Gaoming District

Gaoming District 高明区
District
Gaoming District, seen from a high rise apartment
Country	China
Province	Guangdong
Prefecture	Foshan
Area
• Total	967.4 km^2 (373.5 sq mi)
Population (2010 Census)	420,044
• Density	434.2/km^2 (1,125/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	440608
Website	http://www.gaoming.gov.cn/

Gaoming
Chinese	高明
Cantonese Jyutping	Gou1-ming4
Cantonese Yale	Gōumìhng
Hanyu Pinyin	Gāomíng
Postal	Koming
Literal meaning	High-&-Bright Brilliant Glorious
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Gāomíng Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Gou1-ming4 Yale Romanization Gōumìhng

Gaoming District, formerly romanized as Koming,^{[lower-alpha 1]} is an urban district of Foshan, Guangdong, in the People's Republic of China. Gaoming is located west of downtown Foshan and had a population of 420,044 during the 2010 census. It covers an area of 967.4 km² (373.5 sq mi).^[2]

History

Under the Qing, Gaoming County was administered as part of the commandery of Zhaoqing.^[1]

Administration divisions

Gaoming District is located within Foshan. Neighboring cities, districts, and counties are Gaoyao in the North, Xinxing County in the West, Heshan in the South, Nanhai District and Sanshui District in the East. The district is divided into one subdistrict and three towns.

Name	Chinese (S)	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2010)[3]	Area (km^2)
Hecheng Subdistrict	荷城街道	Héchéng Jiēdào	278,454	178.58
Yanghe Town	杨和镇	Yánghé Zhèn	53,224	246.27
Genghe Town	更合镇	Gènghé Zhèn	46,528	365.00
Mingcheng Town	明城镇	Míngchéng Zhèn	41,838	186.50

Economy

Gaoming has resources of Gold, Copper, Tungsten and other minerals. Gaoming county is an important producer of foodstuffs within Guangdong, as well as food and textiles.

McDonald's and KFC both feature along Wenchang Lu alongside other Western clothes retail outlets and Watson's pharmacy stores. Otherwise, Western shops are rare. Nonetheless, shopping facilities cater well for day-to-day needs. The primary shopping streets are Canjiang Lu, Wenchang Lu and Wenhau Lu. Markets are also numerous and can be found simply by turning off the primary streets into nearby side-roads.

Transport

Gaoming is not particularly well integrated into transport systems. The railway from Guangzhou to Maoming as well as the Guangzhou-Foshan-Kaiping highway do not reach this area of the county. Gaoming has a river port on the Xi River.

Gaoming has a sizeable bus station located on Hexiang Lu. It provides transport to a number of locations including Guangzhou, Foshan, Kaiping and Zhuhai in mainland China, and Hong Kong. Buses to Guangzhou terminate at Fangcun Bus Station (adjoined to Ximenkou Metro) and the Central Bus Station (adjoined to Guangzhou Train Station). Both buses take just over an hour and cost around Y33.

Buses to Foshan (Chancheng) cost either 8 or 10 yuan, depending on whether you take the slower or faster bus.

Activities

Affordable food can be easily found along Wenhua Lu in the City Centre, but if you turn off the main road you often find better, cheaper restaurants (in Xinghe Lu for instance). Gaoming is famous for its Lai Fen, a local food only found here. It is a type of rice noodle. There are three big Western restaurants: The Harbour Restaurant, Ming Xiang and Oupo.

Gaoming has plenty of entertainment for its size. There are two cinemas, an old one on Canjiang Lu and another one within the newly opened Walmart. There are also several places where you can play pool or snooker, gyms, and some bars, the most popular being New Face (on Hexiang Lu) and Honey (on Cangjiang Lu). One of the most popular places to go in Gaoming is the Century Square, a large flat open space by the river. Many people gather here in the evening to go dancing (many different styles), go rollerskating, play with kites, or simply to have a walk.

Notes

1. Gaoming has also been romanized as Kaou Ming.^[1]

References

Citations

1. Bolton & al. (1941), p. 262.
3. shi, Guo wu yuan ren kou pu cha ban gong; council, Guo jia tong ji ju ren kou he jiu ye tong ji si bian = Tabulation on the 2010 population census of the people's republic of China by township / compiled by Population census office under the state; population, Department of; statistics, employment statistics national bureau of (2012). Zhongguo 2010 nian ren kou pu cha fen xiang, zhen, jie dao zi liao (Di 1 ban. ed.). Beijing Shi: Zhongguo tong ji chu ban she. ISBN 978-7-5037-6660-2.

Bibliography

• Bolton, Kingsley; et al. (1941), Triad Societies, Vol. 5, Abingdon: Routledge, reprinted 2000.

Coordinates: 22°53′57″N 112°53′32″E / 22.899212°N 112.892333°E