List of Municipal Bureaus of Culture

Guangzhou was built over 2,200 years ago, and it is the one of the famous historic cities firstly named by the State Council of China. Guangzhou is located at south of Mainland China, mid-south of Guangdong Province and the north-most of Zhujiang Delta. The city has an area of 7,434.4 km2 with a population of 7.206 million. There are 10 districs (Yuexiu, Dongshan, Haizhu, Liwan, Tianhe, Baiyun, Huangpu, Fangcun, Fanyu, and Huadu) and two county-level cities (Zengcheng and Conghua) in Guangzhou. It is the cradle of the ancient marine Silk Road, the center of Lingnan Culture, the birthplace of China’s latter-day revolution, and the frontline of China’s modern economic reform. Since 1995, Guangzhou has made an investment of RMB 0.346 billion to build more than 20 large-scale culture facilities such as Guangzhou Art Museum. With the adoption of elite strategy, people have seen many first-class works, such as the pantomime “Star Sea·Huanghe River”, the Guangdong opera (Yue opera) “Flower & Moon Shadow”. And many entertainment activities, including “Guangzhou Night”, “Holiday Culture” and “Metropolitan Wave”, have become widely recognized city brands among people here. In order to protect historic zones (such as Shamian) and famous brands with long history, the Protective Act of Historic Culture City of Guangzhou has been made and put into effect. Experts make active efforts in discovering ancient tombs and relics, and a system of special museums and city museums has been preliminarily established. Guangzhou is the first city in China that promotes the monthly “Free Day” policy and the total ticket policy for museum visitors. It firstly establishes the network of movie ticket sales. And Zhonghua Movie City is ranked a 5-star cinema by the State Administration of Radio Film and Television.

Shenzhen is located at the mid-south coastal area of Guangdong Province, with Dapengwan Gulf to its east, Zhujiang River seaport to its west, Dongguan and Huizhou city to its north, and Hong Kong to its south separated by a river. The city has an area of 2,020 km2 with a population of 7,008,400. There are 6 districts (Futian, Luohu, Nanshan, Bao’an, Longgang, and Yantian). Shenzhen is a special economic development zone, and it also shows great enthusiasm in developing cultures. Since 1995, Shenzhen has newly built 8 culture facilities such as Shenzhen Book Plaza, and people have seen many first-class works, such as the song “To the New Age”, the local opera “Flag of Tuoge”, etc.. And many entertainment activities, including “Theatre Art Festival”, “Shenzhen Golden Autumn Art Festival”, “Children’s Art Flower Festival” and “Shenzhen Month of Reading”, have become widely recognized city brands among people here. The archaeological development of ancient Shang Dynasty tombs in Wubeiling, Nanshan District, was one of the “2001 China’s Top Ten New Archaeological Discovery”. Shenzheng has also cultivated many world famous young artists, such as Yundi Li and Sa Chen from Shenzhen Art School. The culture industry here has taken its shape featured in great government supports, multi-element capital investments and development of scale for key industries.

Zhuhai is located in the south of Guangdong Province and to the west bank of Zhujiang seaport, nearby the South Sea. To the east, it is separated from Shenzhen and Hong Kong by the sea; to the south, it neighbors Macao; to the north, it is 140 km away from Guangzhou. The total map area is 7,640 km2, where the land area is 1,640 km2. Nearby mountains and seas, Zhuhai has a long coastline (731 km) and 146 islands scattering on the South Sea, which bring the city a name of “City of Islands”. There are three districts (Xiangzhou, Doumen, and Jinwan). The city has a population of 1.2528 million, where the registered population is 0.7593 million. It is a park style tourism seashore city. It is a city of art education with more than 130 private organizations engaging in various art training and education. The annual children flower festival and “Sound of Seashore” concert have become famous art performance brands of the city and the culture industry here has taken its shape.

Shantou is located at the southeast coastal area of Guangdong Province. To the west of the city, it is the city of Jieyang; to the north, it is Meizhou; to the south, it is Chaozhou; to the south, it is the South Sea. There are 6 districts (Longhu, Jinping, Haojiang, Chenghai, Chaonan) and one county (Nan’ao). The city has a total area of 2,064 km2 with a population of 4.68 million. Shantou is a famous city of overseas Chinese with the traditional Chao & Shan culture combined with the overseas Chinese culture and the trade culture, which features in classicality, openness and great compatibility. Since 1995, Shantou has established a special Shantou Culture featured in “Unique, Chao Style, Seashore, Overseas Culture” by fully taking the advantage of regional and humanistic geography strengths. An annual nation-wide large-scale symposium on culture has been held here since 1996. In 2003, City Chao Band made a successful performance named “Green Melody” in the capital city of Beijing.

