Foshan

Foshan
佛山市
Prefecture-level city
Clockwise from top right: Zumiao of Foshan, Qingyun Tower in Shunfengshan Park, Gaoming, Guanyin atop Mount Xiqiao, & Downtown Foshan in Chancheng District
Nickname(s): 禅 (Chan)

Location of Foshan in Guangdong
Coordinates: 23°01′0″N 113°07′0″E / 23.01667°N 113.11667°E / 23.01667; 113.11667Coordinates: 23°01′0″N 113°07′0″E / 23.01667°N 113.11667°E / 23.01667; 113.11667
Country People's Republic of China
Province Guangdong
Municipal seat Chancheng District
Government
 • CPC Committee Secretary Lu Yi (鲁毅)
 • Mayor Zhu Wei (朱伟)
Area
 • Prefecture-level city 3,848.49 km2 (1,485.91 sq mi)
 • Water 690 km2 (270 sq mi)
 • Urban 3,848.49 km2 (1,485.91 sq mi)
 • Metro 17,572.9 km2 (6,784.9 sq mi)
Elevation 16 m (52 ft)
Population (2012)
 • Prefecture-level city 7,197,394
 • Density 1,900/km2 (4,800/sq mi)
  [1]
Time zone UTC+8 (China Standard Time)
Postal code 528000
Area code(s) (0)757
ISO 3166 code CN-GD-06
License plate prefixes 粤E
粤Y(for motor vehicles registered in Nanhai before February 2018),
粤X(for motor vehicles registered in Shunde before February 2018)
GDP ¥ 701.0 billion (2013)
GDP per capita ¥ 96,535 (2011)
Website foshan.gov.cn
Foshan
"Foshan" in Chinese characters
Chinese 佛山
Hanyu Pinyin Fóshān
Cantonese Yale Fahtsàan or Fahtsāan
Postal Fatshan
Literal meaning "Buddha Mountain"

Foshan, formerly romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province in southeastern China. The entire prefecture covers 3,848.49 km2 (1,485.91 sq mi) and has an urban population around 7.2 million in 2012. It forms part of the western side of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, which includes Guangzhou to the north and Shenzhen to the east.

Foshan is regarded as the home of the Cantonese versions of Chinese opera, kung fu and lion dance.

Name

"Faesan" (Foshan), from Nieuhof's 1665 Embassy of the Dutch East India Company to the Emperor of China

Fóshān is the pinyin romanization of the city's Chinese name 佛山, based on its Mandarin pronunciation. The Postal Map spelling "Fatshan" derives from the same name's local Cantonese pronunciation. Other romanizations include Fat-shan[2] and Fat-shun.[3] Foshan means "Buddha Mountain" and, despite the more famous present-day statue of Guanyin or Kwanyin on Mount Xiqiao, who isn't a Buddha, it refers to a smaller hill near the centre of town where three bronze sculptures of Buddha were discovered in AD 628. The town grew up around a monastery founded nearby that was destroyed in 1391.[4]

History

Foshan remained a minor settlement on the Fen River for most of China's history. It developed around a Tang-era Buddhist monastery that was destroyed in 1391.[4] (Nanhai was separately established at Broken Bowls Point in 1271 by two brothers fleeing the Mongol invasion of the north.) The Foshan Ancestral Temple, a Taoist temple to the Northern God (Beidi) that was rebuilt in 1372, became the new focus of the community by the 15th century.[4] By the early Ming, Foshan had grown into one of the four great markets in China, primarily on the strength of its local ceramics but also on account of its metalwork.[5] Under the Qing, its harbor on the Fen River was limited to ships of a thousand tons' burden but it remained well connected with Guangdong's other ports.[5] By the 19th century, it was considered the "Birmingham of China", with its steel industry responsible for the consumption of the majority of the province's iron production.[3] It was connected to Guangzhou and Sanshui by rail in the early 20th century.[5] The Ancestral Temple was converted into the Foshan Municipal Museum upon the victory of the Communists in the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

