Guangzhou, often referred to in English as Canton in the Chinese Postal Map Romanization and formerly known as Kwangchou, is the capital of Guangdong Province in the southern part of China. As a port on the Pearl River, it is navigable to the South China Sea and located about 120 km (75 miles) northwest of Hong Kong. 

    The first known city built at the site of Guangzhou was Panyu founded in 214 BC., which has been continuously occupied since that time. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive to the city by sea, establishing a monopoly on the external trade out of its harbor by 1511 A.D. They were later expelled from their settlements in Guangzhou, but instead granted use of Macau as a trade base with the city in 1557. They would keep a near monopoly of foreign trade in the region until the arrival of the Dutch in the early 17th century.

     By the middle of the 18th century, Guangzhou had emerged as one of the world's great trading ports under the Thirteen Factories, which was a distinction it maintained until the outbreak of the Opium Wars in 1839 and the opening of other ports in China in 1842. The privilege during this period made Guangzhou one of the TOP 3 Cities in the world.

     After the fall of the capital Nanjing in April 1949, the Nationalist government under the acting president Li Zongren relocated to Guangzhou. Communist forces entered the city on October 14, 1949. As labor costs increased in Hong Kong, manufacturers opened new plants in the cities of Guangdong including Guangzhou. As the largest city in one of China's wealthiest provinces, Guangzhou attracts farmers from the countryside looking for factory work. Cantonese links to overseas Chinese and beneficial tax reforms of the 1990s have aided the city's rapid growth. After 20 years, Guangzhou city have been inscribed as TOP 3 City in China which is famous for its strong foundation of manufacture industry, capacity of scientific researching and product developing. Guangzhou's urban land area is the third largest in China, ranking only after Beijing and Shanghai.