colony · China, Tibet and Mongolia

Guangzhouwan

1898 CE – 1945 CE · capital Fort-Bayard

A small French leased territory on the coast of Guangdong, administered as part of French Indochina for nearly half a century.

Origins

During the scramble for concessions in China, France occupied the bay of Guangzhouwan on the Leizhou peninsula in 1898, and a convention of 1899 granted it a ninety-nine-year lease. France wanted a coaling station and a counterweight to British Hong Kong.

Rule and society

The territory was attached to French Indochina, governed by an administrator under the governor-general in Hanoi, with its seat at Fort-Bayard (modern Zhanjiang). It never became the great port France hoped for, and its economy rested on local trade, a free port, opium and smuggling. Local Chinese notables kept much influence over daily life.

Decline and legacy

Japan occupied the territory in 1943 with the acquiescence of Vichy France. In August 1945 the French provisional government agreed to return it, and it passed to the Nationalist government in the following months, becoming the city of Zhanjiang.

Lineage

GuangzhouwanRepublic of China 1912 CE – present

Connections (1)

Guangzhouwan was a colony of French Empire1898 CE – 1945 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Guangzhouwan. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/guangzhouwan
MLA: “Guangzhouwan.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/guangzhouwan. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Guangzhouwan.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/guangzhouwan.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Guangzhouwan’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/guangzhouwan (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