The mountain and hill areas cover most of Guangdong without many plains. There are many rivers such as the Zhujiang River (Pearl River), which is composed of the Xijiang River, the Beijiang River, the Dongjiang River, the Hanjiang River, the Rongjiang River and the Moyangjiang River. Guangdong has a curved coastal line of 3368.1 km and many estuaries and more than 651 offshore islets.

The Tropic of Cancer runs through Guangdong, the southwest part of which and the Leizhou Peninsula are in the tropical zone , and other parts in the subtropical zone. It is warm and rainy all the year round, the average temperature ranges from 19 to 26 centigrade degree, the average annual rainfall is more than 1500 mm, the rainy season is from April to September.

About 130,000 years ago, the Home sapiens, the Beijing River "Mabaren", evolved into the Xijiang River "Fengkairen"about 12,000 years ago, and then to Baiyueren about 4,000 years ago. In 214 B.C. the first emperor in Qing Dynasty brought the Linnan under his control, and divided it into three parts: the Han People moved into these regions and the County. Since that time, the Han People moved into these regions and the Baiyue People became the members of Chinese nation. By now there are also many ethnic minorities such as the Miao, the Yao ,the Hui, the Man and the She in the Guangdong Province. In 1989 the population was estimated at 60,240,000. Besides, there are a large number of Guangdong people who have emigrated abroad.

Guangdong Province was first set up in 1370 A.D. with Guangzhou as its capital. People in Guangdong Province have revolutionary traditions . The first page of Chinese modern history began in Guangdong (the Anti-imperialism's Opium War), which is also the starting point of Chinese Democratic Revolution.

As the South Gate of China, Guangdong has been opining to the outside world for a long time. Since the adoption of opening and reforming policy in 1978, three special economic zones, Shen Zhen, Zhuhai and Shantou, have been established, Guangzhou, Zhanjiang, the Zhujiang (Pearl River) Delta areas and the whole coastal regions have been opened. More than 100 ports have also been opened. So Guangdong's transportation is convenient. Its industry is devoloping and agricultural products (rice, fruits, fishing, etc)are abundant. Its economy is developing rapidly.

The transport conditions in Guangdong Province are fairly good. So far, the water transportation has been playing a very important role. The ocean shops go from Guangzhou or Zhanjiang to South East Asia, Africa, Europe and America, and more than 40 ports in Shanghai , Dalian, Tianjin, Qingdao, Nantong, Ningbo, Yantai, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Wenzhou, Beihai and etc.

Guangdong is also one of the provinces in China where the highways have been developed into the networks all over the province. And there are four railways: Beijiang to Guangzhou, Guangzhou to Jiulong, Guangzhou to Maoming and Litang to Zhanjiang. The air transport services are developing rapidly. Besides an airport in Guangzhou, there are some other airports in Zhanjing, Shantou, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Foshan, Huizhou, Wuhua, Meixian, Yangjiang etc. which connect with all the large cities in China. There are more than 10 international airlines.

The handicraft industry in Guangdong is in the lead in the whole country with a long history and unique features. As early as 1870s, the handicraft industry in Ganging had become well known as "guanghuo". Hardware(such as keys, knives, flashlights), umbrella, leather products, furniture (especial the carved mahogany furniture) are all well-known in the world. Among the artware, the ivory carving, gem carving, iron carving, porcelain carving and golden-wood carving are well known for their excellent design. The Guangdong embroidery and the Chaozhou embroidery, one of the four kinds of best embroideries in China , are known for their beautiful patterns and exquisite craft. Besides, there are also Zhaoqing's inkstone, Dongguan's fireworks, Shiwan's porcelain and Xingning's folding fan.

The local culture in Guangdong is also well developed. The main dialects are Guangzhou dialects , Hakka dialects and Chao zhou dialects. There are Guangdong local music, Yue opera, Chaozhou opera and Guangdong Han opera. The Lingnan architecture, Guangdong cooking and folk custom are all fascinating. Guangdong is a place with beautiful mountains and rivers, moderate climate and many scenic spots. The Luofu Mountain, the Danxia mountain, the Dinghu Mountain and the Xiqiao Mountain are the four famous mountains in Guangdong Province. There are also many wonderful attractions for tourism and holidays all over the province.

Guangzhou (Canton)
Guangzhou, located at the north of the Pearl River delta, is an important trading center as well as a busy port and the capital city of the province of Guandong . The city has an area of over 16,000 square kilometers and a population of 6.7 million.

The climate of Guangzhou is sub-tropical. The average year-round temperature is 22C. August is the hottest month, with an average temperature of 28C. January is the coldest month, with an average of 13C. The rainy season falls between April and August. Average annual rainfall is 1,720 mm. Like Athens of Greece and Rome of Italy, Guangzhou also has a history of more than 2,800 years.

There are a lot of interesting legends concerning its past. One of the beautiful stories which gives the city its name Goat Town says that five gods riding on five goats brought the first grain to the city. So, it is also known as the City of Five Goats. Besides tales and stories, here and there stand monuments of the city's democratic and revolutionary past. The monument to the Anti British struggle at San Yuan Li is in remembrance of the 1841 uprising against a British invading force. The Huang Hua Gang Park keeps alive the spirit of the 72 martyrs killed in an 1911 uprising against the Manchu dynasty. The National Peasant Movement Institute is the former cadre-training school founded and run by Mao Zedong and Zhou En Lai in 1925-1926. The Guangzhou Memorial Garden is in memory of those who lost their lives during the Communist Uprising in 1927.

Guangzhou is also one of the most important centers of foreign commerce in South China. The Chinese Export Commodities Fair has been held twice a year in the city since 1957. It is also a cultural center. There are several universities, the Zhongshan University, the South China University of Technology, the Ji-nan University and so on. There are also higher educational establishments. The city is renowned for its arts and crafts, namely the Guang Dong embroidery, ivory-carving and ceramics.

