Map of Guizhou Province

Author: Wang Ruiping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: Guizhou, abbreviated as Qian, is located between 103°36′—109°35′ east longitude and 24°37′—29°13′ north latitude. It is situated in the eastern part of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in southwestern China, bordering Sichuan and Chongqing to the north, Yunnan to the west, Guangxi to the south, and Hunan to the east. The province covers an area of 170,000 square kilometers and has a population of 35.55 million, including Han, Miao, Bouyei, Tujia, Yi, Shui, Hui, Gelao, Zhuang, and Yao ethnic groups. The province is divided into 3 prefectures, 3 autonomous prefectures, 3 prefecture-level cities, 10 county-level cities, 55 counties, 11 autonomous counties, and 3 special zones. The provincial capital is Guiyang. Major cities within the province include Zunyi, Liupanshui, Anshun, and Duyun. Guizhou initially had a weak industrial foundation, but its development speed increased rapidly after the 1960s. Heavy industries such as coal, metallurgy, chemical, machinery manufacturing, and power have been gradually established. The coal mining in the Liupanshui region, aluminum smelting in Guiyang, and machinery manufacturing in Anshun all reach a certain scale. Light industries primarily include cigarette manufacturing, textiles, papermaking, leather, and silk. The brewing industry has a long history, with Moutai from Renhuai City renowned worldwide. Traditional handicrafts include Yushui flutes and xiao pipes, "Sizhou stone inkstones" from Cengong, ethnic floral borders, golden gourd pots, batik, Dafang lacquerware, and Yazhou pottery from Pingtang County. Farming follows a double-cropping system. Rice and corn are the main crops, followed by wheat, potatoes, and others. Cash crops mainly include rapeseed, tobacco, cotton, ramie, sugarcane, and sugar beets. Tea trees are distributed across the province, with the main production areas in Zunyi, Meitan, and Anshun, where green tea is more prevalent. The province is one of China's four major production regions for tussah silkworms, with the northern part being the primary silk-producing area. The province has a rich variety of forest tree species, with fir and pine being the most prominent, making it one of China's important fir production regions. The fir trees in Jinping are renowned nationwide. Famous forest products and medicinal herbs include raw lacquer, tung oil, tung tree, cork, Eucommia ulmoides, Chinese bayberry, Tremella fuciformis, etc., all of which rank among the top in production volume nationwide. Major fruit varieties include yellow pears, citrus, and apples. In the southern Red River Valley, tropical fruits such as bananas and pineapples, as well as cassava, sisal, lemongrass, and coffee, are also grown. Livestock farming primarily focuses on cattle and pigs, with (intestinal casings) and (pig bristles) being important export commodities. Area: The province's east-west length is 570 kilometers, and its north-south width is 510 kilometers, with a total land area of 176,000 square kilometers, accounting for approximately 1.83% of China's total land area. Population: By the end of 2000, the total population of the province was 35.25 million, accounting for 2.72% of China's total population. Ethnic Groups: The province has 49 ethnic groups, with the Han, Miao, Bouyei, Tujia, Yi, Gelao, Shui, Hui, and Bai ethnic groups having populations exceeding 1 million. Natural Resources: Guizhou is one of China's provinces with abundant natural resources, possessing particularly outstanding resource advantages, especially in energy, minerals, biology, and tourism. The province's land resources are primarily mountains and hills, with limited flatlands. Mountainous areas cover 108,740 square kilometers, accounting for 61.7% of the total land area, while hilly areas cover 54,197 square kilometers, accounting for 30.8%. The area of intermontane plains is only 13,230 square kilometers, accounting for 7.5% of the total land area. This geographical feature results in limited land resources available for agricultural development, especially in recent years, due to population growth and increased non-agricultural land use, leading to a continuous reduction in cultivated land area. By the end of 2002, the province had a total cultivated land area of 1,769,400 hectares, a decrease of 62,900 hectares compared to the previous year, with an average cultivated land area per capita of less than 0.05 hectares, far below the national average. Guizhou's cultivated land is not only limited in area but also of low quality, with a low proportion of fertile, deep-soiled land with good irrigation conditions. Guizhou is rich in energy resources, with diverse energy sources including hydropower, electricity, and coal. Hydropower and coal resources coexist, creating a balanced energy system. The province's hydropower potential is 18.745 million kilowatts, ranking sixth in the country, with a developable capacity of 16.833 million kilowatts, accounting for 4.4% of the national total. The province has numerous river sections with concentrated waterfalls, offering favorable conditions for development. By 2002, the province's installed power generation capacity had expanded annually, reaching 54.712 billion kilowatt-hours, ranking 12th in the country and second in the western region. Guizhou is also rich in mineral resources. The province has a diverse range of mineral resources, widely distributed, comprehensive in categories, and abundant