Guangzhou

Guangzhou (simplified Chinese: 广州; traditional Chinese: 廣州; pinyin: Guǎngzhōu; jyutping : Gwong²zau¹; Yale: Gwóngjàu), often referred to in English as Canton in the Chinese Postal Map Romanization and formerly known as Kwangchou, is a Sub-provincial city and the capital of Guangdong Province in the southern part of the People's Republic of China. It is a port on the Pearl River, navigable to the South China Sea, and is located about 120 km (75 miles) northwest of Hong Kong. As of the 2000 census, the city has a population of 6 million, and a metropolitan population of roughly 8.5 million (though some estimates are as high as 15.3 million)^[2] making it the most populous city in the province and the third most populous metropolitan area in mainland China. The official estimate of the metropolitan area's population at end 2006 by the Provincial Government was 9,754,600. Guangzhou's urban land area is the third largest in China, ranking only after Beijing's and Shanghai's.