亚运场馆指引(英语).doc

Guangzhou (Canton), a prosperous metropolis full of vigor, is the capital city of Guangdong Province located along the south coastline of China. Being an excellent port on the Pearl River navigable to the South China Sea, and with fast accessibility to Hong Kong and Macau, Guangzhou serves as the political, economic, scientific, educational and cultural center in Guangdong area. Being the first cities benefited from Chinas Reform and Opening Up policy since 1978, Guangzhou acts as the pioneer of the economic development of the country, with thousands of large, small and medium-sized enterprises, which offer more job opportunities and make the city a heavily populated area. The city is especially prosperous in commerce, tourism, dining, finance and real estate. For travelers, Guangzhou shows much attraction through its famous sights such as the Five Ram Statue in Yuexiu Park, Pearl River and White Cloud Mountain. Guangzhou History. from googleearthIt is believed that the first city built at the site of Guangzhou was Panyu (蕃禺, later simplifed to 番禺; the locals pronounced this in Cantonese as Poon Yu) founded in 214 BC. The city has been continuously occupied since that time. Panyu was expanded when it became the capital of the Nanyue Kingdom (南越) in 206 BC.Recent archaeological founding of her palace suggests that the city might have traded frequently with foreigners by the sea routes. The foreign trade continued through every following dynasty and the city remains a major international trading port to this day.The Han Dynasty annexed Nanyue in 111 BC, and Panyu became a provincial capital and remains so until this day. In 226 AD, the city became the seat of the Guang Prefecture (廣州; Guangzhou). Therefore, Guangzhou was the name of the prefecture, not of the city. However, people grew accustomed to calling the city Guangzhou, instead of Panyu.Although the Chinese name of Guangzhou replaced Panyu as the name of the walled city, Panyu was still the name of the area