Xiaolan () is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

situated at the northwest periphery of the city of

Zhongshan Zhongshan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is now part of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen conurbation with 65,565,622 ...

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. The population of Xiaolan is approximately 333,000, of which 182,000 are registered

hukou ''Hukou'' () is a system of household registration used in mainland China. The system itself is more properly called "''huji''" (), and has origins in ancient China; ''hukou'' is the registration of an individual in the system (''kou'' lit ...

residents. The town spans an area of .

History

According to some historical imperial records, a concubine of emperor Song Duzong of the

Southern Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

, eloped from the palace to pursue her true love. The concubine fled south until she finally arrived in Xiaolan, where she was able to lose the imperial guards who were in pursuit of her. When she arrived in Xiaolan, the concubine and her helpers were so attracted to the area's landscape, which was scattered with yellow chrysanthemum flowers, that they decided to take up residence there. In June 2010, a strike broke out at a Honda Lock plant in Xiaolan, with workers demanded a wage increase from 930 RMB per month to 1,600 RMB per month. Reuters reported that striking workers were intimidated by police forces, and published an image which appeared to depict riot police being deployed near the factory on June 11. In response, the plant's managers began hiring scabs in response to the strike, and offered monthly pay increases of 200 RMB. By July 2010, many of the plant's striking workers returned for such pay rise, while others quit in search of work elsewhere.

Administrative divisions

As of 2020, Xiaolan is divided into 15 residential communities. * Shakou Community () * Xinshi Community () * Dongqu Community () * Jixi Community () * Beiqu Community () * Zhuyuan Community () * Jidong First Community () * Jidong Second Community () * Shengfeng Community () * Baofeng Community () * Jiuzhouji Community () * Yongning Community () * Xiqu Community () * Liexi First Community () * Lianfeng Community ()

Economy

Xiaolan is home to over 40,000 individual enterprises, of which, over 14,000 are

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...

enterprises. Over 99% of the firms in Xiaolan are privately-owned. Major brands headquartered in Xiaolan include Vatti, ,

Chant Group A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...

(), and

Forest Lighting A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

(). The city is a cluster for a number of industries, including hardware, underwear manufacturing, audio devices, locks, and lighting.

Primary sector

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

is the main industry in the

primary sector The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy ...

found in Xiaolan Town. The town is well-known for its

Chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the cent ...

plants, and is often called “Chrysanthemum City” (), according to the town's government. From October to November every year, Xiaolan hosts a chrysanthemum festival along its major streets and parks. The show features about 100,000 pots of over a thousand varieties. Every 60 years, a grand chrysanthemum exhibition will be held in Xiaolan.

Secondary sector

Xiaolan is dubbed “Lock City of the South” as well as “Electronic Acoustic Industrial Base” in China. The two industries are the pillar industries of Xiaolan. Xiaolan controls 23% of the national market share. Indeed, there are production lines of such famous brands as Vantage gas stoves, Guli locks and St. Allen nail clippers in Xiaolan.

Locks

Over 30% of manufacturing enterprises in Xiaolan are engaged in locks and hardware production. Such production accounted for nearly 50% of the total industrial outputs of Xiaolan and employed more than 30,000 people in 2002. Xiaolan's success in this sector earned it a certification as a critical hardware industrial base by China National Hardware Association in 2002.

Audio devices

Meanwhile, a growth in the sector of electronic

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acousticia ...

, which has taken place in recent years, has made Xiaolan the first "Electronic Acoustics Industrial Base" in China. Between 2000 and 2002, over a hundred enterprises started business in Xiaolan. Both local and foreign enterprises which specialize in production of domestic stereos, DVDs,

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The ...

heads, high-tech digital audio equipment, loudspeakers, circuit boards and aluminium panels are clustered in this small town. Production bases of such foreign brands as ADS and Boston operate in Xiaolan while Philips, Toshiba, JBL, Onkyo and Jamo also run their OEM production there. In 2002, the industrial outputs of this sector reached RMB 4.6 billion, accounting for almost one third of the town's industrial output.

Lighting

The town has a sizable lighting industry, specifically in the production of LED lights. This industry accounts for over ¥10 billion in value to the local economy. Major LED brands with a presence in Xiaolan include

(), Everlight Electronics, Honbro Technologies (), Poso Lighting (), and Guangyang Appliances ().

Tertiary sector

Xiaolan has 19

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

s and about 100

financial institution Financial institutions, sometimes called banking institutions, are business entities that provide services as intermediaries for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial inst ...

s as a whole.

Research and development

To improve

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

for local firms, a technology development centre specializing in the production of locks and hardware was set up in February 2003, and post-doctoral work stations and partnerships with universities have also been established to aid the town's hardware industry. An enterprise-based technology development centre with investment from a US-based acoustics stereo enterprise, AVlight was also established in Xiaolan Industrial Zone in 2002.

Education

Xiaolan is home to 45

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, 15 public

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, 5

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, and 10

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 ...

Healthcare

The Xiaolan People's Hospital (), and the Chen Xinghai Hospital () are both located in the town. 98.85% of Xiaolan's population is insured.

Culture

Many residents in Xiaolan cultivate

chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the cent ...

s. On occasion, they provide chrysanthemum-themed banquets. They also create a number of chrysanthemum-themed

poems Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings ...

and drawings.

Sports

The town has more than 70 public sports facilities, and 21

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational i ...

nasiums. The Xiaolan Integrated Sports Centre was established in 1994, and has hosted a number of national and international

ping-pong Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

s since then.

Historical attractions

* , a bridge built in 1368 * Jihou Temple (), a temple built during the reign of the

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was th ...

(1572-1620) * Yinxiu Temple (), a temple built during the reign of the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to ...

(1661-1722) * Shuangmei Mansion (), a mansion built during the 1940s

Transportation

The town's railway station, Xiaolan railway station is situated on the

Guangzhou–Zhuhai intercity railway Guangzhou–Zhuhai intercity railway or Guangzhu intercity railway () is a dedicated, grade-separated regional railway linking Guangzhou South railway station in Panyu, Guangzhou, Jiangmen railway station in Xinhui, Jiangmen,and Zhuhai ...

Gallery

image:Man on Bike in Xiaolan Town.jpg, Man on Bike image:Schoolgirls in Xiaolan.JPG, Schoolgirls on Bikes image:Scooter Rider in Xiaolan.JPG, Scooter Rider on Mobile

References

{{Zhongshan Zhongshan Towns in Guangdong