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Geographical and cultural region
Photo: User:Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
South China has always been outward-looking. Many of China's mariners and traders have come from this region and many overseas Chinese can trace their ancestry to South China.
Guangzhou is one of China's main aviation hubs, and is served by flights from all over China, as well as from major cities all over the world.
Read in the guideAs elsewhere in China, there is an extensive rail network. Rail is the main means of inter-city travel for the Chinese themselves, and many visitors travel that way as well.
Read in the guideChoose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Tangbu · Regional · WUZ
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Guilin (桂林; Guìlín) and the surrounding region are among the most scenic areas in China and the most popular tourist destinations both for Chinese travellers and the international backpacker set. Guilin is the hub for trips to the surrounding area's karst terrain, limestone mountains eroded into fantastic shapes.
Guangzhou (广州; pronounced Gwóngjāu in Cantonese and Guǎngzhōu in Mandarin; traditionally known in English as Canton) is the capital of Guangdong Province in southern China. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 18.7 million (26.9 for the whole urban area), making it China's fourth-largest city after Chongqing, Shanghai and Beijing.
Haikou (海口 Hǎikǒu) is the capital and largest city of Hainan Province in southern China and is at the north end of the Hainan Island. Haikou is a tropical coastal city that, as one of the least developed provincial capitals, has a somewhat laid-back atmosphere.
Nanning (南宁; Nánníng) is the capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south-west China. It is a large, modern city and a transport gateway for travellers to and from Vietnam.
Sanya (三亚 Sānyà in Mandarin; Ta-ah in Hainanese) is on the southernmost point of China, at the tip of Hainan island. Billed as "China's Hawaii", Sanya has 20-km stretches of beach and palm trees.
Shantou, referred to as "Shan", also known as 鮀城 (Tuócheng) and 鮀岛 (Tuódao), is a prefecture-level city under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Province, a sub-central city of Guangdong, a special economic zone, located in the east of Guangdong Province, adjacent to Chaozhou and Jieyang in the north, and the South China Sea in the south. As of the end of 2024, Shantou has a permanent population of 5.56 million.
Shenzhen (深圳; Shēnzhèn in Mandarin, sam1 zan3 in Cantonese; abbreviation: SZ) is a fast-paced city of ambition and enterprise: engineers on the cutting edge of modern technology, hardscrabble farmers coming to the big city in search of a better life, middle managers who dream of someday opening their own factories, designers looking to sell to a global market, and all manner of entrepreneurs from across China. One of the most populous and richest cities in China, Shenzhen is in Guangdong Province on the Hong Kong border about 100 km south of Guangzhou.
Yangshuo (阳朔; Yáng shuò) is a small town surrounded by karst mountains and beautiful scenery near Guilin. It has been a popular backpacker destination since the 1980s, and the surrounding area has excellent rock climbing opportunities which attract large groups of tourists.
Zhuhai (珠海; Zhūhǎi in Mandarin, Jyūhói in Cantonese) is a city in Guangdong Province, China. The name means Pearl Sea; Zhuhai is where the Pearl River (珠江; Zhūjiāng) flows into the South China Sea (南中国海 Nánzhōngguóhǎi or simply 南海 Nánhǎi).
Guilin (桂林; Guìlín) and the surrounding region are among the most scenic areas in China and the most popular tourist destinations both for Chinese travellers and the international backpacker set. Guilin is the hub for trips to the surrounding area's karst terrain, limestone mountains eroded into fantastic shapes.
Kaiping (开平; Kāipíng in Mandarin, Hoi1pen6 in the local dialect) is a pastoral area in Guangdong, China, full of rice fields and old-fashioned villages, that is known for its hundreds of diāolóu (碉楼). These watchtower dwellings, scattered around the countryside, were built in the early 20th century by overseas Chinese in a mixture of western and eastern styles.
striking red and brown mountains and cliffs in northern Guangdong
This article discusses overland travel between Hong Kong and Kunming, capital of Yunnan province in the southwest of China. It passes through a famously scenic area around Guilin.
Articles and travel topics about South China and China.
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Nature & adventureHow to explore Zhangjiajie's sandstone pillars, ride the Bailong Elevator and drift down the Li River through Guilin and Yangshuo karst peaks.
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