Foshan is located in the middle area of Guangdong Province and the central area of Zhujiang Delta. To the east of the Foshan, it is the city of Guangzhou; to the south, it is Jiangmen and Zhongshan; to the west, it is Zhaoqing and Yunfu; to the north, it is Qingyuan. It was one of four famous towns in the Ming and Qing Dynasty. Foshan is also a famous city of overseas Chinese, as well as the cradle for Guangzhou opera (Yue opera) and Nanshi. There are 5 districts (Chancheng, Nanhai, Shunde, Sanshui, and Gaoming). The city has a total area of 3,813.64 km2 with a population of 5.3379 million. Since 1995, Foshan has made great efforts in establishing the “old town metropolitan culture”, and people have seen many first-class works, such as the dance “Charming City of Water·Lively Autumn”, the stage opera “New Home”, and the essay style opera “Price”, etc... In 1999, the city built the first historic culture community of Guangdong. It also successfully built a dozen of cultural places, such as Liangyuan Museum, Nan Feng Gu Zao Tourist Zone, Huang Feihong Memorial Hall, Yue Opera Museum, etc.. Traditional Chinese culture activities (including Yue opera, traditional lantern, paper-cutting, and dragon dance) are quite popular here.

Shaoguan is located at the north entrance of Guangdong Province. To the east, it is the city of Heyuan; to the west, it is Qingyuan; to the south, it is Guangzhou and Huizhou. There are 3 districts (Beijiang, Zhengjiang, and Wujiang), 5 counties (Qujiang, Renhua, Shixing, Wengyuan, Xinfeng) and one autonomous county (Ruyuan Yao Nationality Autonomy County). There are also 2 mandatory cities (Lechang and Nanxiong). The city has a total area of 18.4 thousand km2 with a population of 3.1263 million. Being the home town of “Mapa man” and the cradle of “Stone Canyon Culture”, Shaoguan is one of the most famous historic culture cities in Guangdong Province and was once called the “pivot for economic and cultural exchanges of Wuling area” in ancient times. It is in this city that Mid-China culture and Lingnan culture and country culture mixed up with one and another to create the unique Yue Bei culure. It is well known for its “Tea Picking Opera”. One of its counties, Quejiang county, has been honored the “National Model County of Culture” and the “Guangdong’s Model County for Implementation of South Guangdong Splendor Engineering Project”.

Heyuan is located in the northeast of Guangdong Province. To the east of the city, it is Meizhou and Shanwei city; to the south, it is Shaoguan and Huizhou; to the north, it is Jiangxi Province. It is the first city station along the Jingjiu Railway in Guangdong, the residential center for Ke Jia people in the Dongjiang River basin. There are 5 counties (Dongyuan, Longchuan, Zijin, Lianping, and Heping) and one district (Yuancheng). The city has a total area of 15.8 thousand km2 with a population of 3.2491 million. The art style in this city has an unique local flavor, and Longchuang Acrobatics Troup has received many awards with their wonderful performance. Since 1996, more than 300 nests of about 5000 dinosaur egg fossils have been discovered and protected, making this city the place with the largest number of dinosaur egg fossils with richer breeds and better protective measures in China. It is also called the “South Home of Dinosaur”. And the “Stone Canyon Tomb of Dinosaur Egg Fossils” has been admitted as a province-level cultural relic organization by the provincial government.

Meizhou is located in the northeast of Guangdong Province. To the east of the city, it is Chaozhou; to the west, it is Heyuanl; to the south, it is Jieyang and Shanwei; to the north, it is Fujian Province and Jiangxi Province. There is one district (Meijiang), 6 counties (Mei, Jiaoling, Dafu, Fengshun, Wuhua, and Pingyuan) and one city (Xingning). The city has a total area of 15.8 thousand km2 with a population of 4.90 million. Meizhou city has a rather long history and Mr. Guo Moruo (China’s famous historian) admired it as “the primary and best source of culture relics”. It is a state historic culture city, one of the major residential areas of Ke Jia people. Its unique Ke Jia culture has made Meizhou the “Land of Culture”. Traditional songs of Ke Jia people enjoy a worldwide reputation, and people have seen many first-class works, such as the large-scale music dance drama “Life of Ke Jia People” and the local opera “Lovely Couple”, etc.. Short operas such as “Honey Family” and “Chunhua on Banquet” were honored top awards in “All Star Award Festival” by the Ministry of Culture. The opera “Waiting for My Boy” was honored the “Cao Yu Opera Award” and many other related awards on China’s 8th Opera Festival. And the city has been ranked the top in the province on the aspect of public amateur art writing for continuous 5 years.

