Dongguan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dongguan 东莞市 Tungkun; Tungkuan
Prefecture-level city
Dongguan CBD Dongguan Avenue Humen Mountain Yinxian Mountain Resort Keyuan
Location of Dongguan in Guangdong
Dongguan Location in China
Country	China
Province	Guangdong
County	331 AD
City (County-level)	September 1985
City (Prefecture-level)	1 January 1988
Municipal seat	Nancheng Subdistrict
Government
• Type	Prefecture-level city
• Body	Dongguan Municipal People's Congress [zh]
Area
• Prefecture-level city	2,465 km2 (952 sq mi)
• Urban	2,465 km2 (952 sq mi)
• Metro	19,870.4 km2 (7,672.0 sq mi)
Elevation	8 m (26 ft)
Population  (2020 census)
• Prefecture-level city	10,466,625
• Density	4,246.1/km2 (10,997.3/sq mi)
• Urban	10,466,625
• Urban density	4,246.1/km2 (10,997.3/sq mi)
• Metro	65,655,622
• Metro density	3,304.192/km2 (8,557.819/sq mi)
GDP
• Prefecture-level city	CN¥ 1.086 trillion US$ 168.3 billion
• Per capita	CN¥ 103,284 US$ 16,010
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard Time)
Postal code	523000
Area code(s)	769
ISO 3166 code	CN-GD-19
Licence plate prefixes	粤S
City flower	Yulan magnolia Magnolia denudata

Dongguan
"Dongguan" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters
Simplified Chinese	东莞
Traditional Chinese	東莞
Hanyu Pinyin	Dōngguǎn
Cantonese Yale	Dùnggún or Dūnggún
Postal	Tungkun
Literal meaning	"Eastern Bulrush(es)"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dōngguǎn Bopomofo ㄉㄨㄥ   ㄍㄨㄢˇ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Donggoan Wade–Giles Tung1-kuan3 Tongyong Pinyin Dongguǎn Yale Romanization Dūnggwǎn MPS2 Dūngguǎn IPA [tʊ́ŋ.ku̯àn] Hakka Romanization Dung1gon3 or Tûng-kón Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Dùnggún or Dūnggún IPA [tôŋ.kǔːn] or [tóŋ.kǔːn] Jyutping Dung1gun2

Dongguan is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the south, and the Pearl River to the west. It is part of the Pearl River Delta built-up (or metro) area with more than 65.57 million inhabitants as of the 2020 census spread over nine municipalities across an area of 19,870 square kilometers (7,670 sq mi).

Dongguan's city administration is considered especially progressive in seeking foreign direct investment. Dongguan ranks behind only Shenzhen, Shanghai and Suzhou in exports among Chinese cities, with $65.54 billion in shipments. It is also home to one of the world's largest shopping malls, the New South China Mall, which is seeing increased activity. Although the city is geographically and thus culturally Cantonese in the Weitou form and as well as culturally Hakka in the prefectures of Fenggang and Qingxi, the majority of the modern-day population speaks Mandarin due to the large influx of economic migrants from other parts of China. The city is home to several universities, including Guangdong University of Science and Technology, Guangdong Medical University and Dongguan University of Technology.

Economy

In the Pearl River Delta region Dongguan was the first urban area where joint production was implemented between village collectives, local Chinese Communist Party cadre, and foreign investors. In the 1990s this type of enterprise accounted for around 20 percent of all foreign direct investments and approximately 50 percent of exports by the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Today Dongguan is a major manufacturing hub, although it suffered significant loss of economic activity from the impact of the 2007–2008 financial crisis. The largest industrial sector is manufacturing of electronics and communications equipment; international companies with facilities in Dongguan include DuPont, Samsung Electronics, Nokia, Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Maersk.

The Dongguan Science and Technology Museum opened in December 2005 and is the high tech commerce park in the Songshan Lake district, which opened in 2003. The museum is a partnership with the Global IT Academy of the Brea Olinda Unified School District in Southern California, demonstrating the city's emphasis on attracting technology business. The city announced in 2005 a planned investment of US$500 million over five years for technology infrastructure improvements. The city administration is considered especially progressive in seeking foreign direct investment. Among the investors were Brazilian shoe manufacturers. Brazil excelled in manufacturing cheap footwear in the 1970s and 80s. The Brazilian community in Dongguan numbered 4,000 people in 2013.

