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Shaoguan
Shaoguan
	"Shaoguan" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Simplified Chinese	韶关
Traditional Chinese	韶關
Postal	Shiukwan; Shiuchow (former)
Literal meaning	Beautiful pass
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Sháoguān
Gwoyeu Romatzyh	Shaurguan
Wade–Giles	Shao2-kuan1
IPA	[ʂǎʊ.kwán]
Wu
Romanization	zau1kuae1
Hakka
Romanization	Shâu-kûan
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Sìuhgwāan
Jyutping	Siu4gwaan1
IPA	[siw˩.kʷan˥]

Shaoguan

韶关市
Shiukwan
Shaoguan 韶关市 Shiukwan
Prefecture-level city
	Seochew
	Left to right, top to bottom: Downtown Shaoguan from across the Bei River, street scene in central Shaoguan, Shaoyang Tower, the Pagoda of Sixi Temple, aerial view of the city
	Location of Shaoguan City jurisdiction in Guangdong
	Shaoguan Location in China
	Coordinates (Shaoguan municipal government): 24°48′40″N 113°35′49″E / 24.811°N 113.597°E
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Guangdong
County-level divisions	10
Municipal seat	Zhenjiang District
Government
• CPC Secretary	Jiang Ling (江凌)
• Mayor	Luo Weifeng (骆蔚峰)
Area
• Prefecture-level city	18,645 km2 (7,199 sq mi)
• Urban	2,870.7 km2 (1,108.4 sq mi)
• Metro	2,870.7 km2 (1,108.4 sq mi)
Elevation	59 m (194 ft)
Population (2020 census)
• Prefecture-level city	2,855,131
• Density	150/km2 (400/sq mi)
• Urban	1,028,460
• Urban density	360/km2 (930/sq mi)
• Metro	1,028,460
• Metro density	360/km2 (930/sq mi)
GDP
• Prefecture-level city	CN¥ 155.4 billion; US$ 24.1 billion
• Per capita	CN¥ 54,377; US$ 8,429
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Area code	(0)751
ISO 3166 code	CN-GD-02
Licence plate prefixes	粤F
Local dialect	Hakka (regional) ; Cantonese (native; provincial level)
Major Nationalities	Han

Shaoguan is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong Province (Yuebei), South China, bordering Hunan to the northwest and Jiangxi to the northeast. It is home to the mummified remains of the sixth Zen Buddhist patriarch Huineng. Its built-up (or metro) area made up of Zhenjiang, Wujiang and Qujiang urban conurbated districts was home to 1,028,460 inhabitants as of the 2020 census.^[3]

History

Shaozhou or Seochew was a prefecture under the Tang and Song.

In 1589, Matteo Ricci relocated his mission house – the first ever Jesuit mission in mainland China – to Shaoguan after a fallout with the authorities in Zhaoqing. He remained in Shaoguan for a few years, eventually benefiting from Shaoguan's location on the important north–south travel route to establish connections with traveling dignitaries that allowed him to move north, to Nanchang, Nanjing, and Beijing.^[4]

During World War II the city, then called Kukong, was the temporary capital of Guangdong Province.

In June 2009, Uyghurs and Han workers clashed at a toy factory in Shaoguan (Shaoguan incident), which was followed by the Ürümqi riots in July.

Culture

The main languages spoken are Hakka and Shaozhou Tuhua, related to Ping Chinese. Shaozhounese or Seochewese is spoken in Shaozhou city and Hakka (mainly Yetpet and Seunan dialects) are spoken in neighboring counties.

In the past, Seochew culture followed its people outside of the mainland China. In the past, the Seochew community was an important part of Nam Định City. They joined right when the French protectorate government first built the city. To this day, the most famous specialty of Nam Định City is Seochew candy^[5]^[6]^[7] (kẹo sìu-châu) and xôi xá-xíu^[8] (sweet-meat xôi), which is produced by families with long-standing Seochew roots in the old town area of Nam Định City.

Tourism

Northwest of Shaoguan, at the town of Pingshi, a stretch of river known as the Nine Torrents and Eighteen Shoals is a popular place for white-water rafting. The city is served by Shaoguan Danxia Airport. Besides, Shaoguan University is located in the city.

The Fengcai Tower (风采楼) in the centre of Shaoguan was built in the Ming dynasty. To the south of the tower, at the other end of a pedestrian shopping street, the Dajian Monastery was founded in 660.

Near Shaoguan is the town of Maba, home of relics and museum of the Maba Man, Chinese Neanderthals. Near Maba is Nanhua Temple, which was founded by Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism. Shaoguan Iron and Steel is also located near Maba. Danxia Mountain is located in Renhua County, Shaoguan.

Notable people

Zhang, Jiu Ling (張九齡): a high-ranking official of the Tang dynasty. (A.D. 618–A.D. 1127)
Yu, Jing (余靖): a high-ranking official of the Northern Song dynasty. (A.D 960–A.D. 1127)
Chu, Siu Hung (朱韶洪): Hong Kong social activist
Regina Ho Yee Ting (何依婷): Winner of 2017 Miss Hong Kong pageant, also an actress of Hong Kong

Geography

Shaoguan is the northernmost prefecture-level city of Guangdong, bordering Chenzhou (Hunan) to the northwest and north, Ganzhou (Jiangxi) to the northeast, Heyuan to the east, Guangzhou and Huizhou to the south, and Qingyuan to the west. It spans latitude 23° 53'−25° 31' N and longitude 112° 53'−114° 45' E.^[9] It is situated at the southern end of the Nan Mountains (Nan Ling), which primarily run east–west here, and is marked by numerous erosion-created valleys; within its borders lies the 1,902 m (6,240 ft) Mount Shikeng (石坑崆), the highest point in the province. The city is located on the Jingguang Railway (Beijing−Guangzhou) about 221 kilometres (137 mi) north of the provincial capital of Guangzhou. Shaoguan is also readily accessible by road as it is adjacent to the G4 Beijing–Hong Kong and Macau Expressway as well as numerous other National Highways.

