China Province Travel Guides
Anhui
Ānhuī province (安徽省 Ānhuī Shěng) is located in eastern China. The province lies across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River and covers an area of 139,400km2. The city of Hefei is the provincial capital. Anhui is landlocked with no coast.
Beijing
Beijing (北京) is the capital city of China. It is one of four Municipalities in China, giving it autonomy form the surrounding province of Hebei. Beijing was also known in the past as Peking or the older name Peiping.. The city is situated in the North of the country on the edge of the Yellow River plains and a short distane form the Bohai Sea. The population of the city is estimated at around 14,230,000 people. All of China's 56 ethnic groups are represented in the city, though the population is 96.5% Han.
Chongqing
Chongqing (重庆) is the biggest city in China. It's located deep in the centre of the country, though is traditionally classed as being in the west. Chongqing straddles the Yangtze river. This has made the city a key centre for trade within China. The city was part of Sichuan province until it became a municipality on March 14th, 1997. Thus Chongqing became one of only four cities in China to have the status of municipality. This city has seen rapid growth over the last decade. The building of the Three Gorges Dam, just 100km downstream from Chongqing, saw a large number of migrants move into the city. The population of the city is estimated to be 31,442,300 (2007) potentially making Chongquing the largest city in the world.
Fujian
Fújiàn (福建) is a province on the coast of southeast China. It is a mountainous region. The provinces coastal position has made it a centre for national and international trade throughout it's long history. As a result, the area is culturally and linguistically diverse. It was in Fujian that the international trading centre of Amoy (modern day Xiamen) is located. Fujian is the closest province to the island of Tiawan and traditionally there have been strong links between the island and Fujian.
Gansu
Gānsù (甘肃) is a province in the north west of China. It has a short border with the Republic of Mongolia in the north of the province. Around the rest lie other Chinese provinces. To the north east is Inner Mongolia and Ningxia autonomous regions. To the south east is Shaanxi province. To the south is Sichuan and to the west lie Qinghai province and Xinjiang Autonomous Region.
Guangdong
Guǎngdōng (广东) province is one of the most prosperous and developed areas of China. The province accounts for 12% of China's national economic output. This prosperity is not only in modern times. It dates back centuries to when the Guangdong capital, Guangzhou, was the sole port for foreign trade in China. This monopoly on trade made the province rich. It also meant that Guangdong had greater foreign influences, creating a distinct culture. To the north of Guangdong lie the provinces of Hunan, Jiangxi and Fujian. To the south of Guangdong is the South China Sea and the former foreign colonies of Hong Kong and Macau. They are now Special Administration Regions belonging to China but outside of Guangdong province control. To the west lies Guangxi province. The Pearl River runs through the Province and the area around the lower section of the river, known as the Pearl River Delta is a highly prosperous zone which including the cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhe, Zhouhai, Hong Kong and Macau.
Guangxi
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (广西壮族自治区) is a provincial level region in the south of China. It is classed as an Autonomous Region due to it's high ethnic minority populations, the largest of which is the Zhuang people. Dong and Miao people are also found here in large numbers. This cultural diversity, along with the spectacular scenery of the region, make Guangxi a major tourist destination. In particular the area around Guilin city and the Lijiang River are a big tourist draw.
Guizhou
Gùizhōu (贵州) is a landlocked province in south west China. This is a remote and ethnically diverse region of China with 38% of the population belonging to a non Han ethnic minority group. The largest of these ethnic groups are the Miao (12%), the Buyi (8%), the dong (5%) and Tujia (4%). There are also notable numbers of Yi, Gelao and Shui people. Thus 55% of the province is made up of minority controlled Autonomous Prefectures, Districts and Counties. The area historically had poor communications links with the east of China, making this area more remote and prone to rebellion. Today the areas mountainous landscape maintains some of the remoteness of the province. Away from major tourist centres, this province maintains much of the charm and character of old China.
Hainan
Hǎinán (海南), is a tropical island province in the extreme south of China. The island is popular with Chinese tourists and is becoming a new secret holiday hide-away for westerner's who want to have a beach holiday with a difference. In fact, Hainan is more than one island. While the main island of Hainan accounts for 97% of the landmass of the province, and almost all of the population, Hainan also contains many hundred other small islands, atolls and reefs in the South China Sea. These consist of the Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands. Though many of these islands are teratorially disputed with neighboughing countries, they are under de-facto Chinese control. The perminent population of the smaller islands comes to just 14 people while the main island of Hainan has a population of 8,640,700.