While the city is the fourth largest export region in China, behind Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Suzhou, Dongguan has yet to gain the kind of name recognition realized by Shenzhen outside of China. This may be because the city has focused on infrastructure investment rather than the direct targeting of major corporations with financial incentives for economic development. Nevertheless, Dongguan has been identified by high level representatives of the National Development and Reform Commission of the central government as one of the most significant growth regions for technology in the coming years. As part of this plan, the Dongguan local government announced a plan to create and support a 100-billion-yuan photovoltaic manufacturing industry by 2015.

To cope with the impact of the financial crisis, Dongguan city is looking to industrial restructuring, focusing on four pillar platforms, these are governmental services, supporting measures, technology upgrade, and market expansion. The city government claims that this process has already enhanced its capability for independent innovation and the quantity of patent applications in 2008.

The city ranked 13th in Forbes China's listing of the most innovative mainland cities, as well as 18th in Foreign Policy's listing of the most dynamic cities in the world.

History

The earliest traces of human habitation in the area stretch back 5,000 years. In 1839, at the outset of the First Opium War, large quantities of seized opium were destroyed in Humen, a town that now belongs to Dongguan. Several of the major battles of the war were fought in this area.

During the Second World War, the city served as the base for guerrilla resistance against the occupation that came with the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Being a district of the Huiyang prefecture before, as its economy overshadowed the prefectural capital of Huizhou itself, Dongguan earned city status in 1985, and was upgraded to prefecture city status three years later. During this period the city changed its focus from an agricultural town into a manufacturing hub, with an average annual growth of up to 18 percent.

Geography

Geographically, the city is mostly hilly to the east and flat in the west, with 115.98 kilometers (72.07 mi) of shoreline. The urban center of Dongguan is 50 kilometers (31 mi) from that of Guangzhou to its north, 90 kilometers (56 mi) from Shenzhen to its south, 47 nautical miles (87 km) from Hong Kong and 48 nautical miles (89 km) from Macau by waterway. It is positioned in the middle of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen economic corridor, a hub for both land and sea transport.

Of Dongguan's total area, 27 percent is water, 25 percent forest land, and 13 percent arable land, while 35 percent of its land area has been fully developed.

Guan Yin Shan (Kuan Yin Mountain) in Dongguan

Skyscrapers in Dongguan

Climate

Dongguan has a dry-winter humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cwa), with abundant rainfall over the year. It lies just south of the Tropic of Cancer. The average temperature is 22.9 °C (73.2 °F) throughout the year with average rainfall of 1,893 millimeters (74.5 in). With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 23 percent in March to 57 percent in October, the city receives 1892 hours of bright sunshine annually.

Demographics

Dongguan had an estimated 6,949,800 inhabitants at the end of 2008, among whom 1,748,700 were local residents and 5,201,100 permanent migrants from other parts of the country. At the 2010 Census the population had expanded to 8,220,237. The number reached 10.5 million by 2020.

Dongguan is the hometown for many overseas Chinese, the family origin of over 700,000 people in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau and over 200,000 Chinese nationals living abroad.

Administration

Dongguan is a prefecture-level city of the Guangdong province. An uncommon administrative feature is that it has no county-level division, but the municipal government does group the 32 township-level divisions into six district areas. The city government directly administers four Subdistricts and 28 towns:

