Panyu

{{Contains Chinese text}} '''Panyu District''' or '''Pun Yue District''' ({{zh|t=[[wikt:番禺區]]|s=[[wikt:番禺区]]|p=Pānyú; |j=Pun1 Jyu4}}) is a district in [[Guangzhou]], [[Guangdong]], [[People's Republic of China|China]]. It used to be a [[county-level city]] before it was incorporated in the administration of Guangzhou. The name of Panyu dates back to the completion of the conquest of Guangdong by [[Qin Shi Huang]]. It was the old name of present-day Guangzhou. It covers an area of about 661.88 km². ==Geography== Panyu lies at the heart of the [[Pearl River Delta]] (珠江三角洲), its boundary straddles from latitudes 22.26' to 23.05', and sprawls from longitudes 113.14' to 113.42'. Facing the [[Lion Sea]] in the east and the estuary of the [[Pearl River (China)|Pearl River]] in the south, its eastern border is separated from the [[Dongguan]] by a strip of water, and the western border of Panyu is adjacent to the cities of [[Nanhai District|Nanhai]], [[Shunde District|Shunde]] and [[Zhongshan]], while it abuts the downtown of Guangzhou in the north. The site of the People's government of Panyu is [[Shiqiao Subdistrict, Guangzhou|Shiqiao]] which is 17 kilometers from Guangzhou and 38 and {{convert|42|nmi|km|0}} from the cities of Hong Kong and Macao respectively. ==Administrative divisions== Panyu district has seven [[Subdistrict (China)|Street committees]] (街道). The district executive, legislature and [[Basic People's Court|judiciary]] are in [[Shiqiao Subdistrict, Guangzhou|Shiqiao]] (市桥街), together with the [[Communist Party of China|CPC]] and [[Public Security Bureau|PSB]] branches. The other street committees are : * [[Qiaonan Subdistrict|Qiaonan]] (桥南街) * [[Donghuan Subdistrict|Donghuan]] (东环街) * [[Shatou Subdistrict|Shatou]] (沙头街) * [[Luopu Subdistrict|Luopu]] (洛浦街) * [[Dashi Subdistrict|Dashi]] (大石街) * [[Xiaoguwei Subdistrict|Xiaoguwei]] (小谷围街) * [[Shibi Subdistrict|Shibi]] (石壁街) ===Towns=== There are now ten towns : * [[Shilou Town|Shilou]] (石楼镇) * [[Nancun Town|Nancun]] (南村镇) * [[Shawan Town|Shawan]] (沙湾镇) - formerly Shawan Street committee * [[Dagang Town|Dagang]] (大岗镇) * [[Hualong Town|Hualong]] (化龙镇) * [[Shiji Town|Shiji]] (石碁镇) * [[Zhongcun Town|Zhongcun]] (钟村镇) - formerly Zhongcun Street committee * [[Xinzao Town|Xinzao]] (新造镇) * [[Lanhe Town|Lanhe]] (榄核镇) * [[Dongchong Town|Dongchong]] (东涌镇) ===Abolished Towns=== The following towns have been abolished, some by absorption into the [[Economic and Technological Development Zones|Development zone]] of [[Nansha District]], which see for details. * [[Lianhuashan Town|Lianhuashan]] (莲花山) * [[Xinken Town|Xinken]] (新垦镇) * [[Tanzhou Town|Tanzhou]] (潭洲镇) * [[Yuwotou Town|Yuwotou]] (鱼窝头) * [[Huangge Town|Huangge]] (黄阁镇) * [[Hengli Town (Guangzhou)|Hengli]] (横沥镇) * [[Wanqingsha Town|Wanqingsha]] (万顷沙镇) ===Official Villages=== Under its various Street committees and Towns (and in the one Development zone), Panyu has 305 administration villages - i.e. 305 village governments. There are other 'natural villages' (自然村) which administratively count as being in one or another of the official villages. ==History== There are at least 11 speculations on the etymology of the name . Established in the [[Qin Dynasty]] in 214 BC, Panyu is one of the oldest cities in [[China]]. It became the capital of [[Nanyue]] in 204 BC. As of April 28, 2005, the new district of [[Nansha District|Nansha]] (南沙) was established out of parts of Panyu. ==Economy== Statistics shows that in the year of 1998, the GDP in the district was 33.25 billion [[Chinese yuan|yuan]], an increase of 13% over the previous year, and the GDP per capita was 35.5 thousand Yuan, an increase of 11%, compared with the previous year. ==Transportation== [[Guangzhou Metro]] [[Line 2, Guangzhou Metro|Lines 2]] [[Line 3, Guangzhou Metro|and 3]] serve parts of Panyu District. Line 2 was extended into the district in Sept. 2010. [[Panyu Public Transport]] operates buses in the district. ==Tourist attractions== *[[Yuyin Mount Garden]]：One of the four famous gardens in [[Guangdong]] Province in the [[Qing Dynasty]]. *[[Baomo Garden]] *[[Lianhuashan Wonderland]] *[[Changlong Night Zoo]] *[[Xiangjiang Wildlife World]] *[[Chime-Long Paradise]] ==Celebrities== People born or have family links to Panyu: {{columns-list|2| *[[Xian Xinghai]] *[[Deng Shichang]] *[[Wang Jingwei]] *[[He Shanhe]] *[[Henry Fok]] *[[Wong Jim]] *[[Patrick Tse]] *[[Nicholas Tse]] *[[Cass Pang]] *[[Francis Ng]] *[[Sandra Ng]] *[[Lawrence Ng]] *[[Nick Cheung Ka Fai]] *[[Edmund Ho]] *[[Frankie Lam]] *[[Hu Hanmin]] *[[Selina Chow]] *[[Michael Hui]] *[[Samuel Hui]] *[[Ricky Hui]] *[[Shih Kien]] }} ==External links== {{Commons category|Panyu}} *[http://www.panyu.gov.cn/eng/jsp Panyu Municipality] *[http://www.arcticcircle.ca/panyu/index.htm?size=1&exif=&page=all Photos of Panyu, courtesy of Vince K. Chan] *[http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/China/Guangdong_Sheng/Panyu-1002279/TravelGuide-Panyu.html Panyu Travel Guide] *[http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1084138 'Red Diamond'], on Panyu's diamond processing industry, by Venkatesan Vembu, Daily News & Analysis, 11 March 2007 {{Guangzhou}} {{County-level divisions of Guangdong}} {{Coord missing|Guangdong}}