Foshan remained primarily focused on ceramic and steel production until the 1950s, when it became an urbanizing political center. On 26 June 1951 it left Nanhai County to become a separate county-level city and, in 1954, it was made the seat of the prefectural government.[5] Its economy stagnated through the Cultural Revolution—traditional ceramic ware was forbidden and its workshops were turned to producing Maoist and Revolutionary folderol — but it continued to grow, reaching 300,000 people by the 1970s, making it the province's second city after Guangzhou.[5] As early as 1973, however, its agriculture and consumer industries were permitted to become an export production base and a modern highway linked it to Guangzhou soon after; this permitted its party secretary Tong Mengqing and mayor Yu Fei to take full advantage when Deng Xiaoping introduced his Opening Up policies after the fall of the Gang of Four.[5] In 1983, Foshan was promoted to a prefecture-level city with its former core becoming the new Chancheng District, but lost the southwestern half of its former territory to Jiangmen.[5] On 8 December 2002, Shunde and Nanhai joined its urban core as a full district. Shunde has gone on to obtain an unusual autonomous status in 2009, placing its oversight in the hands of the provincial government rather than the prefectural one.

Geography

Foshan lies on the Fen River in the estuaries making up the west side of the Pearl River Delta. Guangzhou lies 25 kilometers (16 mi) to the northeast, Zhongshan to the southeast, Jiangmen to the south, Qingyuan to the west, and Zhaoqing to the west.[6]

Climate

Foshan experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa).

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Foshan administers five county-level divisions, all of which are districts. The five districts are Chancheng, Nanhai, Sanshui, Gaoming and Shunde.

Administrative divisions of Foshan
Division code[7] English name Chinese Pinyin Area in km2[8] Population 2010[9] Seat Postal code Divisions[10]
Subdistricts Towns Residential communities Administrative villages
440600Foshan City 佛山市 Fóshān Shì3848.497197394Chancheng District5280001121408328
440604Chancheng District 禅城区Chánchéng Qū154.151,101,077Zumiao Subdistrict528000318954
440605Nanhai District 南海区Nánhǎi Qū1073.942,588,844Guicheng Subdistrict5282001618367
440606Shunde District 顺德区Shùndé Qū806.552,464,784Daliang Subdistrict5283004693108
440607Sanshui District 三水区Sānshuǐ Qū874.22622,645Xinan Subdistrict528100252248
440608Gaoming District 高明区Gāomíng Qū939.64420,044Hecheng Subdistrict528500132151

These are further divided into 64 township-level divisions, including 37 towns and 27 subdistricts.

Foshan is close to Guangzhou and considers its link with Guangzhou to be very important. As such, it is part of the Pearl River Delta metropolis, centered on Guangzhou.

Economy

Foshan has been well known for its ceramics since the Ming, although it was forced to shutter its production during the Cultural Revolution.[5]

Foshan had a ¥8.01 trillion gross domestic product in 2015, raising its per capita GDP past ¥10,000.[11] Shunde District in particular has a high standard of living, with its 3,000+ electronical appliance factories responsible for more than half of the world's air conditioners and refrigerators.[12] Foshan now has more than 30 towns specialized in particular industries, including furniture, machinery, and beverages.[12]

Foshan Hi-Tech Development Zone was founded in 1992. Its total planned area is 7.55 km2 (2.92 sq mi). The zone is very close to the national highway G325 as well as Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. The major industries in the zone including automobile assembly, biotechnology and chemicals processing.[13]

Language

A dialect from the Samyap branch of the Cantonese language is being used by the city natives. Besides that, Mandarin is also used, mainly in business and education, although the city natives don't use much of it in their daily lives.

Transportation

Foshan railway station

In 2013 to 2014, Foshan planned to improve public transportation by putting forward six measures:[14]

FMetro

The first line of FMetro opened in 2010, and another two lines are under construction and due to be completed in 2015 and 2020.

The existing line of FMetro network:

Rail

Foshan is a main interchange for railway routes linking Guangzhou, Hong Kong and western Guangdong Province. It is connected with Hong Kong via the KCRC Guangdong Through Train service from Foshan Railway Station, an inter-city train service that was extended from Guangzhou to Foshan in the 1990s.

Aviation

There are coach bus services connecting Foshan with Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).[15]

Education

Foshan University's front gate

Like all schools in China, Mandarin is the sole language-of-instruction.