Huizhou is located in the southeast of Guangdong Province and the northeast point of Zhujiang Delta. To the south of the city, it is Dayawan Gulf, Shenzhen and Hong Kong; to the north, it is Heyuan; to the east, it is Shanwei; to the west, it is Dongguan and Guangzhou. It is called the “entrance to south Guangdong” and also a historic culture city in Guangdong Province. There are 3 districts (Huicheng, Huiyang, and Huidong) and 2 counties (Boluo, and Longmen). The city has a total area of 11.3 thousand km2 with a population of 3.20 million. Huizhou Ke Jia Folk Art Troupe and Municipal Children Art Troupe often go abroad to make performance. And Longmen peasant drawings have enjoyed a worldwide reputation. In recent years, people have done a good job on the aspect of cultural relics protection. And the archaeological project of ancient tombs in the Boluo Hengling Mountain was one of the 2000 China’s top ten archaeological discoveries.

Shanwei is located at the east Guangdong Province. To the south of the city, it is the South Sea; to the north, it is Heyuan; to the east, it is Jieyang; to the west, it is Huizhou. The city comprises downtown district, Lufeng city, Haifeng county, Luhe county, Red Gulf Economic Development Zone and overseas Chinese region. The city has a total area of 5,271 km2 with a population of 3.00 million. The city has a simple and unsophisticated folkway. The traditional local culture has unique features and maintains three rare and ancient branches of operas (Xiqin opera, Baizi opera, and Zhengzi opera), which contribute to the nickname of the city as “Home of Opera”. Since 1995, three professional troupes engaging in these rare operas (Haifeng Xiqin Opera Troupe and Haifeng Baizi Opera Troupe and Lufeng Zhengzi Opera Troupe) have made 3,300 performances in local theatres and 304 performances in Hong Kong. The mass culture & art activities of the city have made a good performance and it has obtained 20 nation-level awards and 53 province-level awards.

Dongguan is located at the mid area of Guangdong Province, the central area of Zhujiang Delta, and the east bank of Zhujiang River seaport. To the east of the city, it is Huizhou; to the south, it is Shenzhen; to the west, it is Fanyu; to the north, it is Hong Kong. Dongguan is a famous town of overseas Chinese and one of the firstly recognized historic cities. There are 32 towns (counties) in this city. It has a total area of 2,465 km2 with a registered population of 1.5619 million and a residential population of 6.40 million. The city has made great efforts in the construction of culture infrastructures and a “three-layer” (city, town, and village) culture facility network has been established. Culture plazas are popular places for people to have fun and enjoy entertainment activities. And the Dong Cheng Culture Plaza in Zhangmutou Town was ranked among the “Top Ten Culture Plazas” of Guangdong. Many traditional folk art styles (such as Qi Lin Dance and Lion Dance) enjoy a worldwide reputation. In October 2003, the 1st China’s Qi Lin Dance Game was held in Zhangmutou Town.

Zhongshan is the hometown of Mr. Sun Yat-Sen, and a famous town of overseas Chinese as well. In 1988, Zhongshan became a province-level city. It is located at the mid-south of Zhujiang Delta. To the north of the city, it is Guangzhou; to the east and south, it is Zhuhai Sea; to the west, it is Jiangmen, Hong Kong and Macao. It has a total area of 1,800 km2 with a population of 1.3483 million. Every year, the city holds 3 to 5 large-scale mass culture activities and hosts many nationwide large-scale activities such as China Chorus Festival. Sun Yat-Sen Residence Memorial Hall is among the first group of museums that are ISO 9001:2000 (Quality Management System Certification) certified in China. The Demonstration of Life of Sun Yat-Sen in the Hall received an award in 1999 China’s Top Ten Culture Relicts Display Exhibition.

