Shaoguan is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong Province (Yuebei), South China, bordering Hunan to the northwest and Jiangxi to the northeast. It is home to the mummified remains of the sixth Zen Buddhist patriarch Huineng. Its built-up (or metro) area made up of Zhenjiang, Wujiang and Qujiang urban conurbated districts was home to 1,028,460 inhabitants as of the 2020 census.^[3]

Quick Facts 韶关市Shiukwan, Country ...

Shaoguan 韶关市 Shiukwan
Prefecture-level city
Left to right, top to bottom: Downtown Shaoguan from across the Bei River, street scene in central Shaoguan, Shaoyang Tower, the Pagoda of Sixi Temple, aerial view of the city
Location of Shaoguan City jurisdiction in Guangdong
Shaoguan Location in China
Coordinates (Shaoguan municipal government): 24°48′40″N 113°35′49″E
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Guangdong
County-level divisions	10
Municipal seat	Zhenjiang District
Government
• CPC Secretary	Jiang Ling (江凌)
• Mayor	Luo Weifeng (骆蔚峰)
Area
• Prefecture-level city	18,645 km2 (7,199 sq mi)
• Urban	2,870.7 km2 (1,108.4 sq mi)
• Metro	2,870.7 km2 (1,108.4 sq mi)
Elevation	59 m (194 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[1]
• Prefecture-level city	2,855,131
• Density	150/km2 (400/sq mi)
• Urban	1,028,460
• Urban density	360/km2 (930/sq mi)
• Metro	1,028,460
• Metro density	360/km2 (930/sq mi)
GDP[2]
• Prefecture-level city	CN¥ 155.4 billion US$ 24.1 billion
• Per capita	CN¥ 54,377 US$ 8,429
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Area code	(0)751
ISO 3166 code	CN-GD-02
Licence plate prefixes	粤F
Local dialect	Hakka (regional) Cantonese (native; provincial level)
Major Nationalities	Han

Close

Shaozhou was a prefecture under the Tang and Song.

In 1589, Matteo Ricci relocated his mission house – the first ever Jesuit mission in mainland China – to Shaoguan after a fallout with the authorities in Zhaoqing. He remained in Shaoguan for a few years, eventually benefiting from Shaoguan's location on the important north-south travel route to establish connections with traveling dignitaries that allowed him to move north, to Nanchang, Nanjing, and Beijing.^[4]

During World War II the city, then called Kukong, was the temporary capital of Guangdong Province.

In June 2009, Uyghurs and Han workers clashed at a toy factory in Shaoguan (Shaoguan incident), which was followed by the Ürümqi riots in July.

Shaoguan is the northernmost prefecture-level city of Guangdong, bordering Chenzhou (Hunan) to the northwest and north, Ganzhou (Jiangxi) to the northeast, Heyuan to the east, Guangzhou and Huizhou to the south, and Qingyuan to the west. It spans latitude 23° 05'−25° 31' N and longitude 112° 50'−114° 45' E. It is situated at the southern end of the Nan Mountains (Nan Ling), which primarily run east-west here, and is marked by numerous erosion-created valleys; within its borders lies the 1,902 m (6,240 ft) Mount Shikeng (石坑崆), the highest point in the province. The city is located on the Jingguang Railway (Beijing−Guangzhou) about 221 kilometres (137 mi) north of the provincial capital of Guangzhou. Shaoguan is also readily accessible by road as it is adjacent to the G4 Beijing–Hong Kong and Macau Expressway as well as numerous other National Highways.

At Shaoguan, the Wu River from the northwest and the Zhen River from the northeast join up to create the North River (Bei Jiang) which flows south to Guangzhou. The downtown part of Shaoguan is located on a peninsula between the Wu and Zhen Rivers. The rivers are maintained at a constant level by a dam about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) downstream from the city. The city has about 20 kilometres (12 mi) of tree-lined riverside esplanades along the banks of the rivers. There are seven bridges crossing the three rivers.

Shaoguan has direct jurisdiction over 3 districts, 2 county-level cities and 5 counties:

The Fengcai Tower (风采楼) in the centre of Shaoguan was built in the Ming Dynasty. To the south of the tower, at the other end of a pedestrian shopping street, the Dajian Monastery was founded in 660.

Near Shaoguan is the town of Maba, home of relics and museum of the Maba Man, Chinese Neanderthals. Near Maba is Nanhua Temple, which was founded by Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism. Shaoguan Iron and Steel is also located near Maba.

Danxia Mountain is located in Renhua County, Shaoguan.

Northwest of Shaoguan, at the town of Pingshi, a stretch of river known as the Nine Torrents and Eighteen Shoals is a popular place for white-water rafting.

The city is served by Shaoguan Danxia Airport.

Shaoguan University is located in the city.

The main languages spoken are Hakka and Shaozhou Tuhua, related to Ping Chinese. Shaozhounese is spoken in Shaozhou city and Hakka (mainly Yetpet and Seunan dialects) are spoken in neighboring counties.

Notable people:

• Zhang, Jiu Ling (張九齡): a high ranking official of Tang Dynasty. (A.D. 618–A.D. 1127)
• Yu, Jing (余靖): a high ranking official of northern Song Dynasty. (A.D 960–A.D. 1127)
• Chu, Siu Hung (朱韶洪): Hong Kong social activist
• Regina Ho Yee Ting (何依婷): winner of 2017 Miss Hong Kong pageant, also an actress of Hong Kong

• Zhongshan Park
• Central Shaoguan
• Guangdong Grand Canyon in Shaoguan
• Nanhua Temple

• Dajian Huineng
• Hanshan Deqing
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Shaozhou