Taishan, Guangdong

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County-level city in Guangdong, People's Republic of China

Taishan 台山市 Toishan, Toisan
County-level city
Taicheng Subdistrict
Location of Taishan City (pink) within Jiangmen City (yellow) and Guangdong
Taishan Location of the administrative center in Guangdong Province
Coordinates: 22°15′07″N 112°47′38″E / 22.252°N 112.794°E / 22.252; 112.794Coordinates: 22°15′07″N 112°47′38″E / 22.252°N 112.794°E / 22.252; 112.794
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Guangdong
Prefecture-level city	Jiangmen
Area [1]
• Total	3,286.3 km2 (1,268.8 sq mi)
Population  (2010 census)
• Total	941,095
• Density	290/km2 (740/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code	529200 - 529267
Area code(s)	750

Taishan, Guangdong
Chinese	台山
Postal	Toishan
showTranscriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Táishān Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Tòisāan Jyutping Toi4saan1 IPA [tʰɔ̭ːisáːn] other Yue Taishanese Hoisan [hɔ̀isān]

Former names
Xinning
Traditional Chinese	新寧
Simplified Chinese	新宁
Postal	Sunning
showTranscriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xīnníng Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Sānnìng Jyutping San1ning4 other Yue Taishanese Xinnein [ɬīnsèin]

Taishan (Chinese: 台山), alternately romanized in Cantonese as Toishan or Toisan, in local dialect as Hoisan or Toisan and formerly known as Xinning or Sunning (新寧),^[a] is a county-level city in the southwest of Guangdong province, China. It is administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Jiangmen. During the 2010 census, there were 941,095 inhabitants, of which 394,855 were classified as urban. Taishan calls itself the "First Home of the Overseas Chinese". An estimated half a million Chinese Americans are of Taishanese descent.^[4]

Geography[]

Taishan is located in the Pearl River Delta in southwestern Jiangmen Prefecture. It includes 95 islands and islets, including Shangchuan Island, the largest island in Guangdong now that Hainan has become a separate province. Taishan is one of Guangdong's "Four Counties" (Sze Yup), which excluded Heshan and is now part of the Greater Taishan Region.

Climate[]

History[]

During the Ming dynasty, the area of present-day Taishan was carved out of Xinhui County on 12 February 1499 as "Xinning County." By the 19th century, Xinning was already a source of migrant and emigrant workers, but a series of subsequent natural and political disasters in the exacerbated the situation. Aside from the disruption of the Sea Ban regulations (Haijin) themselves, their revocation led to an influx of northern settlers who began long-running feuds with the returning locals; this erupted into full-scale war in the 1850s and '60s.^[5] The 1842 Treaty of Nanking that ended the First Opium War opened China to greater foreign trade just before the California Gold Rush made the prospect of emigration to the United States appealing. Many also served as contract workers abroad, as in Hawaii and Cuba and—most famously—for the Central Pacific half of America's Transcontinental Railroad, where the Chinese made up 80% of the company's workforce as they laid track over the mountains and deserts of the west.^[6] By 1870, there were 63,000 Chinese in the United States, almost all in California.^[7]

Chin Gee Hee's Sun Ning Railway Company connected Sun Ning(Xinning) with its hinterland in 1908 and reached Jiangmen (Kongmoon) in 1913. It was notable as one of only three financed, built, owned, and run by the Chinese themselves before the 1949 Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War.^[8]

In 1914, the new Republican government renamed the area Taishan County to avoid confusion with other places named Xinning.^[9][10] (It is now, however, frequently confused in foreign sources with Mount Tai in Shandong.) During the Second World War, the Sun Ning Railway was destroyed to prevent its use by the Japanese.^[8] Japanese soldiers entered Taicheng, the county seat, in March 1941 and killed nearly 280 people. One quarter of the "Flying Tigers", a joint American and Chinese group of airmen who fought the Japanese before the United States entered the Second World War, hail from Taishan.^[11]

Taishan was promoted to county-level city status on 17 April 1992, reflecting its increasing level of urbanization.^[10]

Administration[]

Chixi (labeled CH'IH-CH'I (CHIKKAI) 赤溪) (1954)

Taishan administers 1 subdistrict and 16 towns,^[12] which in turn are subdivided into 313 administrative villages (村委会), and residential communities (社区委会).^[10] The city has 3,655 natural villages, although they do not function as administrative divisions (自然村).^[10]

Taishan's township-level divisions are:

Some of the city's natural villages include (安南江潮), Bihou (庇厚), , and (官步里).

