Nanhai District 南海区

Setting and landscape

Nanhai lies on the delta plain, broken by isolated hills; the highest point, Gaoaoding (高凹顶), reaches 540 m. The main streams of both the Xi River (西江) and the Bei River (北江) cross the district, and to the west it faces Gaoming (高明) and Heshan (鹤山) across the river. Rain is concentrated from April to September, and typhoons often affect the area between July and October.

History

The name goes back to Nanhai Commandery, set up under the Qin in 214 BC; Nanhai County followed in 590 under the Sui. For centuries the county seat was inside Guangzhou: under the Qing, Nanhai and Panyu (番禺) were the two counties seated inside Guangzhou city, and the offices of the Liangguang governor-general and the Guangdong governor lay within Nanhai's part of it. The seat moved to Foshan in 1912 and to Guicheng in 1988; Nanhai became a county-level city in 1992 and a district of Foshan in 2002. Notable natives listed by the district include Kang Youwei (康有为), Zhan Tianyou (詹天佑), Wong Fei-hung (黄飞鸿) and He Xiangning (何香凝). Lion dance is widespread: Nanhai alone has more than 2,100 lion-dance troupes.

What to see

Mount Xiqiao is an ancient volcano about 45 million years old, rising to about 344 m, with 72 peaks, 36 caves and 28 waterfalls. It is a national scenic area and AAAAA tourist attraction, known as the hometown of Wong Fei-hung and a birthplace of southern lion dance. People made "double-shouldered" stone tools here about 6,000 years ago, and the hill is described as the largest ancient quarry site in South China. Ming and Qing academy ruins, cliff inscriptions and Baofeng Temple (宝峰寺), over 600 years old, survive on its slopes.

Songtang Village (松塘村), in Xiqiao town, dates from the Song dynasty and became a national historic and cultural village in 2010; its lanes face the pond, and it keeps wok-handle-gabled houses (镬耳屋) and the Ou Clan Ancestral Hall (区氏宗祠). Pingzhou Jade Street (平洲玉器街) in Guicheng is listed as one of China's four major jade markets and a base for processing and wholesaling Burmese jadeite. Nanhai Film and Television City (南海影视城) in Shishan (狮山), a production base of China Media Group opened in 1998, has imperial-palace, Jiangnan water-town and Hong Kong-Macau culture areas.

Food and local products

Jiujiang (九江) is known as China's home of largemouth bass (加州鲈), and Linyue (林岳) diaosi bamboo shoots (吊丝丹笋), crisp and sweet without fibrous residue, are in season from May to October.

Highlights

• Mount Xiqiao 西樵山: Ancient volcano about 45 million years old, a national scenic area with Baofeng Temple, cliff inscriptions and a prehistoric stone-tool quarry.
• Songtang Village 松塘村: Song-dynasty village in Xiqiao, a national historic and cultural village since 2010.
• Pingzhou Jade Street 平洲玉器街: Listed as one of China's four major jade markets, specialising in Burmese jadeite.
• Nanhai Film and Television City 南海影视城: Film base in Shishan opened in 1998, with imperial-palace, Jiangnan water-town and Hong Kong-Macau culture areas.
• Linyue diaosi bamboo shoots 林岳吊丝丹笋: Crisp, sweet bamboo shoots in season from May to October.