Guizhou

[gwee-joh]

Guizhou or Kweichow, province (1994 est. pop. 33,800,000), c.66,000 sq mi (170,940 sq km), SW China. Guiyang is the capital and chief city; Zunyi and Duyun are important towns. Guizhou is almost entirely a high plateau, and its sheer limestone hills form some of the most spectacular karst scenery in the world. Guizhou has many deep river valleys, notably those of the Wu (the major river), the He, and the Yuan. The climate is mild and the rainfall adequate, but the soil is poor and there is little arable land. Rice is the major crop; the same amount of acreage is given to corn but with about half the yield. Soybeans, wheat, oats, barley, sweet potatoes, sorghum, and beans are raised for food. Commerical crops include rapeseed, tobacco, tea, peanuts, oakleaf silk, sugarcane, and indigo. Cotton is being developed. Guizhou has rich forests, and lumber, tung oil, lacquer, and paint are produced. Mineral resources, which are important to the province, include mercury, coal, iron, zinc, lead, copper, manganese, and gold. With unnavigable rivers, a limited railway system, and well-developed highways, transportation in the province is adequate. The province has two autonomous districts: one in the southeast, peopled by Miao (known for their embroideries) and Dong; and another in the south, inhabited by Puyi and Miao. Chinese settlement of the region began around 2,000 years ago, but it was only in the 10th cent. that it passed under the suzerainty of China. Guizhou became a province in the 17th cent. under the Ming dynasty, but the native Miaos were not completely subdued until about 1870. The traditional name of Guizhou is Kien or Qian. Guizhou Univ. is in Guiyang.

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Licensed from Columbia University Press

Guizhou

or Kuei-chou conventional Kweichow

Province (pop., 2002 est.: 38,370,000), southwestern China. It is bordered by Yunnan, Sichuan, and Hunan provinces, Chongqing municipality, and Guangxi autonomous region. It has an area of 67,200 sq mi (174,000 sq km). Its capital is Guiyang. Guizhou has rough topography, poor communications, and consequent isolation. About three-fourths of the people are Han Chinese; there are also aboriginal peoples, including the Miao. Guizhou came under Chinese influence during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), when it was made a province. During the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), struggles between the minorities, especially the Miao, were common. Serious revolts occurred in the 19th century and in 1941–44, as a result of exploitation by local warlords. The communists took the area in 1949. Its mineral resources are rich and support some mining.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Guizhou

(also spelled Kweichow) is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.

History

Guizhou was well known by the Chinese for thousands of years but it was not until the Ming dynasty that it came under Chinese domination during which it was made a province. This prompted mass migration from Sichuan, Hunan and its surrounding provinces into Guizhou.

Countless rebellions by its native Miao people occurred throughout the Qing dynasty. It was said in the Qing dynasty that every thirty years there would be minor revolts, while every sixty years there would be major rebellions. All the revolts would be violently suppressed by the government.

Geography

Guizhou adjoins Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality to the north, Yunnan Province to the west, Guangxi Province to the south and Hunan Province to the east. Overall Guizhou is a mountainous province however it is more hilly in the west while the eastern and southern portions are relatively flat. The western part of the province forms part of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.

Other cities include: Anshun, Kaili, Zunyi, Duyun, Liupanshui and Qingzhen.

Guizhou has a subtropical humid climate. There are few seasonal changes. Its annual average temperature is roughly 10 to 20 °C, with January temperatures ranging from 1 to 10°C and July temperatures ranging from 17 to 28 °C.

Administrative divisions

Guizhou is made up of 9 prefecture-level divisions, 88 county-level divisions, and 1543 township-level divisions.

Politics

The politics of Guizhou is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.

The Governor of Guizhou is the highest ranking official in the People's Government of Guizhou. However, in the province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor has less power than the Guizhou Communist Party of China Provincial Committee Secretary, colloquially termed the "Guizhou CPC Party Chief".

Economy

Guizhou is a relatively poor and undeveloped province. It also has a small economy compared to the coastal provinces. Its nominal GDP for 2006 was 226.7 billion yuan (29.2 billion USD). Its per capita GDP of 5,750 RMB (736 USD) ranks last in all of the PRC.

Its natural industry includes timber and forestry. Other important industries in the province include energy (electricity generation) and mining, especially in coal, limestone, arsenic, gypsum, and oil shale. Guizhou's total output of coal was 110 million tons in 2005, a 12% growth from the previous year.

Demographics

Guizhou is one of the provinces that contains the most minority groups. The minority groups account for more than 37% of the total population and they include Yao, Miao, Yi, Qiang, Dong, Zhuang, Buyi, Bai, Tujia, Gelao and Shui. 55.5% of the province area is designated as autonomous regions for them. Guizhou is the province with highest TFR in China with 2.19. (Urban-1.31, Rural-2.42)

Culture

Guizhou is the home of the Moutai Distillery, distillers of Maotai liquor, China's most famous alcoholic beverage. The Chinese name of the distillery is Zhongguo Guizhou Maotai Jiuchang (simplified: 中国贵州茅台酒厂).

Tourism

The province has many covered bridges, called Wind and Rain Bridges. These were built by the Dong minority people.

The southeastern corner of the province is known for its unique Dong minority culture. Towns such as Rongjiang, Liping, Diping and Zhaoxing are scattered amongst the hills along the border with Guangxi.

The rich population of minorities in Guizhou allow for a great many ethnic festivals throughout the lunar calendar. During the first lunar month (usually February), the early festival in Kaili (east of Guiyang) celebrates local culture with acts of bullfighting, horse racing, pipe playing, and comedy works.