Guizhou

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Province of south China, consisting mainly of high plateaus and bounded to the north by Sichuan, to the east by Hunan, to the south by Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and to the west by Yunnan; area 174,000 sq km/67,000 sq mi; population (2000 est) 35,250,000 (ethnic minorities comprise about 25% of the population). The capital is Guiyang; other main cities are Zunyi, Anshun, and Duyun. Chief industries include the mining of coal, bauxite, mercury, and manganese, and the manufacture of machinery, foodstuffs, and timber products; agriculture, mainly in the river valleys and terraced slopes, is based on the cultivation of rice, maize, tobacco, tea, and rapeseed.

History
Guizhou was not settled by the Han Chinese until the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), and was formerly one of the most poorly developed and sparsely populated provinces of China. In 1935 Mao Zedong became the leader of the Chinese Communist Party at a conference in Zunyi, in the north of the province. The Japanese invasion (1937–45) forced the nationalist Guomindang government to retreat to the southwest, bringing Guizhou into prominence and promoting its development.

Yellow represents the golden land of South America. Blue stands for the ocean separating the country from Spain. Red symbolizes the blood and courage of the people resisting the tyrants. Effective date: 26 November 1861. >>