Demographics[]

If considering the total Greater Taishan Region or Sze Yap Region, which includes Kaiping, Xinhui, Enping and Taishan, there are about 8 to 9 million Taishanese people worldwide. According to American historian Him Mark Lai, approximately 430,000 or 70% of Chinese Americans in the 1980s were Taishanese according to 1988 data.^[14] Currently some 500,000 Chinese Americans claim Taishanese origins.^[14]

While Taishan itself has a population of about 1 million, there are around 1.3 million Taishanese people overseas, distributed in 91 countries and regions.^[15] It is estimated that, up to the mid- to late-20th century, over 75% of all overseas Chinese in North America claimed origin in Taishan, so Taishan has been named the "Home of Overseas Chinese."^[4][16]

Language[]

The main dialect of Taishan is Taishanese (台山话; 台山話).^{[citation needed]} While most Taishanese today use Mandarin in school or formal occasions, Taishanese is the de facto language.^{[citation needed]} Schools require their students to speak Mandarin in the classroom, and teachers are required to lecture in Mandarin.^{[citation needed]}

Taishanese is a language of the Yue Chinese, a large group which includes, but is broader than, the Cantonese spoken in Hong Kong and Guangzhou.^{[citation needed]} Thus Cantonese and Taishanese are related but distinct.^{[citation needed]} Cantonese is also widely known in Taishan, as it serves as the lingua franca of Guangdong Province.^{[citation needed]}

Before the 1980s, Taishanese was the predominant Chinese language spoken throughout North America's Chinatowns.^[4]

Economy[]

In 2018, the city's GDP reached 43.25 billion Yuan, government revenue was 2.92 billion Yuan, fixed-asset investment was 27.33 billion Yuan, retail sales totaled 25.52 billion Yuan, and foreign trade totaled 13.76 billion Yuan.^[1]

Power Generation[]

The city is home to two major power plants: the Guohua Taishan Power Station and the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant.^[1]

Culture[]

Sports[]

Taishan is nicknamed the "hometown of volleyball",^[1] after the game was introduced to the city in 1915 by Lingnan University student Wu Xiumin (伍秀民).^[17] Many prominent Chinese volleyball players have subsequently hailed from Taishan.^[17] In recent years, local governments in the city have invested in the area's volleyball programs, and the city hosted a number of Volleyball Women's Nations League matches in 2018.^[17]

Music[]

Taishan and Guangzhou are the birthplaces of Guangdong music.^{[citation needed]}

Music and Entertainment[]

Taishan hosts Jiangmen Star Park which has produced more international Chinese celebrities than any other region or city in China.^{[citation needed]}

Parts of the movie Let the Bullets Fly were filmed in Taishan in 2010.^[18][19]

Education[]

Education enjoys significant support from Overseas Chinese professionals and businessmen. Many secondary schools were built and financed by Chinese living in China's Special Administrative Regions, as well as various foreign countries, such as the United States, Canada, and Brazil. To honor their benefactors, these schools often bear either their names or the names of said donor's parents.

For example, the Peng Quan School (鹏权中学; 鵬權中學) is a prime example, which was constructed during 1999–2001, and is now integrated into Taishan's public school system. It is situated on the west side of Taicheng, and was built by a Hong Kong businessman.^[20]

There are many middle schools and high schools in Taishan, but no academic universities. Students must study rigorously in order to be accepted at universities located in other cities.

