China Business

Business Information from across China
Helping your Business with China

China Business » Places in China » Guangdong Province

Places in China: Guangdong Province

This is the most populous province in China with one hundred ten million inhabitants. With an area of 76,000 square miles, the population ratio is a high 618 persons per square kilometre. This makes for a large labour force for businesses and industries in the province.

Since the province faces the South China Sea, its ports are convenient for both imports and exports. Its subtropical climate allows more work days for labourers than the more northerly provinces which have to allow for bad weather during winter months. Ports on South China Sea as well as those on the Pearl River are quite active all year.

Being near to Hong Kong and Macau, the cities of Guangdong are inheriting some of the overflow from those cities. Many cities in Guangdong are growing rapidly and becoming almost as modern as Hong Kong. Shenzhen, Shantou and Zhuhai are involved in a Special Economic Zone which produces twelve percent of China's national output.

When traders began to look for options to the famed Silk Road in the northern parts of the country, they noticed the south coast of China, especially Guangdong Province.

Because of its ideal location, Guangdong has a history of international trade. Some of that history has been more negative while other facets are quite positive. Until Hong Kong and Macau began to blossom, Guangzhou and other cities of the province did very good business. With the coming of Chinese communism, the province had stagnation problems due to communist policies. However, those policies have been relaxed since 1978. The 1978 reforms included a more favourable tax system with manufacturing and exportation being the focus of the economy.

Macau led the way in European settlement in China in 1557. When trading spread into other nearby provinces, Guangdong became involved. The Opium Wars brought significant problems to the province. Finally, Hong Kong opened up for British trading, and Guangdong began to lose some trade business.

Tourism is becoming popular in the province since there are so many nightspots in the larger cities and because of the attractions in the province. Travel into and out of the province is rather easy now with good roads, a reliable railway system and airline facilities.