Liwan District
Encyclopedia
Liwan District is one of the ten districts of Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...

, Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

.

History

Formerly named Xiguan
Xiguan
Xiguan or Sai Kwan is a traditional geographical division of Guangzhou, China. It is situated in Liwan District. The north of the area reaches Xicun and it borders on Renmin Lu eastwards. And Pearl River lies on its west and south. The area outside the west gate of Guangzhou is collectively...

, Liwan District was named after "Lizhiwan", which is derived from poem of "a bay of green water and red litchis along both banks". It covers an area of 16.2 km² and has a permanent population of about 540,000 and a permanent nonnative population of over 200,000. Liwan District is positioned in the flourishing west part of Guangzhou, on the northeast bank of the Pearl River
Pearl River (China)
The Pearl River or less commonly, the "Guangdong River" or "Canton River" etc., , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name Pearl River is usually used as a catchment term to refer to the watersheds of the Xi Jiang , the Bei Jiang , and the Dong Jiang...

.

Fangcun, in the western part of Liwan District, lied at the southwest of Guangzhou's downtown
Downtown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....

 area and south of Pearl River. It was established as a "Fangcun District" in 1949 after the Chinese Communist Party took over Guangzhou from the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

. In 2005, it was withdrawn and merged with Liwan.

Transport

Liwan district has a well-developed transport network which enables it to reap benefits as an important place for business. There is a developed traffic network connecting with the railway station and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is the main airport of Guangzhou, the capital of the province of Guangdong, People's Republic of China. Both airport codes were inherited from the previous Guangzhou airport, and the IATA code reflects Guangzhou's former romanization Canton...

 in the north. Renmin Bridge
Renmin Bridge
Renmin Bridge is a bridge crossing the Pearl River in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.Renmin Bridge connects the Haizhu District with the Liwan District, and was the second highway bridge to be put into service in Guangzhou when it was completed in 1967...

 and Zhujiang Tunnel link the banks of the Pearl River in the southern part of Liwan. Zhujiang Bridge, which connects Nanhai and Foshan
Foshan
Foshan is a city in central Guangdong province in southern China. The prefectural area under the city's jurisdiction over an area of about 3,840 km² and a population of 5.4 million of which 1.1 million reside in the city proper ....

, links the east and west together in Liwan's west. Guangzhou South Railway Cargo Station of Jing-Guang Railway and Xinfeng Terminal are in Liwan's southwest. No. 107 State Highway and Guang-Fo Highway connecting with Guang-Shen Highway are through to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. Line 1 of Guangzhou Metro
Guangzhou Metro
Guangzhou Metro is the metro system of the city of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province of China. It is operated by the state-owned Guangzhou Metro Corporation and was the fourth metro system to be built in mainland China, after those of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.The earliest effort of preparation...

 and Inner overhead road pass through the District.

Tourism

Liwan District has lots of attractions and historical sites. The historically famous Lizhiwan has a 1000-year history. Shisanhang had a foreign trade privilege for hundred years. Haishan Xianguan had a leader of Lingnan horticulture, which made contribution to the development of Lingnan culture
Lingnan culture
Lingnan culture refers to the culture of Guangdong and the nearby provinces in southeastern China, consists of Cantonese culture, and Teochew culture,Hakka culture. It is the subject of research at institutions such as the Center for Lingnan Culture...

. Now, there are two national key protection units Chen Learning Academy (Chen Clan Temple) and Shamian
Shamian Island
Shamian Island , formerly known as Shameen Island or Shamin Island, from its Cantonese pronunciation, is a sandbank island in the Liwan District of Guangzhou city, Guangdong province, China...

 Ancient Buildings, out of which Chen Learning Academy was elected one of the 8 new scenic spots of Guangzhou. There are several municipality-level relic spots: Hualin Temple, one of Guangzhou’s Buddhist “five jungles”, Taoist Zhenwudi Renwei Temple, Jiang Guangding’s former residence, Li Wentian’s Taihua Building and Xiguan big house. In addition, there are historic sites where Dr. Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...

, Zhan Tianyou
Zhan Tianyou
Jeme Tien Yow was a distinguished Chinese railroad engineer. Educated in the United States of America, he was the chief engineer responsible for construction of the Imperial Peking-Kalgan Railway , the first railway constructed in China without foreign assistance.-Biography:Jeme was born in...

, Chen Shaobai and Tang Tingguang lived or worked. There are Guangya School setup by Zhang Zhidong
Zhang Zhidong
Zhang Zhidong ; Pseudonyms: Xiāngtāo , Xiāngyán , Yīgōng , Wújìng-Jūshì , later Bàobīng ; Posthumous name: Wénxiāng ) was an eminent Chinese politician during the late Qing Dynasty who advocated for controlled reform...

, a member of the Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

 and relic site of Xicun Industrial Zone developed by Chen Jitang
Chen Jitang
Chen Jitang , also spelled Chen Chi-tang, was born into a Hakka family in Fangcheng, Guangxi, China. He joined the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance in 1908 and began serving in the Guangdong Army in 1920, rising from battalion to brigade commander...

 when was in power during PC period. All those spots are like pearls dotted in this valuable land and show people its glorious and splendid past.

In order to integrate those typical spots organically for tourists’ convenience, Liwan District Administration divides them into 4 tourist areas, Xiguan Folk Custom Area, Chen Clan Temple Cultural and Leisure Area, Shamian Continental Tourist Area, and Shisanhang Commercial and Cultural Area. It is proposed to build large-scale “Lingnan Custom” tourist project at Xiguan Folk Custom Area so as to provide domestic and foreign tourists with all-directional services in tour, culture, leisure, foods and accommodation.

Liwan District’s developed commerce. National ethical commercial street Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street is arrayed with shops and gathers a lot of businessmen. in 1995, Shangxiajiu Lu was declared the first weekend commercial pedestrian street of Guangzhou. In 1996, it was elected one of the 10 tourist attractions of Guangzhou. There are many special streets such as blackwood and jade street, ceramic crafts street, and more than 100 wholesale markets engaged in traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...

, aquatic products, shoes, stationery, metal ware, textile (knitted), electric appliance (communications) and decoration materials, among which Qingping Traditional Chinese Herbs and Huangsha Aquatic Product Market are State-level markets; Yiyuan Stationery Market, Guangdong Electric Appliance City are province-level markets. Market is flourishing, which radiates the whole nation and the Southeast Asia as well as the world.

Liwan District is a gathering place of star-level restaurants of Guangzhou, including White Swan Hotel, Guangzhou Restaurant, Shengli Hotel, Qingping Restaurant, Taotaoju Restaurant, Lianxianglou Restaurant and Panxi Restaurant. Various special Liwan foods with long history and both famous at home and abroad are available, including Shunji coconut ice cream, Wuzhanji Jidi congee, Tingzai congee, Ouchengji dumpling and Nanxin double-condensed milk.

External links

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