Jiangmen is located at the west of Zhujiang Delta. There are 3 district (Pengjiang, Jianghai, and Xinhui) and 4 mandatory county-level cities (Heshan, Kaping, En’ping, and Heshan), which together with Xinhui District are called “Wuyi”. It is a nationwide famous town of overseas Chinese. The city has a total area of 9,541 km2 with a population of 3.807 million. In 2000, the Municipal Wuyi Library became a State 863 Key Project, namely one of the substations of Huanan Station for the Super Digital Library. Liang Qichao Residence Museum in Xinhui and Kaiping Diaolou Mesuem are state-level culture relicts, and the latter one became a candidate applying to be inscribed on World Heritage List at UNESCO in 2001.

Yangjiang is located at the southwest coastal area of Guangdong Province. To the east of the city, it is Jiangmen; to the north, it is Yunfu; to the west, it is Maoming; to the south, it is the South Sea. There are one district (Jiangcheng), 2 counties (Yangxi and Yangdong) and one mandatory city (Yangchun). The city has a total area of 7,813 km2 with a population of 2.60 million. It is a typical tourism city featured in beautiful mountain and sea scene. It is the famous “Home of Chinese Traditional Poem” and the “Home of Kite”. The annual Kite Festival has become a culture brand of the city. The refloating operation of the ancient sunken ship South Sea No.1 is a highlight in China’s underwater archaeology field, and the State Underwater Archaeological Base has been finished and put into use. An unique underwater archaeology museum (Guangdong Marine Silk Road Museum) will be built in Hailing Island.

Zhanjiang is located at the southmost point of Mainland China and the southwest of Guangdong Province. It governs the whole Leizhou Peninsula and somewhere to the north of the peninsula. To the east of the city, it is the South Sea; to the northeast, it is Maoming; to the west, it is Beibuwan Gulf; to the northwest, it is Guangxi Province; to the south, it is Qiongzhou Channel and Hannandao Province. There are 4 districts (Chikan, Xiashan, Potou, and Mazhang), 2 counties (Xuwen and Suixi) and 3 cities (Leizhou, Liangjiang, and Wuchuan). The city has a total area of 12.4 thousand km2 with a population of 6.9345 million. Zhanjiang culture has an unique local flavor. It is a combination of the simple and unsophisticated subtropical red earth culture of Leizhou Peninsula and the modern sea culture. Lei opera is a special local opera in this area and has gained many state-level art awards. There are also many first-class folk works here, such as Wu Chuan Piao Se, East Sea Man & Dragon Dance, Liangjiang Eagle Dance, An Pu Ba Yin, Suixi Lion Dance, etc..

Maoming became a province-level city in 1983. It is located at the southwest of Guangdong Province. To the south of the city, it is the South Sea; to the north, it is Yunfu and Guangxi Province; to the east, it is Yangjiang; to the west, it is Zhanjiang. The city has a total area of 11.458 thousand km2 with a population of 6.54 million. There are 2 counties (Dianbai and Maonan), one district (Maogang) and 3 cities (Gaozhou, Huazhou and Xinyi). Maoming has created many first-class culture & art works. More than 200 works have received state-level or province-level awards. Mini operas of “A Wife That Help You Get Rich” and “Hu Tugui Take A Post” were honored the top awards on the 3rd and 4th Provincial Mass Opera & Flower Festival. In 2001, A Wife That Help You Get Rich was honored the golden award on China’s All Start Award Festival and invited to make performance in Beijing. Gaozhou has been honored the provincial Home of Puppetry Art. Maoming is also the city of dinosaur egg fossils with the lowest latitude in China.

Zhaoqing is located at the mid-west of Guangdong Province. To the northeast of the city, it is Qingyuan; to the south, it is Foshan, Jinagmen and Yunfu; to the west, it is Wuzhou and Hezhou of Guangxi Province. There are 2 districts (Duanzhou and Dinghu), 2 cities (Sihui and Gaoyao) and 4 counties (Guangning, Huaiji, Deqing and Fengkai). The city has a total area of 15 thousand km2 with a population of 3.9076 million. Zhaoqing is one of the cradles of Lingnan Culture, a state-level famous historic city featured in its unique tourism culture. Since 1995, the city has made great efforts in restructuring culture relict resources and 9 historic culture protection zones have been established. The municipal government has made an investment of over RMB 0.2 billion yuans to protect and fix many rare culture relicts. Presently, there are 27 sites of culture relicts at state level or province level. By making efforts in discovering, preparing and advocating preeminent national and folk arts, people here have established many towns of folk arts. The local government has also done a good job in implementing mountain area culture engineering and accomplished many culture construction projects in the mountain and remote area.