Taishan schools include:

University:

• Taishan Panshi Television University (台山磐石电视大学)

Secondary schools (including combined junior-senior high schools and senior high schools):

Notable people[]

• Alan Chin: American contemporary artist.
• Anna May Wong: International movie star.
• Annie Wu Suk-ching: Founder of Beijing Air Catering Ltd. and member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
• Anthony Wong: Award-winning British Hong Kong actor, screenwriter and film director.
• Arthur Chin: Kuomintang fighter pilot and flying ace.
• Bill Lann Lee: U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Clinton Administration.
• Chen Yunchang: Actress considered to be the third "Queen of Chinese Cinema".
• : American restaurateur and importer in Chicago.
• Chin Siu Dek: Grandmaster of Kung Fu San Soo.
• Danny Chan: Hong Kong singer.
• Donnie Yen: Hong Kong Chinese martial artist, actor, director, fight choreographer and producer.
• Ed Lee: Mayor of San Francisco.
• Evan Low: Mayor of Campbell, California.
• Flora Chan: Hong Kong actress and singer.
• Gary Locke: Governor of Washington State (1996–2006), U.S. Secretary of Commerce (2009-2011) and U.S. Ambassador to China (2011–2014).
• : Master of the Southern Praying Mantis Gung Fu school.
• Gordon Lam: Hong Kong actor.
• Harry Lee: long-time sheriff of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
• Hiram Fong: U.S. Senator from Hawaii (1959-1977).
• Hu Die: Actress considered to be the first "Queen of Chinese Cinema".
• Inky Mark: Canadian politician, mayor of Dauphin (1994-1997) and Member of Parliament (1997-2004).
• Jack Yan: Magazine publisher in New Zealand.
• James Hong: American actor with over 500 television, film and video game credits, and former civil engineer.
• James Tak Wu: Founder of Maxim's Catering Limited, Hong Kong's largest food and beverage corporation and restaurant chain.
• James Wong Howe: American cinematographer.
• John Tsang: Financial Secretary of Hong Kong.
• : U.S. Air Force pilot, surgeon and author.
• Julius Chan: Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (1980-1982, 1994-1997, 1997).
• Ken Hom: American chef, author and television-show presenter.
• Kylie Kwong: Australian chef, restaurateur, author and television-show presenter.
• : American photographer and artist.
• Leland Yee: California State Senator and convicted arms trafficker.
• Li Enliang: Chinese civil engineer and educator.
• Margaret Chin: American politician on the New York City Council representing Chinatown.
• Matt Fong: Treasurer of the State of California (1995-1999).
• Mel Chin: American contemporary conceptual artist.
• Myolie Wu: Hong Kong actress and singer.
• Norman Kwong: championship-winning Canadian football player (1948, 1954, 1955, 1956) and Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta (2005-2010).
• Patrick Yu: Hong Kong lawyer, Crown Counsel and founder of its first law school.
• Wong Koon Chung: Lead guitarist for Beyond.
• Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow: Mobster and Dragon Head of the San Francisco Chinese Freemasons.
• Shawn Yue: Hong Kong actor and singer.
• Tony Leung: Hong Kong actor.
• Tyrus Wong: American painter, muralist, ceramicist, lithographer, designer and kite maker.
• : American author of The Eighth Promise.
• Wong Ka Keung: Bassist for Beyond.
• Wong Ka Kui: Lead singer of Beyond.
• Wong Kim Ark: Defendant in United States v. Wong Kim Ark - 169 U.S. 649 (1898).
• Wu Lien-teh: Nominee for the Nobel prize in physiology or medicine
• Yip Sai Wing: Drummer for Beyond
• Yu Yongding: Influential economist

Transportation[]

Taishan railway station, which is built in resemblance with the former Ningcheng Station on Sunning Railway

Taishan is accessible by bus with a long-distance bus station in Taicheng, and through a port at on the which flows into the Pearl River Delta.^{[citation needed]} The ferry service between GongYi and Hong Kong has been discontinued.^{[citation needed]}

Ferry[]

Ferry services connect the island of Shangchuan with the mainland, sailing between the Sanzhou Harbor (三洲港) on Shangchuan, and Shanzui Harbor (山咀港) in the town of Chuandao.^[21][22] There are also daily ferry services between Sanzhou Harbor and the nearby island of Xiachuan.^[22]

Rail[]

In 2018, the Taishan railway station (台山站) opened in Taicheng Subdistrict, connecting the city via rail.^[23] The station, located 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) north of the city center, is a stop on the Shenzhen–Zhanjiang high-speed railway, and has a couple dozen trains a day to Guangzhou South railway station.^{[citation needed]}

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taishan, Guangdong.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Taishan.

• China Taishan Web
• Taishan City Government
• Chinese Genealogy
• Map of Taishan
• Hoisanese to English Dictionary
• Taishan Culture & Loisirs (Association of the Taishan expatriate community)