Map
1 Dongcheng Nancheng Wanjiang 2 Gaobu Zhongtang Machong 3 Hongmei Shijie Daojiao Shatian Houjie Humen Chang'an Dalingshan Dalang Huangjiang Liaobu Fenggang Tangxia Qingxi Zhangmutou Xiegang Changping Qiaotou Qishi Hengli 4 Chashan Shipai 1. Guancheng 2. Shilong 3. Wangniudun 4. Dongkeng
Name	Simplified Chinese	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2010 census)	Area (km2)	Density (/km2)	Division code	Residential communities	Administrative villages
Chengqu Area	城区片区	Chéngqū Piànqū	1,653,407	299.0	5529.78	—	4 subdistricts, 2 towns
Dongcheng Subdistrict	东城街道	Dōngchéng Jiēdào	492,875	110.0	4,480.68	441900003	23
Nancheng Subdistrict	南城街道	Nánchéng Jiēdào	289,255	59.0	4,902.62	441900004	18
Wanjiang Subdistrict	万江街道	Wànjiāng Jiēdào	244,765	50.5	4,846.83	441900005	28
Guancheng Subdistrict	莞城街道	Guǎnchéng Jiēdào	162,116	13.5	12,008.59	441900006	8
Shijie town	石碣镇	Shíjié Zhèn	246,960	36.0	6,860.00	441900101	1	14
Gaobu town	高埗镇	Gāobù Zhèn	217,436	30.0	7,247.86	441900129	1	18
Songshanhu Area	松山湖片区	Sōngshānhú Piànqū	1,467,455	433.8	3382.79	—	6 towns
Shilong town	石龙镇	Shílóng Zhèn	141,850	11.3	12,553.09	441900102	3	7
Chashan town	茶山镇	Cháshān Zhèn	156,522	51.0	3,069.05	441900103	2	16
Shipai town	石排镇	Shípái Zhèn	160,202	56.0	2,860.75	441900104	1	18
Liaobu town	寮步镇	Liáobù Zhèn	418,578	87.5	4783.74	441900111	10	20
Dalang town	大朗镇	Dàlǎng Zhèn	310,889	118.0	2,634.65	441900113	12	16
Dalingshan town	大岭山镇	Dàlǐngshān Zhèn	279,414	110.0	2,540.12	441900118	3	21
Dongbu Area	东部片区	Dōngbù Piànqū	1,349,280	493.5	2734.10	—	7 towns
Qishi town	企石镇	Qǐshí Zhèn	121,693	51.0	2,386.13	441900105	1	19
Hengli town	横沥镇	Hénglì Zhèn	204,830	50.0	4,096.60	441900106	1	16
Qiaotou town	桥头镇	Qiáotóu Zhèn	166,774	56.0	2,978.10	441900107	6	11
Xiegang town	谢岗镇	Xiègǎng Zhèn	99,387	103.0	964.92	441900108	1	11
Dongkeng town	东坑镇	Dōngkēng Zhèn	138,819	27.5	5,047.96	441900109	2	14
Changping town	常平镇	Chángpíng Zhèn	386,378	108.0	3,577.57	441900110	2	31
Huangjiang town	黄江镇	Huángjiāng Zhèn	231,399	98.0	2,361.21	441900114	7
Dongnan Area	东南片区	Dōngnán Piànqū	1,246,493	472.3	2639.19	—	4 towns
Zhangmutou town	樟木头镇	Zhāngmùtou Zhèn	132,816	118.8	1,117.97	441900112	10
Qingxi town	清溪镇	Qīngxī Zhèn	312,639	143.0	2,186.28	441900115	1	20
Tangxia town	塘厦镇	Tángxià Zhèn	482,067	128.0	3,766.14	441900116	23
Fenggang town	凤岗镇	Fènggǎng Zhèn	318,971	82.5	3,866.31	441900117	1	11
Binhai Area	滨海片区	Bīnhǎi Piànqū	1,918,652	509.3	3767.23	—	4 towns
Chang'an town	长安镇	Cháng'ān Zhèn	664,230	97.8	6,791.71	441900119	13
Humen town	虎门镇	Hǔmén Zhèn	638,657	178.5	3,577.91	441900121	31
Houjie town	厚街镇	Hòujiē Zhèn	438,283	126.0	3,478.43	441900122	24
Shatian town	沙田镇	Shātián Zhèn	177,482	107.0	1,658.71	441900123	2	16
Shuixiang Area	水乡片区	Shuǐxiāng Piànqū	543,632	261.5	2078.89	—	5 towns
Daojiao town	道滘镇	Dàojiào Zhèn	143,107	63.0	2,271.53	441900124	1	13
Hongmei town	洪梅镇	Hóngméi Zhèn	58,114	33.0	1,761.03	441900125	1	9
Machong town	麻涌镇	Máchǒng Zhèn	118,062	74.0	1,595.43	441900126	2	13
Wangniudun town	望牛墩镇	Wàngniúdūn Zhèn	84,786	31.5	2,685.65	441900127	1	21
Zhongtang town	中堂镇	Zhōngtáng Zhèn	139,563	60.0	2,326.05	441900128	5	15
Special Jurisdictions						441900400	3

Transport

Humen Pearl River Bridge

Dongguan Rail Transit Line 2

Air

Dongguan is served by Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport, but primarily by Hong Kong International Airport; ticketed passengers to HKIA can take ferries from the Humen Ferry Terminal in Humen to the HKIA Skypier. There are also coach bus services connecting Dongguan with HKIA.

