Huizhou

Huizhou is one of the central cities in the Pearl River Delta. It neighbours with Shenzhen and Hong Kong, north to Heyuan, east to Shanwei, and west to Dongguan and Guangzhou. It has jurisdiction over Huicheng District, Huiyang District, Huidong County, Boluo County and Longmen County. It has two national development zones: Zhongkai High-tech Industrial Development Zone and Daya Bay Economic and Technological Development Zone. Huizhou is the key development area of Guangdong Province. With its rapid economic development, Huizhou has become a newly industrialised city in the eastern part of the Pearl River Delta. In December 2018, Huizhou was listed in the "Top 30 Prefecture-level Cities in   mainland China".

Huizhou was the forefront in the history of modern Chinese resistance. The main force in south China's War of Resistance against Japan – Dongjiang Troop was founded in Huizhou. From the Tang Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty, there were more than 430 Chinese celebrities who had lived in or visited Huizhou for field trip. It left behind many historical and cultural heritages that the Huizhou people are proud of.

Huizhou is a historical and cultural city in China. It has been an important town in eastern Guangdong since Sui and Tang Dynasties. It has always been the political, economic, military and cultural centre, and commodity distribution centre of the Dongjiang River Region. It enjoys the titles of "Lingnan Excellent County" (岭南名郡), "Gateway of East Guangdong" (粤东门户), and "A City with Beautiful Mountain and Lake Landscape" (半城山色半城湖).

Huizhou is located in the south-central part of Guangdong Province. It has a subtropical monsoon climate with abundant rainfalls and sunshine. The annual average precipitation is 2,200 mm, the annual average temperature is 22℃. The rainfall season is in July and August, and the sunniest season is in September and October. Huizhou covers a land area of 11,200 square kilometres, accounting for 1/4 of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone.

By the end of 2017, Huizhou had a permanent population of around 4.77 million, the registered population was around 3.69 million. The birth rate was 15.21‰, the mortality rate was 4.77‰, and the natural population growth rate was 10.45‰.

Electronics industry and petrochemical industry are the two pillar industries in Huizhou. By 2017, Huizhou's GDP ranked fifth in Guangdong Province. It ranked 33rd among the prefecture-level cities in the comprehensive well-off index in China. Huizhou reached a GDP of around ¥383.06 billion, grew by 7.6% over the previous year. The added value of the primary industry was ¥17.18 billion, up by 4.2%; that of the secondary industry and the tertiary industry was ¥209.92 billion and ¥155.96 billion, up by 7.9% and 7.6%, respectively. The proportion of the three industries were 4.5 : 54.8 : 40.7. The added value of private economy was ¥168.46 billion, up by 7.7%. The per capita GDP was ¥80,205 (US$11,879).

Overseas Chinese with Huizhou being their ancestral home spread all over the world. There are many overseas Huizhou people groups, which can be divided into four types: peer groups with the same hometown, the same profession, the same dialect, and the same family name. Huizhou Overseas Chinese Association was founded on December 8, 1982. It is an independent association with 9 members. It is a   unit of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) which serves as a bridge between the Party, the returned overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese.

Huizhou is situated at the junction of the three major dialect areas of Hakka, Cantonese and Hokkien. Hence, the spoken language in Huizhou is diversified. Hakka is the major dialect in Huizhou – distributed in most of the counties and districts. Due to the popularisation of mandarin and migrants from other provinces, the use of mandarin is changing. In public places, especially in Huicheng district, the use of dialects is much lower than mandarin. The use of dialects in each county shows a decreasing trend, as well.

Huizhou is one of the important habitats and distribution centres of Hakka people. Huizhou Hakka culture inherited the traditions from its origin places – Meizhou, southern Jiangxi Province and western Fujian province, it is also influenced by the Lingnan culture, thus forming a unique style.

Huizhou has abundant tourism resources, including high-quality natural landscapes, cultural relics and historical sites, and modern tourism sites. By the end of 2014, there were more than 70 scenic spots, in which 19 were national and provincial scenic spots and nature reserves, and 1 national 5A scenic spot (Luofu Mountain罗浮山风景名胜区).

• Natural landscape

There are 16 mountains with unique scenery: Luofu Mountain (罗浮山), Nankun Mountain (南昆山), Xiangtou Mountain (象头山), Jiulongfeng (九龙峰), Lotus Mountain (莲花山), Baima Mountain (白马山), Wumaguicou (五马归槽), Baiyunzhang (白云嶂), Honghuazhang (红花嶂), Xieyan Top (蟹眼顶), Pingtianzhang (坪天嶂), Wuqingzhang (乌禽嶂), Axe Stone (斧头石), Xianren Village (仙人寨), Guifeng Mountain (桂峰山) and Sanjiao Mountain (三角山). Among them, Luofu Mountain Tourism Zone (罗浮山风景区), Nankun Mountain National Forest Park (南昆山国家森林公园) and Huidongjiulong Mountain (惠东九龙峰) are developed tourism spots.

There are around 130 lakes and reservoirs in the city, such as West Lake (西湖), Baipenzhu Reservoir (白盆珠水库), Tiantangshan Reservoir (天堂山水库), Xian'gang Reservoir (显岗水库), Huashuxia Reservoir (花树下水库), Jiaodong Reservoir (角洞水库) and Honghua Lake (红花湖), etc.

• Cultural Landscape 

Cultural landscape in Huizhou mainly includes historical relics, scenic spots of revolutionary significance and folk customs. Famous natural sites are: Sizhou Pagoda (泗州塔), Ancient City Wall, Wenbi Pagoda (文笔塔), Huang Family Temple (黄家祠), Sudongpo Memorial Hall (苏东坡纪念馆), etc. The main revolutionary memorial sites are Yat-sen Memorial Hall (中山纪念堂), Deng Yanda Memorial Garden (邓演达纪念园), Zhongyuan Pavilion (仲元亭), Dongjiang Troop Memorial Hall (东江纵队纪念馆), Dongjiang Revolutionary Martyrs Monument (东江人民革命烈士纪念碑), General Ye Ting Memorial Garden (叶挺将军纪念园), and   Liao Zhongkai Monument (廖仲恺纪念碑), etc.