At Shaoguan, the Wu River from the northwest and the Zhen River from the northeast join up to create the North River (Bei Jiang) which flows south to Guangzhou. The downtown part of Shaoguan is located on a peninsula between the Wu and Zhen Rivers. The rivers are maintained at a constant level by a dam about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) downstream from the city. The city has about 20 kilometres (12 mi) of tree-lined riverside esplanades along the banks of the rivers. There are seven bridges crossing the three rivers.

Administration

Shaoguan has direct jurisdiction over 3 districts, 2 county-level cities and 5 counties:

Map	Name	Simplified Chinese	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2010 census)	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)
Wujiang Zhenjiang Qujiang Shixing County Renhua County Wengyuan County Xinfeng County Ruyuan County Lechang (City) Nanxiong (City)	Zhenjiang District	浈江区	Zhēnjiāng Qū	393,521	572.11	688
	Wujiang District	武江区	Wǔjiāng Qū	294,708	677.78	435
	Qujiang District	曲江区	Qǔjiāng Qū	303,371	1,620.77	187
	Shixing County	始兴县	Shǐxīng Xiàn	205,452	2,131.91	96
	Renhua County	仁化县	Rénhuà Xiàn	200,354	2,223.22	99
	Wengyuan County	翁源县	Wēngyuán Xiàn	331,120	2,174.87	152
	Xinfeng County	新丰县	Xīnfēng Xiàn	206,091	1,967.39	105
	Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County	乳源瑶族自治县	Rǔyuán Yáozú Zìzhìxiàn	177,471	2,299.01	77
	Lechang City	乐昌市	Lèchāng Shì	397,779	2,419,28	164
	Nanxiong City	南雄市	Nánxióng Shì	316,179	2,326,18	136

Climate

Shaoguan has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with short, mild, damp winters, rainy springs, long, hot, and humid summers, and relatively sunny autumns. Due to the city's location far inland, winters are significantly cooler than in the rest of the province, with freezing rain possible in the nearby mountain passes in some years. Winter begins dry and relatively sunny but becomes progressively cloudier and damper. Spring is the cloudiest and wettest season, with the sun shining less than 30% of the time. The annual rainfall is around 1,600 mm (63 in), much of it delivered from April thru June. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 10.3 °C (50.5 °F) in January to 29.0 °C (84.2 °F) in July; the annual mean is 20.5 °C (68.9 °F). With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 16% in March to 54% in July, the city receives 1,617 hours of bright sunshine annually.

Climate data for Shaoguan (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1971–2020)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	27.8 (82.0)	30.5 (86.9)	32.6 (90.7)	35.4 (95.7)	36.4 (97.5)	38.5 (101.3)	40.4 (104.7)	40.3 (104.5)	38.5 (101.3)	36.6 (97.9)	34.0 (93.2)	28.5 (83.3)	40.4 (104.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	14.9 (58.8)	17.2 (63.0)	19.7 (67.5)	25.1 (77.2)	29.0 (84.2)	31.5 (88.7)	33.8 (92.8)	33.7 (92.7)	31.4 (88.5)	27.9 (82.2)	22.8 (73.0)	17.2 (63.0)	25.3 (77.6)
Daily mean °C (°F)	10.3 (50.5)	12.7 (54.9)	15.6 (60.1)	20.9 (69.6)	24.7 (76.5)	27.3 (81.1)	28.8 (83.8)	28.4 (83.1)	26.2 (79.2)	22.2 (72.0)	17.0 (62.6)	11.7 (53.1)	20.5 (68.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	7.2 (45.0)	9.6 (49.3)	12.8 (55.0)	17.8 (64.0)	21.6 (70.9)	24.4 (75.9)	25.4 (77.7)	24.9 (76.8)	22.6 (72.7)	18.1 (64.6)	13.1 (55.6)	8.0 (46.4)	17.1 (62.8)
Record low °C (°F)	−2.5 (27.5)	−2.2 (28.0)	0.9 (33.6)	5.7 (42.3)	12.7 (54.9)	16.6 (61.9)	20.1 (68.2)	20.1 (68.2)	14.5 (58.1)	6.3 (43.3)	1.6 (34.9)	−4.3 (24.3)	−4.3 (24.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	78.1 (3.07)	88.9 (3.50)	189.7 (7.47)	207.1 (8.15)	303.3 (11.94)	288.5 (11.36)	151.7 (5.97)	144.1 (5.67)	93.3 (3.67)	46.2 (1.82)	64.9 (2.56)	56.9 (2.24)	1,712.7 (67.42)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	10.9	12.1	18.6	17.0	18.3	18.7	14.1	14.0	10.3	5.9	7.6	7.8	155.3
Average snowy days	0.4	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.2	0.7
Average relative humidity (%)	77	78	82	81	81	81	77	78	78	73	75	74	78
Mean monthly sunshine hours	87.2	77.7	66.8	88.5	123.9	145.8	214.1	198.8	171.9	171.4	137.5	125.8	1,609.4
Percent possible sunshine	26	24	18	23	30	36	51	50	47	48	42	38	36
Source 1: China Meteorological Administration^[10]^[11]NOAA^[12]
Source 2: Weather China^[13]