Yunfu (p=Yúnfú), formerly romanized as Wanfow, and historically known as Dong'an (p=Dōng'ān), which was formerly romanized as Tong On, from 1578 to 1913, is a prefecture-level city in western Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Zhaoqing to the north, Foshan to the east, Jiangmen to the southeast, Yangjiang to the south, Maoming to the southwest, and the autonomous region of Guangxi to the west. The city spans an area of , and has a population of 2,383,400 according to a 2021 publication by the city government.
History
The area of present-day Yunfu belonged to the
Baiyue prior to the advent of the
Qin dynasty, when much of Yunfu came under the jurisdiction of Guilin Commandery, while some of the area belonged to Nanhai Commandery.
During portions of the
Han dynasty, the area belonged to the kingdom of
Nanyue.
Following the fall of the Nanyue in 111 CE, the area of present-day
Xinxing County was incorporated into the Western Han dynasty as Linyun County (c=临允县).
Jin dynasty
Under the Jin dynasty, in 280 CE, the area of present-day
Yunan County was organized as Duluo County (c=都罗县).
In 349 CE, the area of present-day Yunan County was reorganized as Jinhua County (c=晋化县).
Two years later, the area of present-day Xinxing County was reorganized as , which governed three counties: Xinxing County (c=新兴县), Nanxing County (c=南兴县), and Dandie County (c=单牒县).
During the final years of the Jin dynasty, from 416 CE to 420 CE, Longxiang County (c=龙乡县) and Furuan County (c=夫阮县) were established in present-day
Luoding.
Northern and Southern dynasties
During the Northern and Southern dynasties period, the area of present-day Yunfu was governed by the Southern Song dynasty from 420 CE to 479 CE, then by the
Southern Qi from 479 CE to 502 CE, and finally by the
Liang dynasty from 502 CE to 557 CE.
From 557 CE to 589 CE, the area was ruled by the
Chen dynasty.
Later dynasties
The area was incorporated into the
Tang dynasty in 618 CE.
Following the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the area was conquered by the
Song dynasty (not to be confused with the aforementioned Song dynasty which ruled portions of Southern China during the 5th century CE).
Republic of China
Shortly after the creation of the Republic of China in 1912, republican officials reorganized the area multiple times.
In January 1914, Xining County was renamed to
Yunan County (which it is still called today), and in May 1914 Dong'an County was renamed to Yunfu County.
People's Republic of China
Yunfu was promoted to a prefecture-level city on April 5, 1994.
In September 2014, Yun'an was promoted from a county to a district.
Geography
67.39% of Yunfu's area is forested.
The
Xi River runs through Yunfu.
Climate
Yunfu is considered sub-tropical and enjoys fine weather year-round, characterized by mild air temperatures, plentiful rainfall and sunshine, with an annual average temperature of 22 °C, annual average rainfall of 1,580mm and annual average sunshine hours of 1,418. The time-space distribution of rainfall is uneven in a year. It is overcast and dry in spring, hot and rainy in the summer, cool in autumn, and dry and sunny in winter.
Administration
The prefecture-level city of Yunfu administers 5 county-level divisions, including 2 district, 1 county-level city and 2 counties.
|
|
|
| Yuncheng District | 云城区 | Yúnchéng Qū | 314,188 | 762 | 412 |
| Yun'an District | 云安区 | Yún'ān Qū | 269,736 | 1,231 | 219 |
| Xinxing County | 新兴县 | Xīnxīng Xiàn | 428,410 | 1,520 | 282 |
| Yunan County | 郁南县 | Yùnán Xiàn | 388,727 | 1,966 | 198 |
| Luoding | 罗定市 | Luódìng Shì | 959,067 | 2,300 | 417 |
Demographics
According to the city government, 420,000
overseas Chinese hail from Yunfu.
Ethnicity
Yunfu is home to 39 ethnic minorities, which comprise a total population of 14,038.
The largest ethnic minorities in Yunfu are the
Zhuang people, Yao,
Dong people, and the
Miao people.
While many of Yunfu's ethnic minorities recently moved to the city due to marriage and work, there are large concentrations of indigenous minorities in two villages in Yunfu: Hejiang Village (c=合江村) in ,
Luoding, and Dalin Village (c=大林村) in ,
Yunan County.
Language
Several languages are commonly spoken in Yunfu, including the
Yunfu Cantonese (c=云浮白话) of
Cantonese,
Hakka Chinese,
Min Nan, and the
Taigu Dialect (c=㑷古话).
The Yunfu Dialect is the most commonly spoken in Yunfu, followed by Hakka.
The city's Min-nan speakers are concentrated in certain areas, including the towns of and in
Yunan County, Zhaitang Village (c=寨塘村) in the town of , Yun'an District, and the towns of , , , and in
Luoding.
Speakers of the Taigu Dialect are largely concentrated in the township-level divisions of , , Taiping, Luoping, , , , , and in Luoding.
Economy
Natural resources
Yunfu has a total land area of ,
including cultivated land, paddy field. In the total area, the mountainous area takes up 60.5%, the hilly area takes up 30.7%, making Yunfu a typical mountainous city. The city's total population is 2,600,900 people, of which the nonagricultural population is 887,000 people and the agricultural population 1,713,900 people, the per capita cultivated area is 0.718 mu.
More than 670 types of plants used in traditional Chinese medicine are found in Yunfu.
Yunfu's city government states that there are over 50 types of mineral resources in Yunfu, including gold, silver, copper, iron, marble, granite, limestone, and pyrite.
Tourism
Major tourist attractions in the city include the
Sixth Patriarch Hometown Tourist Resort (c=六祖故里旅游度假区), Jinshuitai Hot Springs Scenic Area (c=金水台温泉景区), Tianlu Mountain Tourist Resort (c=天露山旅游度假区), and Panlong Cave Scenic Area (c=蟠龙洞景区).
Education
Yunfu is home to three tertiary education institutions, enrolling 13,000 students.
The city has 121
, including 15 vocational schools, enrolling 164,100 students.
Yunfu also has 174
with 258,600 students.
Culture
The city has 6 art galleries and cultural centers, 6 public libraries, and 5 museums.
Healthcare
Yunfu has 89 medical institutions, with 10,364 beds.
Transportation
With 324 National Highway running through the whole prefecture, cement-paved roads are accessible to each single township and village. Guangzhou-Wuzhou Expressway linking Guangdong and Guangxi is also connected to Yunfu which will further be united with Yulin and Wuzhou in Guangxi as well as the expressway network in southwest China. Sanshui-Maoming Railway also passes the whole municipality, which will be eventually linked to Luoyang-Zhanjiang Railway in 2008.
The Xi River has 100 kilometers of waterway, enabling direct cargo freight to Hong Kong. The Yunfu New Port (c=云浮新港), along the Xi River, serves as Guangdong largest inland port.
Notable people
External links