Sports

Foshan will be one of the host cities for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[16]

In October 2014 the city hosted The Foshan Open golf event on the European Challenge Tour.[17]

Two professional football teams have played in Foshan. From 1989 to 1997 Foshan Fosti (now disbanded) played at the New Plaza Stadium in Chancheng (now demolished). Foshan Fosti mainly played in the second tier, but did play in the eight team top tier in 1993. In 2007, newly created Guangdong Sunray Cave played at Nanhai District Stadium (now demolished), before moving to the Century Lotus Stadium in 2008. Sunray Cave then moved to Guangzhou, although did play the final games of the 2013 China League One back at Century Lotus Stadium. They returned to Guangzhou in 2014 and then disbanded.[18]

Destinations

Foshan Ancestral Temple

Sister cities

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ http://www.citypopulation.de/php/china-guangdong-admin.php
  2. ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed. (1911), Vol. XV, "Kwang-tung".
  3. 1 2 Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed. (1878), Vol. V, "China".
  4. 1 2 3 McDermott, Joseph P., State and Court Ritual in China, p. 281 .
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Vogel, Ezra F., One Step Ahead in China: Guangdong under Reform, p. 182 .
  6. ↑ Farrell, Samuel. "Foshan". Bing Maps. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  7. ↑ 中华人民共和国县以上行政区划代码 (in Chinese). Ministry of Civil Affairs.
  8. ↑ 佛山市国土资源局. 《佛山市土地利用总体规划（2006-2020年）》 (in Chinese).
  9. ↑ shi, Guo wu yuan ren kou pu cha ban gong; council, Guo jia tong ji ju ren kou he jiu ye tong ji si bian = Tabulation on the 2010 population census of the people's republic of China by township / compiled by Population census office under the state; population, Department of; statistics, employment statistics national bureau of (2012). Zhongguo 2010 nian ren kou pu cha fen xiang, zhen, jie dao zi liao (Di 1 ban. ed.). Beijing Shi: Zhongguo tong ji chu ban she. ISBN 978-7-5037-6660-2.
  10. ↑ Ministry of Civil Affairs (August 2014). 《中国民政统计年鉴2014》 (in Chinese). China Statistics Press. ISBN 978-7-5037-7130-9.
  11. ↑ "佛山 （广东省地级市）". BAIDU.com.
  12. 1 2 "Foshan: From Buddhist Hill to World Manufacturing Centre", MacauHub, 11 September 2015 .
  13. ↑ "RightSite.asia | Foshan Hi-Tech Development Zone". Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
  14. ↑ Foshan City Transportation Bureau home page Foshan City Transportation Bureau. Retrieved February 1, 2014
  15. ↑ "Mainland Coaches." Hong Kong International Airport. Retrieved on May 8, 2018.
  16. ↑ "FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 high-ranking LOC officials confirmed, FIBA to open three offices in China". FIBA. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  17. ↑ "The Foshan Tour". European Challenge Tour. PGA European Tour. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  18. ↑ "Football in Foshan and why it matters - Wild East Football". wildeastfootball.geezerbuild.com. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
  19. ↑ "Ville de la Possession - Jumelages". Archived from the original on 2012-05-17. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
  20. ↑ http://www2.ingolstadt.de/index.phtml?object=tx%7C1842.55.1&NavID=1842.86&Aktuell_ID=13449
  21. ↑ http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/neuburg/Ingolstadt-und-Foshan-id27503787.html
 
Rank Name Province Pop. Rank Name Province Pop.

Shanghai

Beijing		 1ShanghaiShanghai20,217,70011FoshanGuangdong6,771,900
Chongqing

Guangzhou
2BeijingBeijing16,858,70012NanjingJiangsu6,238,200
3ChongqingChongqing12,389,50013ShenyangLiaoning5,890,700
4GuangzhouGuangdong10,641,40014HangzhouZhejiang5,849,500
5ShenzhenGuangdong10,358,40015Xi'anShaanxi5,399,300
6TianjinTianjin10,007,70016HarbinHeilongjiang5,178,000
7WuhanHubei7,541,50017DalianLiaoning4,222,400
8DongguanGuangdong7,271,30018SuzhouJiangsu4,083,900
9ChengduSichuan7,112,00019QingdaoShandong3,990,900
10Hong KongHong Kong7,055,07120ZhengzhouHenan3,677,000
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