Guancheng Subdistrict (, a genus of sedges") is a subdistrict in

Guangdong Province Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, China under the administration of Dongguan City. It has an area of , and a residential population of 230,000, of which 152,000 are new residents. Guancheng was the old political and cultural centre of Dongguan, before the government moved to the new centre in the Nancheng Subdistrict.

History

Guancheng Subdistrict has been home to the seat of Dongguan's government since 757 CE, during the early

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. In the late 14th century, during the reign of the

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts i ...

of the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

, the was built within present-day Guancheng. Later in the Ming Dynasty, the was built to commemorate the city's trade with

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. Upon the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Guancheng was designated as a city. Guancheng was re-designated as a

people's commune The people's commune () was the highest of three administrative levels in rural areas of the People's Republic of China during the period from 1958 to 1983, until they were replaced by townships. Communes, the largest collective units, were div ...

from 1958 to 1980. In January 1988, Dongguan was upgraded to a prefecture-level city.

Geography

Located near the center of Dongguan, the Guancheng Subdistrict encompasses the historic center of the city. The subdistrict lies 59 kilometers away from

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

, 99 kilometers from

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provi ...

, and 140 kilometers from

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

. Guancheng Subdistrict is bordered by Dongcheng Subdistrict, Nancheng Subdistrict, and Wanjiang Subdistrict.

Administrative divisions

Guancheng Subdistrict is divided into 8 residential communities: Dongzheng Residential Community (), Shiqiao Residential Community (), Beiyu Residential Community (), Xiyu Residential Community (), Luosha Residential Community (), Bosha Residential Community (), Xingtang Residential Community (), and Chuangye Residential Community ().

Politics

Guancheng Subdistrict used to be the political center of Dongguan City. The following is the list of political office-holders of Guancheng Subdistrict:

Economy

As of 2019, the subdistrict's

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...

totaled ¥21.595 billion,

fixed asset A fixed asset, also known as long-lived assets or property, plant and equipment (PP&E), is a term used in accounting for assets and property that may not easily be converted into cash. Fixed assets are different from current assets, such as cash ...

investment totaled ¥2.946 billion, retail sales totaled ¥13.440 billion, and the subdistrict's tax revenue totaled ¥4.581 billion. Guancheng Subdistrict's three major business districts are: West Gate Avenue (), Diwang Square (), and Yujing Square CBD ().

Education

Within Guancheng Subdistrict, there is 1 undergraduate university, 3

vocational A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious c ...

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s, 3 standard secondary schools, 1 technical vocational school, 1

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

school, 8

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s, 7

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

s, 1 sports academy, and 17

private schools An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...

. Notable educational institutions within Guancheng Subdistrict include: * Dongguan University of Technology's Guangcheng Campus * Dongguan Middle School () * Dongguan Experimental High School () * Dongguan Middle School—Junior High School () * Dongguan Keyuan High School () * Dongguan Bubugao Primary School () * Guancheng Construction of Primary School () * Guancheng Experimental Primary School () * Guancheng Central Primary School ()

Healthcare

Guancheng Subdistrict is the center for medical and health services in Dongguan City. There are many large integrated medical institutions, including: * Dongguan People's Hospital () * Dongguan Traditional Chinese Medical Hospital () * Dongguan People's Hospital of Guancheng Subdistrict () * Guancheng Hospital () * Dongguan Maria's Maternity Hospital ()

Cultural attractions

* Ke Yuan (), a famous garden in Guangdong. * , located on the corner of Jiaochang Road and Guangming Road, is a

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek language, Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ...

which was built in 1541. The monument pays tribute to , a local businessman and political figure who, as the

county magistrate County magistrate ( or ) sometimes called local magistrate, in imperial China was the official in charge of the '' xian'', or county, the lowest level of central government. The magistrate was the official who had face-to-face relations with t ...

of nearby , who became famous for good relations with

. This stele was made from bluestone with a hard texture. The stele is long, wide and high with a red-sandstone rectangular base. Daoshengyuan

* Ouge Pavilion (), Established 1921, Ouge Pavilion lies on the west side of Yu Mountain in Dongguan People's Park. The arbours sitting southeast-to-northwest, wide, deep and high. Ouge Arbours was in honour of Huang Chunlin, the head of Dongguan County, and was built by the local people to mark the many good works he did. In 2008, the managers of the park repaired the arbours according to its original sample and installed stone tables and stools for tourists. * Daosheng Park () Daosheng Park was built by Zhang Jiamo, the nephew of Ke Yuan founder Zhang Jingxiu. It stands in Daofu Alley of Guancheng Subdistrict. The whole park sat northwest-to-southeast. Ju Chao () and Ju Lian () have lived in this park for about 10 years, where they founded the Ling-nan School of painters. The original area of Daosheng Park was about 750 kilometers. However, after hundreds of years, there were only several old and shabby houses.

Gallery

Guancheng Subdistrict is the Old Town of Dongguan City. Here are some of its sights: File:Zhenghua Road.jpg, ''Zhenhua Road'' 振华路 File:Old-business-street.jpg, ''Old Business Street'' 莞城旧式商业街 File:Traditional-Snacks-in-Dongguan.jpg, ''Traditional Snacks in Dongguan'' 东莞传统小吃 File:Arcade-in-Guancheng-Subdistrict.jpg, ''Arcades in Guancheng Subdistrict'' 莞城骑楼 File:Qincai-Tang-Commercial-Market.jpg, ''Qincai Tang Commercial Market'' 莞城芹菜塘商贸市场 File:ZhitingStreet.jpg, ''Zhiting Street'' 旨亭街（旨亭街排骨饭） File:Dongguanpeople'spark.jpg, ''Dongguan People's Park'' 东莞人民公园

References

External links

Dongguan Middle School (东莞中学)
– campus network
Ouge Arbours (讴歌亭)
Likin Storm () – the story of Ouge Arbours
Ju Chao (居巢)
– official website of painter Ju Chao
Ju Lian (居廉)
– official website of painter Ju Lian

– map of Dongguan City {{Authority control . Geography of Dongguan Subdistricts of the People's Republic of China