Dongguan

For other uses, see Dongguan (disambiguation).

Dongguan 东莞
—  Prefecture-level city  —
东莞市
From top left:Guanyinshan , Dongguan Avenue (Central Business District), Humen Pearl River Bridge, & Keyuan
Location of Dongguan in Guangdong
Dongguan Location in China
Coordinates: 23°2′N 113°43′E
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Guangdong
Founded	331 AD
Government
• CPC Committee Secretary	Xu Jianhua (徐建华)
• Mayor	Yuan Baocheng (袁宝成)
Area
• Total	2,465 km2 (952 sq mi)
Population (2010)
• Total	8,220,237
• Density	Bad rounding here3,300/km2 (Bad rounding here8,600/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard Time (UTC+8)
Postal code	523000
Area code(s)	769
Licence plate prefixes	粤S
GDP
- Total	¥ 424.6 billion (2010)
- Per capita	¥ 53,285 (2008)
City flower	Yulan magnolia Magnolia denudata
Website	http://www.dongguan.gov.cn/

Dongguan
Simplified Chinese	东莞
Traditional Chinese	東莞
Cantonese Jyutping	Dung1 gun2
Cantonese Yale	Dūnggún
Hanyu Pinyin	Dōngguǎn
Postal Map	Tungkun
Literal meaning	Smiling east
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Dōngguǎn - IPA Mandarin pronunciation: [tʊ́ŋkwàn] Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping Dung1 gun2 - Yale Romanization Dūnggún

Dōngguǎn (Chinese: 东莞), is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.

An important industrial city located 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.

The city is known as "China's sex capital", with the prostitution sector - consisting of brothels, massage parlours, nightclubs, sex hotels, sauna centres and karaoke bars - estimated to contribute 20 to 30 per cent of the total output of the city's service industry, employing between 500,000 and 800,000 people.

It is also home to the world's largest, though mostly empty, shopping mall, New South China Mall. City administration is considered especially progressive in seeking foreign direct investment. The three neighboring municipalities of Guangzhou, Dongguan, and Shenzhen are home to over 25 million residents, accounting for a large proportion of the Pearl River Delta Region's population.

Dongguan ranks behind only Shenzhen, Shanghai and Suzhou in exports among Chinese cities, with $65.54 billion in shipments.

Administration

Dongguan has no intermediate county level; instead it is divided into:

Map
#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2010 Census)	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)
Chengzhen Area				303,966	24.8	12,256.69
1	Guancheng District	莞城区	Guǎnchéng Qū	162,116	13.5	12,008.59
31	Shilong Town	石龙镇	Shílóng Zhèn	141,850	11.3	12,553.09
Shuixiang Area				1,109,686	315.0	3,522.81
4	Wanjiang District	万江区	Wànjiāng Qū	244,765	50.5	4,846.83
5	Gaobu Town	高埗镇	Gāobù Zhèn	217,436	30.0	7,247.86
6	Zhongtang Town	中堂镇	Zhōngtáng Zhèn	139,563	60.0	2,326.05
7	Machong Town	麻涌镇	Máchǒng Zhèn	118,062	74.0	1,595.43
8	Wangniudun Town	望牛墩镇	Wàngniúdūn Zhèn	84,786	31.5	2,685.65
10	Hongmei Town	洪梅镇	Hóngméi Zhèn	58,114	33.0	1,761.03
32	Shijie Town	石碣镇	Shíjié Zhèn	246,960	36.0	6,860.00
Yanhai Area				2,061,759	572.3	3,602.58
9	Daojiao Town	道滘镇	Dàojiào Zhèn	143,107	63.0	2,271.53
11	Shatian Town	沙田镇	Shātián Zhèn	177,482	107.0	1,658.71
12	Houjie Town	厚街镇	Hòujiē Zhèn	438,283	126.0	3,478.43
13	Humen Town	虎门镇	Hǔmén Zhèn	638,657	178.5	3,577.91
14	Chang'an Town	长安镇	Cháng'ān Zhèn	664,230	97.8	6,791.71
Qiuling Area				1,733,155	523.5	3,310.70
2	Dongcheng District	东城区	Dōngchéng Qū	492,875	110.0	4,480.68
15	Dalingshan Town	大岭山镇	Dàlǐngshān Zhèn	279,414	110.0	2,540.12
16	Dalang Town	大朗镇	Dàlǎng Zhèn	310,889	118.0	2,634.65
17	Huangjiang Town	黄江镇	Huángjiāng Zhèn	231,399	98.0	2,361.21
28	Liaobu Town	寮步镇	Liáobù Zhèn	418,578	87.5	4783.74
Shanqu Area				1,345,880	575.3	2,339.44
19	Fenggang Town	凤岗镇	Fènggǎng Zhèn	318,971	82.5	3,866.31
18	Tangxia Town	塘厦镇	Tángxià Zhèn	482,067	128.0	3,766.14
20	Qingxi Town	清溪镇	Qīngxī Zhèn	312,639	143.0	2,186.28
21	Zhangmutou Town	樟木头镇	Zhāngmùtou Zhèn	132,816	118.8	1,117.97
22	Xiegang Town	谢岗镇	Xiègǎng Zhèn	99,387	103.0	964.92
Putian Area				1,624,473	458.5	3,543.01
3	Nancheng District	南城区	Nánchéng Qū	289,255	59.0	4,902.62
23	Changping Town	常平镇	Chángpíng Zhèn	386,378	108.0	3,577.57
24	Qiaotou Town	桥头镇	Qiáotóu Zhèn	166,774	56.0	2,978.10
25	Qishi Town	企石镇	Qǐshí Zhèn	121,693	51.0	2,386.13
26	Hengli Town	横沥镇	Hénglì Zhèn	204,830	50.0	4,096.60
27	Dongkeng Town	东坑镇	Dōngkēng Zhèn	138,819	27.5	5,047.96
29	Chashan Town	茶山镇	Cháshān Zhèn	156,522	51.0	3,069.05
30	Shipai Town	石排镇	Shípái Zhèn	160,202	56.0	2,860.75

History

Although the earliest traces of human habitation in the area stretch back 5,000 years, Dongguan's emergence as a true city is a recent phenonomenon.

