Zhongshan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is now part of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen conurbation with 65,565,622 inhabitants. The city-core subdistricts used to be called Shiqi or Shekki ().
Zhongshan is one of the few Chinese cities to be named after a person. It was originally named Xiangshan (, "Fragrant Mountain"; Cantonese: Heung-saan), but was renamed in 1925 in honor of Sun Yat-sen, who is known in China as "Sun Zhongshan". Sun was the founding father of the Republic of China who is also regarded positively by the People's Republic. He was born in Cuiheng village in Nanlang Township of what was then Xiangshan County.
Names
Until 1925, Zhongshan was generally known as Xiangshan or Heung-san (Siangshan) (), in reference to the many flowers that grew in the mountains nearby. The city was renamed in honor of Sun Yat-sen, who had adopted the name Zhongshan. Sun is considered by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China to be the "Father of Modern China", and was from Cuiheng village – now part of Nanlang Town in Zhongshan.
History
Thousands of years ago, much of the Zhongshan area lay within the Pearl River estuary, with only scattered islands above the surface. Gradually from south to north, the area filled in with alluvial silt and became dry land. The northern parts of today's Zhongshan did not fill in until the time of the Ming dynasty.
The Zhongshan area was part of an extended Dongguan County during the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD), and was a significant sea salt producer. In 1082, during the Northern Song dynasty, a fortified settlement called Xiangshan was founded in the area, marking the first official use of the name by which it would be known throughout most of its modern history. The prosperous settlement was then upgraded to a county in 1152. After the collapse of the Southern Song dynasty, many descendants of Song court officials, including members of the imperial family, settled in Xiangshan. Significant land formation in the area of Zhongshan occurred since the Ming dynasty. Under the Qing dynasty, embankments were built to prevent flooding in the new alluvial lands, and the area of cultivation was extended.
Much of the First Opium War took place in and around Xiangshan. In 1839, the official Lin Zexu arrived in Xiangshan and ordered the expulsion of Sir Charles Elliot and other British traders from the area. Qing dynasty soldiers resisted British attacks on the area in 1840, but were ultimately overwhelmed.
After the Opium Wars opened the region to foreign influence, a number of Xiangshan residents, including Sun Zhongshan (Yatsen), left to study overseas and were among the creators of modern China. Xiangshan was one of the first counties in China liberated as part of the Xinhai Revolution. After Sun Zhongshan's death in 1925, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Republic of China decided to memorialize Sun by renaming his county of birth from Xiangshan to Zhongshan.
Nationalist and Communist units launched guerrilla attacks on Japanese occupancy forces and their Collaborators beginning in 1942. On August 15, 1945, Japanese forces declared an unconditional surrender, and Zhongshan was liberated.
Zhongshan was the scene of fighting during the Chinese Civil War and was held for much of the war by Nationalists. On October 30, 1949, however, the People's Liberation Army defeated Nationalist forces in Zhongshan, and the county came under the control of the People's Republic of China.
In 1983, Zhongshan was elevated in administrative status from a county to a county-level city under the administration of Foshan. In 1988 Zhongshan became a prefecture-level city.
Geography and Climate
Zhongshan is located along the west side of the mouth of the Pearl River, directly opposite Shenzhen and Hong Kong. It lies south of Guangzhou and Foshan and north of Zhuhai and Macau. The northern part of Zhongshan, including most of the urbanized area, lies on the alluvial plains of the Pearl River Delta, while the southern part of the city's territory reaches into a range of coastal hills.
The most notable of these are the Wugui Hills (). The city's current geography is typical of southern China: numerous steep mountains and hills with alluvial plains in between down to the coastline. The main summit of the Wugui Hills is the highest point in the city, at above sea level.