Guangzhou is a beautiful city with an ever-green scenery and flowers blooming all the year round. The city boasts many tourist attractions, among which highlights are White Cloud Hill Scenic Spot. Yuexiu Park, Guangzhou Zoo, Six Banyan Temple and Flowery Pagoda, Dr. Sun Yatsen Memorial Hall, etc. In the Suburbs, there are such scenic spot on Conghua Hot Springs, Xiqiao Hill Scenic spot, Seven Star Crags, and Foshan City. Lots of tourists to Guangzhou like to cover one or two of them for out-of-city pleasure.

"Eating in Guangzhou" has become a popular saying both at home and abroad. Guangzhou ranks first in the number of restaurants and tea-houses in the country. Cantonese cuisine is good in color, fragrance, taste and presentation. In addition, the delicate Cantonese pastry is also well-known for its wide range of varieties, delicious flavor and beautiful color. Cantonese cuisine is among the most famous four in the country.

Chaozhou
Located in the north of the Delta of the Hanjiang River, Chaozhou city is one of the famous historic cities. It had been the location of Lu Administration, prefecture and capital of dynasties of past ages. It was named Chaozhou originally in the Sui Dynasty (591 AD). Chaozhou City now governs 1 district, 20 towns and 3 small towns and has 1,411 square kilometers in area, and 1.24 million in population. Chaozhou City is surrounded by the Golden Mountain, the Silver Mountain and Hanshan Mountain. The Hanjiang River flows through the city and eight scenes distributed along its both banks. There are many valuable historic relics in Chaozhou city, totally about 600 units and among them 42 are classified as the state, provincial and city's key preservation units of cultural relics, The city's feature is known as "Classic Tourist City" which receives numerous tourists both from abroad and home.

Chaozhou has a long history of handicrafts. It is famous in the world for its traditional drawnwork, Chaozhou embroidery, pottery, porcelain, and woodcut which sell well both on foreign and domestic markets. In recent years a lot of new industries have emerged. Chaozhou is also one of well-known agricultural high production zones in China, with its fine tradition of intensive cultivation and attacking great importance to agricultural science and technology. Many of agricultural and sideline productions gain a great reputation in world markets. With unique styles, the Chaozhou Drama, Chaozhou Music and Chaozhou handicrafts are not only well received by local people, but also loved by overseas Chinese in South-east Asia. As its characteristics of sweet-smelling , thickness, freshness and sweetness, the Chaozhou cooking is enjoying more popularity.

Foshan
Located in the central part of the Zhujiang River Delta, Foshan has a favorable geographic location and excellent natural conditions, and long been called"a land of fish and rice " for its plentiful products. It has a total area of 4, 736 square kilometers (the city proper, 77 square kilometers) and a population of 2.63 million in 1987 (municipal population, 0.33 million).

During the Qin and Han Dynasty, Foshan became an agricultural and fishery village of a considerable size, and the present urban seat was called "Jihua Village" in the Sui Dynasty. In 628 (AD), three bronze statues of Buddha were excavated in Tapo Hill within the town, thus changing its name to Foshan which is called "Chan" for short. Ceramic industry rose in the Tang Dynasty and brought the name "Ceramic Capital in South China" for the city whose products sold well at home and abroad. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Foshan had enjoyed equal popularity with Zhuxian Town in Henan Province, Jingde Town in Jiangxi Province, Hankou Town in Hubei Province, thus identified as one of the four famous towns in China.

Ceramics, casting, textile, pharmacy and folk handicrafts were extremely flourishing in the early Qin Dynasty when the population reached 0.9 million. Foshan was a town of Nanhai county after the Xinghai Revolution, and became a city in 1951. Being a well-known industrial city of medium size in Guangdong Province, Foshan has four pillar industries of textile, electronics, ceramics and plastics, and also a rather string foundation in food-processing, pharmacy, printing, crafts, hardware, electric appliance, machinery and casting, acting as a comprehensive commodity base in Guangdong Province. 24 external ports opened by Foshan Airport.

Keeping abreast with large cities such as Shenyang and Wuhan, Foshan got a total output value of industry and agriculture of 16.8 billion Yuan in 1988, three times what was in 1980. Purchasing value for foreign export was 2.3 billion Yuan in 1988. Since 1960's, Foshan has been a national Red-Flag (model) City in public hygiene, and also renowned for track and field sports. Zumiao (ancestral) Temple and Lianyuan Garden are the main ancient buildings. Traditional handicrafts include papercuttings, decorative lamps, Shiwan figures, and colorful costumes worn by local people who parade in the streets in the autumn.

Zhaoqing
The city is an ancient one with a history of more than two thousand years and was called Duanzhou in ancient times. The city was built as a military base during the Qin Dynasty, it was called the Gaoyou County during the Han Dynasty in 111 BC and changed to Duanzhou during the Sui Dynasty, Zhaoqingfu during the Beisong Dynasty in 1101 and has been called Zhaoqing City since 1958. The city has ten counties and two districts with an area of 22, 612 square kilometers and a population of 5, 230,000. Before liberation the economy was developed very slowly within a few mills. Today, the city has become an industry city with electronics, instrument, making and textile.

Zhaoqing City is well known for its beautiful scenery. It is one of the best known tourist cities in Lingnan regions since it has the walls of the Song Dynasty, one river (the Xijiang River), two lakes (the Xinghu Lake and the Dinghu Lake), three canyons (the Sanrong Canyon, the Dading Canyon and the Lingyang Canyon), eight wonderful sights and such scenic spots as the Yuejiang Mansion , the Meiyan Nannery and etc. Zhaoqing produces the Duanxi inkstone as well as other famous traditional artwork.