Place · city

Guangzhou

Also known as Canton

Guangzhou, historically known in English as Canton, is a major port city in southern China on the Pearl River delta. It was an important centre of maritime trade under the Song Dynasty. Under the Qing Empire it was the sole port open to Western merchants under the Canton System, making it central to the tea and opium trades.

Guangzhou
Image: Tim Wu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 5 profiles

Qing EmpireSocioeconomySong DynastySocioeconomyEastern JinSocioeconomyRepublic of ChinaMilitary, DeclineCanton of ZürichSummary

Mentioned in 9 state histories

NanyueTinh Hai CircuitQi (Huang Chao)Southern HanMa-iPrince-Bishopric of BaselMacau (Portuguese)Canton of CartagenaCanton Military Government

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Guangzhou. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/guangzhou
MLA
“Guangzhou.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/guangzhou. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Guangzhou.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/guangzhou.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Guangzhou’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/guangzhou (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