Foshan (Fshn) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. The city has jurisdiction over an area of about 3,840 km2 and a population of 5.4 million of which 1.1 million reside in the city proper (year 2000 figures).
History
The town of Foshan is many centuries old. It is famous for its porcelain industry. Now it is the third largest city in Guangdong. The city is relatively affluent when compared to other Chinese cities, and it is home to many large private enterprises. Foshan recently has seen a transformation brought by China's booming economy.
Tourist sights
Foshan has many sights, including Chinese temples and other examples of Chinese architecture. The old Zu temple in Foshan houses the city's guardian, where it has stood for hundreds of years. The temple still stands after enduring many wars and the Cultural Revolution. Much of its original architecture is still intact. The temple is now used to stage the traditional Canton opera at night.
Besides the Zu temple, another example of traditional Chinese buildings is the Liang Yuan. It is one of the four famous Yuan, or private estates, in Guangdong. It epitomizes the building style of the Ming-Qing dynasties, with delicate craftsmanship throughout the building, and a compact yet elegantly designed garden. It is very well preserved, with most of its original artifacts displayed in-house. Very near to this site is a group of preserved buildings that date back to the Qing dynasty. Although they are now private houses, permits to visit some of these buildings can be obtained from the Tourist Bureau. These buildings all display the very classic building style of that era, which is the abandonment of the large and ostensible garden and space in favour to small yet multi-stories houses that is practical when there is little space.
Another potential tourist site in Foshan is the old porcelain furnace in Shi Wan. It is said to have been in operation since the Tang dynasty, and the fire inside was never gone out. It is still producing some of the chinaware that made Foshan famous. Surrounding that site are many workshops of the local artists.
The countryside surrounding Foshan city retains much of its traditional south Chinese rural characteristics.
Administration
The prefecture-level city of Foshan administers 5 county-level divisions, all of which are districts.
Chancheng District
Nanhai District
Sanshui District
Gaoming District
Shunde District
These are further divided into 64 township-level divisions, including 37 towns and 27 subdistricts.
Foshan is close to Guangzhou and considers its link with Guangzhou very important. A Guangzhou-Foshan metropolitan region is being formed
Transportation
Air
Foshan Airport was once a regional airport with mixed usage (both military and domestic transport) since January 22, 1987, as it became a base of China United Airlines (CUA) in Guangdong Province. When CUA ceased domestic flights on November 1, 2002, Foshan Airport remained military service only. The airport resumed its regional airport status in 2005 when the regrouped CUA, which was partly purchased by Shanghai Airlines, resumed domestic flight service. It is expected domestic flight linkage between Foshan and at least ten Chinese cities including Beijing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Yinchuan etc.
Rail
Foshan is a main interchange for railway routes linking Guangzhou, Hong Kong and the western Guangdong Province. It is connected with Hong Kong via the KCRC Guangdong Through Train service from Foshan railway station. The inter-city through train service was extended from Guangzhou to Foshan since the 1990s.
Being a prominent link to Guangzhou city, the Guangfo Line of the Guangzhou Metro, presently under construction, will connect the city to Guangzhou. The metro is supposed to be finished by 2010 making it very convenient to go from Foshan downtown area to any place in Guangzhou.
Bus
Bus service is the major mode public transport inside the city of Foshan
Agriculture
There are Agricultural Model Districts (AMD) around the prefecture, such as Shunde Chencun AMD, and AMDs in Daili Town, Shatou Town and Locun Town in Nanhai, with a total area of about 9.4 km2.
The AMDs aim to provide an all-round environment for modern agriculture. Agricultural processes are upgraded through technology, and sale service is incorporated with a new style of tourism that attracts target clients. The modern integrated practice mode resulted in the reputation of the largest base for wholesale, food production, storage and logistics of agricultural products in Guangdong Province.
Development strategy
Foshan aims to become a manufacturing giant and the third largest city in Guangdong. To do this, it has pledged to make large-scale investment in the construction of the infrastructure such as transportation and energy. Urban development will focus on the central urban group and Shunde urban group, each with more than one million inhabitants.