Road

Many foreign travellers to Dongguan fly into Hong Kong, which gives visa on arrival to citizens of over 170 countries. After landing, visitors must apply for a visa to enter mainland China. One can travel from Hong Kong to Dongguan by ticket bus, ferry, or train. Passengers travelling overland must disembark from their transport at the Hong Kong/China border to go through customs and immigration, except for those traveling on the Mass Transit Railway intercity services (former Kowloon–Canton Railway) from Hung Hom station to Dongguan, Guangzhou and beyond.

People can also choose to drive between Hong Kong and Dongguan. With the permitted business license plate and driver license, people can drive through the customs located at Shenzhen so that to get to Hong Kong. Normally, it takes three hours for driving. In 2018, G4 Expressway (Beijing - Hong Kong and Macau Expressway) was opened, and Dongguan is one of the cities that G4 Expressway approaches. This benefits people from Dongguan to travel to those cities on G4 Expressway.

The Humen Pearl River Bridge is a suspension bridge over the Pearl River. Completed in 1997, it has a main span of 888 meters (2,913 ft). Construction work on the Second Humen Pearl River Bridge will start in early 2014.

Rail

Dongguan serves as one of the regional railway hubs in Guangdong, where the Guangzhou–Kowloon railway, Guangzhou–Meizhou–Shantou railway and the Beijing–Kowloon railway converge. Rail services in and out of the city call at Dongguan railway station where there are direct train services to Guangzhou East railway station in Guangzhou; and Hung Hom railway station in Hong Kong. High-speed rail services are also available at Humen railway station.

Among the four metro lines (Line 1-Line 4) planned for the Dongguan Rail Transit, Line 2 was scheduled to open for operations in early 2015. This was delayed and opened in May 2016. Line 2 will link towns in Western Dongguan, thereby promoting the connection of the entire downtown area with Houjie, Humen and Chang'an. It will also support Dongguan's regional transportation with other cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong by joining with the rail transit junctions of the Pearl River Delta.

Sports and culture

Basketball street art in Dongguan

Dongguan is dubbed as a "National Basketball City" and is the only prefecture-level city with three professional basketball clubs in China. Established in 1993, the Guangdong Southern Tigers are the first professional basketball club in China, and won eleven Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) championships.

The city hosted Weightlifting events during the 2010 Asian Games at the Dongguan Arena.

The 16,000 seat Dongguan Basketball Center was one of the venues for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. The venue has also hosted the 2015 Sudirman Cup badminton tournament.

Dongguan Yulan Theater is one of China's newest multipurpose performing arts venues. With its multi-layered exterior suggestive of an unfolding lotus petal, it has become a landmark in Dongguan city. The new cultural hub houses two theaters presenting a full schedule of performances, including Romeo and Juliet and the Chinese classic Butterfly Lovers. So far Dongguan has produced seven original musicals by its own and made a roadshow of 60 performances in over 30 cities of China.

Education

The city is home to 650 educational institutions: one general college, a TV University as well as technical and vocational schools, 550 primary schools and 480 kindergartens. Also, Dongguan is home to a wide range of international schools due to the large expat community.

The number of professional teachers, including those at kindergartens, totals 20,268. A comparatively integrated educational system has been set up including preschool, basic, vocational, higher and lifelong adult education. Senior high school education has developed since 1995.

The Dongguan University of Technology is located in Dongguan.

Festivals

Dongguan hosts the following annual festivals:

• Dongguan Lingnan Arts Festival (January)
• Dongkeng Workers Festival (Second day of the second lunar month)
• Machong Guanyin Festival (Nineteenth day of the second lunar month)
• Qingxi Flower Festival (April)
• Tea Tea Garden Festival (April)
• Qiaotou Lotus Art Festival (June)
• Qishi Qiufeng Culture Festival (August)
• Machong "Scent of Four Seasons" Cultural Art Festival (September)
• Zhangmutou Hong Kong Tourism Festival (September)
• Fenggang Hakka Art Festival (During the Lunar Mid-autumn Festival)
• Xiegang Mountain Climbing Festival (Third week of September)
• (Tangxia) Band Festival (October)
• Shatian Water Culture Festival (October to November)
• Hengli Niuxu Folk Festival (November)
• Liaobu Tourism and Cultural Festival (December)

See also

In Spanish: Dongguan para niños