Hebei
Hébĕi (河北)
Heilongjiang
Hēilóngjiāng (黑龙江)
Henan
Hénán (河南)
Hong Kong
Hong Kong Special Administration Region 香港特別行政區, is located in the south of the People's Republic of China in the Peal River delta area of the South China Sea. It consists of a number of islands and the mainland Kowloon peninsula. It has only one land border to the North with Guandong (Canton) Province It is only a short distance by sea to Macau, China's only other Special Administration Region.
Hubei
Húběi (湖北)
Hunan
Húnán (湖南)
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region 内蒙古自治区 (Nèi Měnggǔ Zìzhìqū or in Mongolian, Öbür mongɣul-un öbertegen jasaqu orun) is a Mongol Autonomous Region in the north China, where as Outer Mongolia is a separate country to the north of China. The region covers most of the northern edge of china, curving in a banana shape. To the north is Mongolia and the North east tip of Inner Mongolia borders with Russia. The other borders of the region are with other Chinese provinces, going clock wise form the north east they are Hēilóngjiāng 黑龙江, Jilin 吉林, Liaoning 辽宁, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and Gansu.
Jiangsu
Jiāngsū (江苏)
Jiangxi
Jiāngxī (江西)
Jilin
Jílín (吉林)
Liaoning
Liáoníng Province (辽宁省 Liáoníng Shěng) is a province in the North East of China. It borders Inner Mongolia autonomous region 内蒙古 (Nèi Měnggǔ) in the north, Jílín province 吉林 to the east, the country of North Korea to the South East and Hébĕi province to the west. The southern edge of Liáoníng forms a peninsula which points south with the Yellow Sea on the west and Bohai Sea to the east. The north of the province is part of the Gobi Desert. The east and central spine are mountainous. In contrast the Western half of the province consists of large flat fertile plains.
Macau
Macau Special Administrative Region (澳门特别行政区 Àomén) is a former Portuguese Overseas colony. It consists of a peninsular and two islands, Taipa (氹仔) and Cotai (路氹) in the Pearl River delta in the south of the People's Republic of China. Macau may also be spelt Macao. One narrow land border joins the Macau peninsula to Guandong province. A second border point is formed by the friendship bridge which joins the newly reclaimed land of Cotai 路氹城 to the Mainland.
Ningxia
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (宁夏回族自治区)
Qinghai
Qīnghǎi (青海)
Shaanxi
Shǎnxī or Shaanxi (陕西)
Shandong
Shāndōng (山东)
Shanghai
Shànghǎi (上海) has long been the international gateway for trade with China. Situated near the mouth of the Yangtze River, the longest navigation in China and the third largest river in the world, the city has a prosperous history. During the 18th century, Shanghai contained many foreign concessions and trading centers making the city vibrant and culturally diverse. Shanghai grew to become the largest city in China. A title that has only recently been lost to Chongqing. However, the cities success has also brought it misery. The Japanese occupation of China in the 1930's and early 1940's saw Shanghai become a focus of much fighting as the two countries jostled for control of this strategically and economically important city.
Shanxi
Shānxī (山西)
Sichuan
Sìchuān (四川) is a province in the centre of modern China. It has a past steeped in legened. The mountains and many rivers of Sichuan made it a remote and forbidding place for most of it's history. To an extent, this continues today as the area is less developed than the coastal provinces. Especially in the west of the province. However, the area has been the focus for recent development works. Sichuan is a centre for tourism. Both for the province's natural beauty and also for it's culture. Sichuan is home to China's panda sanctuary.
Taiwan
Táiwān (台湾) is situated of the east coast of China. It has long been an important link in the trade routes between China and neighbouring countries such as Japan. As a result is has received much cultural influence from beyond its shores. During the 20th century, the island has been the center of many political debates. However it remains an interesting and exciting destination for tourists.
Tianjin
Tianjin (天津)
Tibet
Tibet Autonomous Region (西藏自治区 Xīzàng Zìzhìqū)
Xinjiang
Xīnjiāng Uyghur Autonomous Region (新疆维吾尔自治区)
Yunnan
Yúnnán (云南) is a province in the far south west of China. The area is a junction between China propper and the south east asian countries of Indo-china. The province is mountainous. The eastern edges of the Hymalyas and the Tibet platue touch on Yunnan's North and west. The south and east of Yunnan is generally lower in altitude and it is there that most of the province's population can be found. The provincial capital is Kunming, which is known as the spring city. The name hints at Yunnan's favourable climate with an all year round growing season making it ideal for producing a wide veriety of cops. This also makes it a target for tourists who come to see Yunnan's amazing landscapes and it's high diversity of plants and animals. Yunnan is relative remote from the rest of China and so is less developed than China's eastern provinces.
Zhejiang
Zhèjiang (浙江)