in reserves, with favorable geological conditions for mineral formation, making it a renowned mineral resource province. By the end of 2002, the province had identified over 110 mineral types, with 76 having proven reserves. Several mineral reserves rank among the top in the country: mercury ranks first, followed by barite, chemical-grade sandstone, metallurgical-grade sandstone, decorative greenstone, and brick-and-tile sandstone, which rank second; phosphate rock, bauxite, and rare earths rank third; magnesium, manganese, and gallium rank fourth. Additionally, coal, antimony, gold, and sulfuric acid-rich iron ore hold significant advantages in the country. Coal not only has large reserves but also a wide variety of coal types with high quality, earning it the nickname "Jiangnan Coal Sea." By the end of 2002, its proven reserves stood at 4.9227 billion tons. Bauxite has excellent quality and large reserves, with proven reserves of 424 million tons. Phosphate rock reserves are 2.695 billion tons, accounting for over 40% of the national total. Barite ranks first in the country, with reserves accounting for one-third of the national total. Gold reserves rank 12th in the country, making Guizhou a newly emerging gold production base. Guizhou has a rich variety of biological species. The province has over 1,000 species of wildlife, with 14 listed as nationally protected first-class animals, accounting for 13% of the country's total number of such animals. There are 69 nationally protected second-class animals, including pangolins, black bears, weasels, large and small civets, musk deer, red-bellied pheasants, white-crowned long-tailed pheasants, and red-bellied tragopans, accounting for 25.7% of the country's total number of such animals. Plant resources include forests, grasslands, crop varieties, medicinal plants, wild economic plants, and rare plants, totaling six categories. The province's forest coverage rate has reached 30.8%, with an average forest area per capita of 0.14 hectares and a total standing timber volume of 210 million cubic meters. Over 70 rare plant species are listed in the national rare and endangered protected plant list, with four species—silver fir, Davidia involucrata, (), and Cyathea spinulosa—ranked as nationally protected first-class plants, accounting for 50% of the country's total number of such plants. There are 27 second-class protected plants, accounting for 18.9% of the country's total number, and 39 third-class protected plants, accounting for 19.2%. The province has over 3,800 species of wild plants, with medicinal plant resources accounting for over 3,700 species, making up 80% of China's traditional Chinese medicine varieties and ranking among the country's four major medicinal plant production regions. Some high-quality, rare, and valuable plants with international influence include pearl root, Tripterygium wilfordii, ostrich fern, Cordyceps sinensis, (), and impatiens (natural menthol). Additionally, gastrodia elata, Dendrobium candidum, Eucommia ulmoides, magnolia officinalis, Euonymus alatus, Phellodendron amurense, Qian dangshen, Polygonum multiflorum, cimicifuga foetida, Asparagus cochinchinensis, Lonicera japonica, Platycodon grandiflorus, Chinese bayberry, Pinellia ternata, Bletilla striata, Asparagus cochinchinensis, Gynostemma pentaphyllum, Polygonatum sibiricum, Ganoderma lucidum, and Andrographis paniculata are renowned as local medicinal herbs. Among wild economic plant resources, industrial plants number around 600 species, primarily including fiber, tannin, essential oil, and lipid plants. Edible plants number around 500 species, primarily including vitamin, protein, starch, and lipid plants. Landscape plants suitable for greening and beautifying the environment, as well as ornamental plants, number around 200 species. Over 40 pollution-resistant environmental plants also exist. Guizhou has a rich variety of crop varieties, with nearly 600 types of grain crops, oil crops, fiber plants, and other economic crops. Grain crops are primarily rice, corn, wheat, and potatoes, while economic crops are mainly tobacco and rapeseed. Economic forest trees include tung trees, camellias, tung trees, lacquer trees, and walnuts, with "Dafang lacquer" and "Liuma tung oil" being Guizhou's famous local specialties. The province raises over 30 types of livestock, with over 2,500 species of (excellent pasture grasses), providing favorable conditions for livestock development. Guizhou is a charming "natural park." The province boasts breathtaking natural scenery, diverse landscapes, spectacular karst caves, fascinating wildlife, and renowned cultural and revolutionary heritage. The interplay of mountains, water, caves, forests, and rocks creates a harmonious and integrated natural beauty. World-famous attractions such as the Huangguoshu Waterfall, Longgong, Zhijin Cave, and Majing River Gorge, as well as national-level scenic areas like Tongren Fanjing Mountain, Molan Karst Forest, Chishui Cycad, and Weining Grass Lake, are like strings of dazzling gems, dazzling and captivating. The world-renowned Long March culture, represented by the Zunyi Meeting Site and the remains of the Red Army's Four Crossings of the Chishui River, is even more awe-inspiring, inviting visitors to pause and reflect. The province's long and splendid history of multi-ethnic cultures, rich and mysterious ethnic customs, and the pleasant climate with neither severe winters nor scorching summers make Guizhou an ideal destination for tourism and summer retreats.