Guangxi province

Guangxi, officially Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is a Chinese autonomous region in South Central China, bordering Vietnam. Formerly a province, Guangxi became an autonomous region in 1958.

Guangxi´s location, in mountainous terrain in the far south of China, has placed it on the frontier of Chinese civilization throughout much of China's history. The current name "Guang" means "expanse" and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. It was given provincial level status during the Yuan Dynasty, but even into the 20th century it was considered an open, wild territory.

The abbreviation of the province is "?" (Pinyin: Guì; Zhuang: Gvei), which comes from the city of Guilin, the former capital, center of much of Guangxi's culture, politics, and history, and currently the third largest city in the autonomous region. But now Guilin overly relied on a tourism economy and its position was replaced by current capital city of Nanning, the largest city of Guangxi.

Pagodas in Guilin.

Tourism
The major tourist attraction of Guangxi is Guilin, a city famed across China and the world for its spectacular setting by the Li Jiang (Li River) among karst peaks. It also used to be the capital of Guangxi and Jingjiang Princes' City, the old princes' residence, is open to the public. South of Guilin down the river is the town of Yangshuo, which has become a favourite destination for foreign tourists.

Ethnic minorities in Guangxi, such as the Zhuang and Dong, are also interesting for tourists. The northern part of the province, bordering Guizhou, is home to the Longsheng Rice Terraces, some of the steepest in the world. Nearby is Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County.

Zhuang people in Longzhou

The Han Chinese are the largest ethnic group. Of these, the main subgroups are those that speak Southwestern Mandarin and Yue varieties of Chinese.

The region has over 14 million Zhuang, the largest minority ethnicity of China. Over 90 percent of Zhuang in China live in Guangxi, especially in the central and western regions. There is also a significant number of both Dong and Miao minority peoples. Other ethnic groups include: Yao, Hui, Yi (Lolo), Shui, and Gin (Vietnamese). There is a minor Christian population, which is subject to rigorous official regulations.

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