Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

I

Introduction

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, provincial-level administrative region of China, located in the southern part of the country. Guangxi is bounded on the east by Guangdong province, on the north by Hunan and Guizhou provinces, on the west by Yunnan province, on the southwest by Vietnam, and on the south by the Gulf of Tonkin. The total area of Guangxi is about 226,600 sq km (about 87,500 sq mi).

II

Physical Geography and Climate

A mountainous plateau slopes from Guangxi’s north and northwest regions to lower elevations in the south and southeast. The Yunnan Plateau (Yungui Gaoyuan) extends into the western part of the region, and eastern Guangxi contains a portion of the Nan Ling hills. Broad valleys and basins lie in the center of the region. Guangxi’s limited fertile plains are located near the coastal area and along rivers such as the Yu Jiang and the Liu Jiang. Much of the region’s surface rock is limestone that has weathered into unusual formations known as karst topography. These striking landscape features include domes, towers, sinkholes, and numerous caves and caverns with underground rivers.

Summers in Guangxi are hot and humid, when moisture-laden monsoons bring the greatest precipitation and temperatures average 26° C (79° F). The average annual rainfall totals about 2,050 mm (about 80 in). Winter temperatures are cooler, averaging 15° C (59° F), and frost can occur throughout the region. Forests cover the mountains, where monkeys and squirrels are the most numerous mammals. Deer, birds, reptiles, and amphibians are also common.

III

Population

The 2003 population of Guangxi was 48.6 million. Han Chinese account for about 60 percent of the total population. The Zhuang, who speak a Tai language, are the largest ethnic minority group in Guangxi, as well as the largest ethnic minority group in China. Smaller groups of Yao, Miao, Shui, Mulam, Maonan, and Jing also reside in Guangxi.

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Most people are concentrated in the central valley and coastal plains. The capital and largest city is Nanning, which is an industrial and transportation center near the Vietnamese border. Liuzhou is also an important industrial center. Tourism is an important industry of Guilin, where the area’s dome and tower karst formations have inspired travelers, poets, and painters for many years.

IV

Economy

Although Guangxi is mostly mountainous, a variety of crops grow on the limited farmland. The region’s ample water supply and high temperatures support yields of rice, soybeans, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, tea, vegetables, and fruit. Timber and bamboo harvesting are important, as is fishing. Near the coast in the Gulf of Tonkin lies an offshore oilfield, the Beibuwen Basin.

Railroads and highways connect Guangxi’s major cities and provide transportation links to other parts of China. In addition, the Yu Jiang, a major tributary of the Xi Jiang, flows from Guangxi’s central valley to the Zhu Jiang (Pearl River) delta and estuary in Guangdong. Small steamships can navigate as far as Wuzhou on Guangxi’s border with Guangdong. The river provides Guangxi with an important transportation link to the major ports of Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Macao.

In 1979 China adopted an export-oriented strategy and began economic reforms. As a result, Guangxi’s coastal area and central valley now produce industrial goods such as textiles, watches, and electronics. In 1984 the coastal city of Beihei became one of several Chinese open cities where foreign investment is encouraged. Still, Guangxi remains one of China’s poorest regions and lags far behind its neighboring province of Guangdong in its interactions with the outside world.