(; 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 under Chinese control during the
Han Dynasty and well known by the Chinese for thousands of years but it was not until the
Ming dynasty that it came under heavy Chinese settlement and 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
Bouyei minority Shitou village, west Guizhou (near Longgong caves), China.
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.
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
CCP 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 2008 was 333.34 billion yuan (48 billion USD). Its per capita GDP of 8,824 RMB (1,270 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 118 million tons in 2008, a 7% growth from the previous year.
- Guiyang Economic & Technological Development Area
- Guiyang National New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone
Administrative divisions
Guizhou is made up of 9 prefecture-level divisions, 88 county-level divisions, and 1543 township-level divisions.
The nine prefecture-level divisions are:
Demographics
The long-horn tribe, one of the small branches of
Miao living in the twelve villages near Zhijing (织金) County, Guizhou Province. The wooden horns remain daily attire for most women.
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 (including
Gha-Mu and
A-Hmao),
Yi,
Qiang,
Dong,
Zhuang,
Buyei,
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
Maotai 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
Drum tower in the
Dong village of Zhaoxing, southern Guizhou.
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.
Colleges and universities
Media
