Guizhou Province
Meaning of the name - Noble Prefecture
Guizhou (Simplified Chinese: 贵州; Traditional Chinese: 貴州; pinyin: Gùizhōu; Wade-Giles: Kuei-chou; also spelled Kweichow) is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang. Guizhou is abbreviated Qian (黔).
Major Cities:
Guiyang, Zunyi, Lupanshui, Duyun, Anshun, Kaili, Bijie
Neighboring Areas:
Yunnan, Sichuan, Hunan privonces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
Municipal government office address:
242 North Zhonghua Road, Guiyang
Tel: 0851-682 5445
Website: www.gzgov.gov.cn
History
Guizhou was well known by the Chinese for thousands of years but it was not until the Ming dynasty that it came under Chinese domination during which it was made a province. This prompted mass migration from Sichuan, Hunan and its surrounding provinces into Guizhou. Countless rebellions by its native Miao people occurred throughout the Qing dynasty. It was said in the Qing dynasty that every 30 years there would be minor revolts while every 60 years there would be major rebellions. All the revolts would be violently suppressed by the government.
Geography
Guizhou adjoins Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality to the north, Yunnan Province to the west, Guangxi Province to the south and Hunan Province to the east. Overall Guizhou is a mountainous province however it is more hilly in the west while the eastern and southern portions are relatively flat.
Other cities include: Anshun, Congjiang, Zunyi.
Guizhou has a subtropical humid climate. There are few seasonal changes. Its annual average temperature is roughly 10-20°c, with January temperature ranging from 1-10°c and July temperature ranging from 17-28°c.
Economy
Guizhou is a relatively poor and undeveloped province. It also has a small economy compared to the coastal provinces. Its nominal GDP for 2003 was 135.6 billion RMB (16 billion USD). Its per capita of 3568 RMB (470 USD) ranks last in all of the PRC.
Its natural industry includes timber and forestry. It is also an important province for mining, especially in coal, limestone, arsenic, gypsum and oil-shale.
Demographics
Guizhou is one of the provinces that contains the most minority groups. The minority groups account for more than 37% of the total population and they include Yao, Miao, Yi, Qiang, Dong, Zhuang, Buyi, Bai, Tujia, Gelao and Shui. 55.5% of the province area is designated as autonomous regions for them.
Culture
Guizhou is the home of the Moutai Distillery, distillers of Maotai Liquor, China's most famous alcoholic product. The Chinese name of the distillery is Zhongguo Guizhou Maotai Jiuchang.
Tourism
The province has many covered bridges, called Wind and Rain Bridges. These were built by the Dong minority people.
Huangguoshu Waterfall, the biggest waterfall in China.