Wuzhou (, postal: Wuchow; za, Ngouzcouh / Ŋouƨcouƅ), formerly Ngchow, is a

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of Chi ...

in the east of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China.

Geography and climate

Wuzhou is located in eastern Guangxi bordering Guangdong province. It is at the confluence of the

Gui River The Gui River (Chinese: 桂江) is a river in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China, and a tributary of the Xi Jiang. It is formed in Pingle by the confluence of the Li River and Lipu River and flows southeast, merging with the Xun Jiang ...

and the

Xun River The Xun River ( Chinese: 浔江, pinyin: Xún Jiāng, jyutping: ''Cham4 Gong1'') is a short section of the main branch of the Pearl River system upstream from the Xi Jiang in China. Although less than 200km long, it is of considerable importan ...

where they form the Xi River; 85% of all water in Guangxi flows through Wuzhou. The total area of Wuzhou is . The

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towa ...

bisects the city. Despite its latitude, Wuzhou has a monsoon-influenced

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

( Köppen ''Cfa''), with short, mild winters, and long, very hot and humid summers. Winter begins dry but becomes progressively wetter and cloudier. Spring is generally overcast and often rainy, while summer continues to be rainy though is the sunniest time of year. Autumn is sunny and dry. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to in July, and the annual mean is . The annual rainfall is just above , and is delivered in bulk (~47%) from April to June, when the plum rains occur and often create the risk of flooding. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 17% in March to 55% in July, the city receives 1,738 hours of bright sunshine annually.

Demographics

According to the

2020 Chinese census The Seventh National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (), also referred to as the 2020 Chinese Census, was the seventh national census conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. Census w ...

, its total population was 2,820,977 inhabitants of whom 859,815 lived in its built-up (''or metro'') area made of 3 urban districts. the average annual population decrease for the period 2010-2020 was of -0.21% whilst overall decrease rate is -2.12%. The dominant ethnic group in the prefecture-level city is

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...

but there are also Zhuang, Yao and others. Wuzhou traditionally belongs to the

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...

cultural and linguistic region, so most people speak the Wuzhou dialect of Cantonese and Mandarin as a result of Central Government's Mandarin promotion policy.

Administration

Wuzhou has 3 counties, 1

county-level city A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...

and 3

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

. *

Dieshan District Dieshan () is a former district of the city of Wuzhou, Guangxi, China. In early 2013 it was merged into Wanxiu District Wanxiu District () is a district of the city of Wuzhou, Guangxi, China, bordering Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternativ ...

was abolished on 2013

Delicacies

Amongst the agricultural products produced in the region of Wuzhou, one of the most favoured snacks is Wuzhou honey date ().

Guilinggao ''Guilinggao'' (), also known as tortoise jelly (though not technically correct) or turtle powder, is a jelly-like Chinese medicine, also sold as a dessert. It was traditionally made from the ''gao'', or paste of the plastron (bottom shell) fr ...

jelly is also described as a "Wuzhou delicacy".Wuzhou travel guide: Local delicacies
/ref> Bingquan Soy Milk (冰泉豆浆) is also welcomed by people and is in the list of premium choices for breakfast.

Trade

Wuzhou has become a hub of the synthetic gemstone trade, particularly specializing in

corundum Corundum is a crystalline form of aluminium oxide () typically containing traces of iron, titanium, vanadium and chromium. It is a rock-forming mineral. It is a naturally transparent material, but can have different colors depending on the pr ...

spinel Spinel () is the magnesium/aluminium member of the larger spinel group of minerals. It has the formula in the cubic crystal system. Its name comes from the Latin word , which means ''spine'' in reference to its pointed crystals. Properties S ...

and cubic zirconia.

Transportation

High Speed Railway * Nanning–Guangzhou high-speed railway Railway * Luozhan Railway Expressway * Nanwu Expressway Highway * China National Highway 207 China National Highway 321 Air * Wuzhou Xijiang Airport

References

{{authority control Cities in Guangxi Prefecture-level divisions of Guangxi National Forest Cities in China