In 1839, at the outset of the First Opium War, large quantities of seized opium were burned in the local town of Humen. Several of the major battles of the war were fought here in this area.

During the Second World War, the city served as the base for guerilla resistance against the Japanese occupation.

Geography

Guan Yin Shan (Kuan Yin Mountain) in Dongguan, China

The urban centre of Dongguan is 50 km away from that of Guangzhou to its north, 90 km away from Shenzhen to its south, 47 nautical miles (87 km) away from Hong Kong and 48 nautical miles (89 km) from Macau by waterway. Dongguan is a must-pass-by locality from Guangzhou to Hong Kong by road or waterway.

Of the total area of Dongguan, 27% is water, 25% forest land, and 13% ploughed land, while 35% of its land area has been fully developed.

Climate

The climate of Dongguan is humid subtropical. It lies just south of the Tropic of Cancer. The average temperature is 22.8 °C (73.0 °F) throughout the year. The average rainfall is 1,756.8 millimetres (69.17 in).

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 reached 8,220,237.

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

Transport

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 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.

Depending on the time of day, using the ferry may be the most convenient way to travel from Hong Kong, as it allows one to avoid long queues at the land border checkpoint between Hong Kong and mainland China.

Dongguan serves as one of the regional railway hub in Guangdong, where Guangzhou-Kowloon Railway, Guangzhou-Meizhou-Shantou Railway and Beijing-Kowloon 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.

The Humen Pearl River Bridge is a suspension bridge over the Pearl River. Completed in 1997, it has a main span of 888 metres.

Economy

Humen Pearl River Bridge

Town centre of Zhangmutou, Dongguan

The city administration is considered especially progressive in seeking foreign direct investment.

The Dongguan Science & Technology Museum (opened in December 2005), the high tech commerce park in the SongShan Lake district (which debuted in 2003) and a partnership with the Global IT Academy of the Brea Olinda Unified School District in Southern California have demonstrated the city's emphasis on attracting technology business. The city also announced in 2005 a planned investment of US$500 million over five years for technology infrastructure improvements.

The city and province have been the recent focus of press and journalist attention with coverage of the arrival of teenaged Chinese workers, principally females (so-called factory girls), from agricultural areas to work in the area's factories and manufacturing/assembly facilities, where many are housed in large domitories, usually several to a room.

An article in the High Tech Misery in China series reports research conducted, over 2008 to 2009, on working conditions at one of the city's major keyboard makers (Dongguan Meitai Plastics & Electronics Factory); in it, Meitai factory won some unwanted attention, due to the disappointing conditions for its young, mostly female workers. The PDF article includes details of those conditions, photos, translations of employer's rules and evidence that well-known computer brands use this keyboard supplier's products.

The city's prostitution sector has mushroomed since the turn of the century, and now employs around one in ten of the enormous migrant labour force, between 500,000 and 800,000 people, including around 300,000 prostitutes, and is estimated to contribute 20 to 30 per cent of the total output of the city's service industry. Another estimate puts the sector's contribution at 40 billion yuan - roughly 10 per cent of Dongguan's gross domestic product. As well as variety of types of brothels, massage parlours, nightclubs, sauna centres and karaoke bars, the city has more than 120 top-end luxury hotels and hundreds of other mid-range places that offer illegal sexual services or lease floors to sex operators, and many parts of the broader service sector benefit from the trade brought by visitors. Although much of the business is illegal, police operations to limit it have been ineffectual, in part because many members of the local administration and other officials have business interests in it themselves.

While the city is the third largest exporting region in China, behind Shanghai and Shenzhen (and a major centre for Taiwanese investment), outside of China, Dongguan has yet to gain the kind of name recognition realized by Shenzhen (just an hour away, and downriver from Dongguan). This may be because the city has emphasised investing in infrastructure, rather than directly targeting major corporations with financial incentives for economic development. Still, 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 has announced a plan to create and support a 100-billion-yuan photovoltaic manufacturing industry by 2015.

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

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in China

Twin towns and sister cities

Dongguan is twinned with:

• Hartford, Connecticut, United States since (5 March 2001)
• Thessaloniki, Greece since (24 October 2008)

See also

• Dongguan New Century
• Guangdong Southern Tigers
• Lanwa FC plays in the Hong Kong, not Chinese, football pyramid
• New South China Mall: World's second largest mall.

References

Economic data

• Economic profile for Dongguan at HKTDC

External links

• Dongguan City Government (Chinese) and (English)
• www.dongguantoday.com Government funded website, giving a full range of information about Dongguan (Chinese) and (English)
• Dongguan Bureau of Foreign Trade & Economic Cooperation (Chinese) and (English)
• IATT - International Association for Technology Trade
• Expats in Dongguan - Expatacular - Expat Community