Administration type: Province
Capital and Largest City: Guiyang
Governor: Shi Xiushi
Area: 176,100 km² (16th)
Population: (2004) 39,040,000 (15th); Density: 222/km² (18th)
GDP: (2004) CNY 159.2 billion (26th); per capita: CNY 4010 (31st)
Major nationalities: (2000) Han - 62%; Miao - 12%; Buyi - 8%; Dong - 5%; Tujia - 4%; Yi - 2%; Undistinguished - 2%; Gelao - 2%; Shui - 1%
Prefecture-level divisions: 9
County-level divisions: 88
Township-level divisions: (December 31, 2004) 1539
Guizhou (Pinyin: Gùizhōu; Wade-Giles: Kuei-chou; 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 well known by the Chinese for thousands of years but it was not until the Ming dynasty that it came under Chinese 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 30 years there would be minor revolts while every 60 years there would be major rebellions. All the revolts would be violently suppressed by the government.
Geography
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, and Qingzhen.
Guizhou has a subtropical humid climate. There are few seasonal changes. Its annual average temperature is roughly 10-20°c, with January temperature ranging from 1-10°c and July temperature ranging from 17-28°c.
Economy
Guizhou is a relatively poor and undeveloped province. It also has a small economy compared to the coastal provinces. Its nominal GDP for 2004 was 159.2 billion yuan (19.75 billion USD). Its per capita of 3568 RMB (470 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 110 million tons in 2005, a 12% growth from the previous year.
Demographics
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, Yi, Qiang, Dong, Zhuang, Buyi, Bai, Tujia, Gelao and Shui. 55.5% of the province area is designated as autonomous regions for them.
Culture
Guizhou is the home of the Moutai Distillery, distillers of Maotai Liquor, China's most famous alcoholic product. The Chinese name of the distillery is Zhongguo Guizhou Maotai Jiuchang.
Tourism
The province has many covered bridges, called Wind and Rain Bridges. These were built by the Dong minority people.
Huangguoshu Waterfall, the biggest waterfall in China.
The southeastern cornor 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.
