Guangzhou

Guangzhou ({{zh-stpw |t=廣州 |s=广州 |p=Guǎngzhōu |w=Kuang-chou}}; Jyutping: Gwong2zau1; Yale: Gwóngjaū) is the capital of the Guangdong Province in southern China. Its international name was formerly Canton, after a French language corruption of the name of the city in Cantonese. As of 1999, the population of the city is about 4.05 million while the urban population is about 6.85 million.

Name

The Chinese abbreviation of Guangzhou is Sui (穗; pinyin: sùi; Jyutping: seoi6; Yale: seuīh). This city has the nicknames of Wuyangcheng (city of five rams), Yangcheng (city of rams), Huacheng (city of flowers), or Suicheng.

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Canton, the French diplomatic romanisation for Europeans who could not understand ideographic characters at that time, when pronounced in French, is a closer oral rendering of the name in its original Cantonese. Guangdong is a Mandarin pronunciation of the Han ideographs.

Related Topics:
Romanisation - Cantonese - Mandarin

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