Qingyuan became a province-level city in 1988. It is located at the northwest of Guangdong Province. To the east of the city, it is Shaoguan; to the west, it is Zhaoqing; to the south, it is Guangzhou and Foshan. There are one district (Qingcheng), 2 cities (Yingde and Liangzhou) and 5 counties (Qingxin, Fogang, Yangshan, Liannan Yao autonomy county, and Lianshan Zhuang autonomy county). The city has a total area of 19 thousand km2 with a population of 3.86 million. It is a mountain city and one of the biggest ghettos in Guangdong province. That’s why culture resources here take a picture of absolute diversity. In recent years, many professional and folk performance troupes (including Lianna Yao Song & Dance Troupe and Lianshan Folk Song & Dance Troupe) has shown great enthusiasm in culture & art exchanges, which accelerate local pace in introducing unique folk cultures to the outside world.

Chaozhou is located at the transition area between Hanjiang Delta plain (at the eastmost Guangdong Province) and the mountain area. To the east of the city, it is Fujian Province; to the north, it is Meizhou; to the west, it is Jieyang; to the south, it is Shantou. The city has a total area of 3,100 km2 (where the old town area is 2.04 km2) with a population of 2.4698 million. There are one district (Xiangqiao) and 2 counties (Chao’an and Raoping). It is a famous state-level historic city, a famous town of overseas Chinese and the cradle of Chaozhou Culture. It successfully combines advantages of Mid-China culture, Baiyue culture and sea culture and presents an unique Chao flavor. Chaozhou music is widely known as the heritage of Mid-China music culture. Traditional Chaozhou super gong and drum troupes were once invited to the World Youth Festival in Moscow on behalf of China. Chaozhou ancient zither music of “Han Ya Xi Shi (Winter Bird Playing on Water)” was also invited to make performance at the Golden Hall in Vienna. In addition, Chaozhou’s ironwork puppetry enjoys a worldwide reputation. Chaozhou has diversified and rich resources of culture relicts. Presently, there are 68 culture protection sites at all levels, where 5 sites are at the national level.

Jieyang became a province-level city in December 1991. It is located at the east of Guangdong Province. To the south of the city, it is the South Sea; to the north, it is Meizhou; to the west, it is Shanwei; to the east, it is Chaozhou and Shantou. It is also the west wing of the Chaoshan culture community. There is one district (Rongcheng), 3 counties (Jiedong, Huilai, and Jiexi) and one mandatory county-level city (Puning). The city has a total area of 5,242 km2 with a population of 5.7925 million. Jieyang was originally an ancient city in eastern Guangdong. It is also a famous historic city in Guangdong Province. Jieyang has a rich resource of local traditional cultures and was once called the Home of Chinese Folk Art. It is well known for its unique Chao opera and Ying Ge Dance. Since 1995, Chao opera troupes have been invited to many European and Asian counties for 24 times to make more than 600 performances with more than 1,300 actors. Jieyang also has many special local culture publications, such as Culture in Jieyang, Jieyang Art, and Rong Jiang, etc..

Yunfu became a province-level city in 1994. It is located at the west of Guangdong Province. To the east of the city, it is Zhaoqing and Jiangmen; to the south, it is Yangjiang and Maoming; to the west, it is Wuzhou of Guangxi Province; to the north, it is Fengkai and Deqing separating by the river. It is 177 sea miles away from Hong Kong by water. There is one district (Yuncheng), 3 counties (Xinxing, Yu’nan and Yun’an) and one mandatory city (Luoding). The city has a total area of 7,779.1 km2 with a population of 2.58 million. Since 1995, Yunfu has made great efforts in guiding various culture industries and establishing cultures at all layers. The local government successfully accomplished all goals set in the Bill of Mountain Culture Construction one year ahead of schedule. And Xinxing and Luoding have been named the nation-level and province-level culture model counties (cities). Three towns (Tiantang Town in Xinxing, Ducheng Town and Liantan Town in Yu’nan) have been honored the “Home of Guangdong Nation & Folk Art”. Many special culture activities are taking shapes and becoming new brands of local cultures, including Xijiang Folk Art Festival, ancestral temple culture and Ge songs.