao, Kam, Mulam, Maonan, Hui, Gin, Yi, Sui and Gelao peoples.[17] Other ethnic minorities in Guangxi include the Manchu, Mongol, Korean, Tibetan, Hlai, and Tujia people.[17]

Religion

Religion in Guangxi[35][note 1]

  Chinese ancestral religion (40.48%)

  Christianity (0.26%)

  Other religions or not religious people[note 2] (59.26%)

The predominant religions in Guangxi among the Han Chinese are Chinese folk religions, Taoist traditions and Chinese Buddhism. The large Zhuang population mostly practices the Zhuang folk religion centered around the worship of their ancestral god Buluotuo (布洛陀). According to surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, 40.48% of the population believes and is involved in ancestor veneration, while 0.26% of the population identifies as Christian.[35]

The reports did not give figures for other types of religion; 59.26% of the population may be either irreligious or involved in worship of nature deities, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, folk religious sects. The Yao, another numerous ethnic group inhabiting the province, mostly practices a form of indigenised and conservative Taoism.

Wenmiao (Temple of the God of Culture, Confucius) in Gongcheng.

Shrine of Zhou Wei in Gongcheng.

Wumiao (Temple of the God of War, Guandi) in Gongcheng.

Today, there are 21 mosques in Guangxi[36] This may include:

• Nanning Mosque
• Guilin Chongshan Mosque
• Guilin Ancient Mosque
• Liuzhou Mosque
• Baise Mosque

View of Nanning, the capital and economic center of Guangxi.

Important crops in Guangxi include rice, maize and sweet potatoes. Cash crops include sugar cane, peanuts, tobacco, and kenaf.

85 percent of the world's star anise is grown in Guangxi. It is a major ingredient in the antiviral oseltamivir.[38]

Guangxi is one of China's key production centers for nonferrous metals. The province holds approximately 1/3 of all tin and manganese deposits in China.[39]

Liuzhou is the main industrial center and a major motor vehicle manufacturing center. General Motors have a manufacturing base here in a joint venture as SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile. The city also has a large steel factory and several related industries. The local government of Guangxi hopes to expand the province's manufacturing sector, and during the drafting of China's Five Year Plan in 2011, earmarked 2.6 trillion RMB for investment in the province's Beibu Gulf Economic Zone(See Below).[39]

In recent years Guangxi's economy has languished behind that of its wealthy neighbor and twin, Guangdong. Guangxi's 2017 nominal GDP was about 2039.63 billion yuan (US$302.09 billion) and ranked 17th in China. Its per capita GDP was 38,102 yuan (US$5,770).[40]

Due to its lack of a major manufacturing industry in comparison to other provinces, Guangxi is the fourth most energy efficient province in China, helping to further boost its green image.[41]

Economic and technological development zones

A commercial street in Guilin

• Beihai Silver Beach National Tourist Holiday Resort
• Beihai Export Processing Zone

Approved by the State Council, Beihai Export Processing Zone (BHEPZ) was established in March 2003. Total planned area is 1.454 square kilometres (0.561 sq mi). The first phase of the developed area is 1.135 square kilometres (0.438 sq mi). It was verified and accepted by the Customs General Administration and eight ministries of the state, on 26 December 2003. It is the Export Processing Zone nearest to ASEAN in China and also the only one bordering the sea in western China. It is situated next to Beihai Port.[42]

• Dongxing Border Economic Cooperation Area
• Guilin National New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone

Guilin Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was established in May 1988. In 1991, it was approved as a national-level industrial zone. It has an area of 12.07 square kilometres (4.66 sq mi). Encouraged industries include electronic information, biomedical, new materials, and environmental protection.[43]

• Nanning Economic & Technological Development Area

Established in 1992, Nanning Economic and Technological Development Zone was approved to be a national-level zone in May 2001. Its total planned area of 10.796 square kilometres (4.168 sq mi). It is located in the south of Nanning. It has become the new developing zone with fine chemical engineering, auto parts, aluminum processing, biological medicine and other industries.[44]

• Nanning National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone

Nanning Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was established in 1988 and was approved as a national-level industrial zone in 1992. The zone has a planned area of 43.7 square kilometres (16.9 sq mi), and it encourages industries that do electronic information, bioengineering and pharmaceutical, mechanical and electrical integration, and the new materials industry.[45]

• Pingxiang Border Economic Cooperation Zone

In 1992, Pinxiang Border Economic Cooperation Zone was established. It has a total area of 7.2 square kilometres (2.8 sq mi). It focuses on the development of hardware mechanical and electrical products, daily-use chemical processing, services, and the international logistics-based storage and information industry.[46]

• Yongning Economic Development Zone

Pagodas in Guilin.

"Guangxi" and neighbouring Guangdong literally mean "Western Expanse" and "Eastern Expanse". Together, Guangdong and Guangxi are called the "Two Expanses" (simplified Chinese: 两广; traditional Chinese: 兩廣; pinyin: Liǎngguǎng).

Its culture and language are reflected in this. Though now associated with the Zhuang ethnic minority, Guangxi's culture traditionally has had a close connection with Cantonese. Cantonese culture and language followed the Xi River valley from Guangdong and are still predominant in the eastern half of Guangxi today. Outside of this area, there is a huge variety of ethnicities and language groups represented.

Guangxi is known for its ethnolinguistic diversity. In the capital of Nanning, for example, three varieties of Chinese are spoken locally: Southwestern Mandarin, Yue (specifically Cantonese), and Pinghua, in addition to various Zhuang languages and others.

Cormorant fisherman on the Li River in Yangshuo County

The major tourist attraction of Guangxi is Guilin, a city famed across China and the world for its spectacular setting by the Li Jiang (Li River) among 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.

The variety of visible cultures in Guangxi, such as the Zhuang and Dong, are also a draw for tourists. The northern part of the province, bordering Guizhou, is home to the Longsheng Rice Terraces, some of the steepest in the world. Nearby is Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County.

Many Chinese tourists visiting Nanning also visit Ban Gioc–Detian Falls on the China-Vietnam border.

• Guilin University of Technology
• Guangxi Arts University
• Guangxi University
• Guangxi Medical University
• Guangxi Normal University
• Guilin University of Electronic Technology
• Guangxi University for Nationalities
• Guangxi Chinese Medical University

• – Kumamoto Prefecture (1982)
• – Carinthia (1987)
• – Rio Grande do Norte (1995)
• – Newport (formerly) (1996–2019)
• – Voronezh Oblast (1997)
• – Montana (1999)[47]
• – Poitou-Charentes (2002)
• – Surat Thani Province (2004)
• – Podkarpackie (2015)

• Major national historical and cultural sites in Guangxi
• List of twin towns and sister cities in China
• 2017 Guangxi floods

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guangxi.

• Guangxi Government website Archived 25 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
• Guangxi travel guide from Wikivoyage