Abbreviation: Yue
Capital: Guangzhou
Area: More than 180,000 square kilometres
Population: 76.49 million
Location: In southeast China, on the South China Sea
The history of Guangdong Province dates back to the Spring and Autumn period, more than 2,500 years ago. Situated in the Southeast China along the South China Sea, the province has a curved coastal line of 3,368.1 kilometres and many estuaries and plus 1,649.5 kilometres around 759 islands dotted in the South China Sea. The Tropic of Cancer runs through the province, with tropical and subtropical climate, and summer is as long as six months. It is warm and rainy all the year round. The average temperature ranges from 19 to 26 degrees centigrade, and the annual rainfall ranges from 1,500 millimetres (mm) to 2,000 millimetres, and rainy season is from April to September. There are three crops a year. The province boasts many ethnic groups, such as the Li, the Yao, the Miao, the Zhang, the Hui, the Man, and the She. The main agriculture produce includes rice, sugar, silkworms, peanuts, and fruits, and rubber. They are orange, banana, pineapple and litchi. Industries in the province include foodstuff, textile, paper-making, machinery, electric appliance, petroleum, chemical and electric power, of which sugar and papermaking occupy an important position in the country. Transportation is very convenient and is easy access to any part of the country by air, rail or by highway and expressway and the rest of the world mainly by air. They are also many main cities. Examples of the cities are Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Santou, which are special economic zones designated by the State Council. Advanced transportation networks, well equipped hotels, stores and entertainment places and inviting natural scenes make the province an ideal destination for tourists both at home and abroad. The prime tourist attractions in the province are the following: