Taishan
- Not to be confused with the unrelated Mount Taishan
Taishan (台山 pinyin: Táishān; Cantonese: Toisan; local: Hoisan ) is a coastal city in Guangdong Province, China. The city is located southwest of Jiangmen, 140 kilometers west of Hong Kong, in the Pearl River delta, and it is home to 1 million people. It also contains 95 islands and islets, including the largest island in Guangdong, the 98 kmē Xiachuan Island (下川岛).
History
Taishan was founded as Xinning District (新寧縣) in the 12th year of the Hongzhi reign during the Ming Dynasty. In 1914, Xinning was renamed Taishan to avoid confusion with the Xinnings of Hunan and Sichuan. On April 17, 1992, Taishan's status was changed from county to city.
Administration
Taishan is under the juridiction of Jiangmen. In a jurisdiction of 3,286 kmē, Taishan contains twenty townships (镇), which are subdivided into 503 village residential committees (村居委会) and 3655 natural villages (自然村). Baisha (白沙镇) Beidou (北陡镇): separated from the other townships by Zhenhai Bay (镇海湾) inlet Chixi (赤溪镇) Dajiang (大江镇) Doushan (斗山镇) Duhu (都斛镇) Guanghai (广海镇) Haiyan (海宴镇): contains an overseas Chinese farm (华侨农场) Nafu (那扶镇) Duanfen (端芬镇) Sanba (三八镇) Sanhe (三合镇) Shangchuan (上川镇): islands; Tourism Open Integrated Experimental Zone (旅游开发综合试验区) Shenjing (深井镇) Shuibu (水步镇) Sijiu (四九镇) Taicheng (台城镇): contains downtown and the city seat Wencun (汶村镇) Xiachuan (下川镇): islands; Tourism Open Integrated Experimental Zone (旅游开发综合试验区) Zhonglou (冲蒌镇)
Demographics
Since 1774, 1.3 million people living overseas trace their ancestry to Taishan, outnumbering those who live in Taishan. Among these are: Governor Gary Locke of Washington (ancestry in Shuibu Township) Governor General Adrienne Clarkson of Canada (in Sijiu) Former Prime Minister Julius Chan of Papua New Guinea (in Annanjiangchao Village(安南江潮村) of Duoshan) Magazine publisher Jack Yan of New Zealand (central Chinese heritage, but Taishanese from c. 1600) In addition, many people from Taishan moved to the nearby Hong Kong, such as: Actor Tony Leung The locals natively speak Taishanese, or sei yap (four counties), usually considered to be similar to Cantonese Chinese. Most locals can speak the nearby Hong Kong and Macau Cantonese as well. For many years, Taishanese was the dialect spoken North America's Chinatowns.
External links China Taishan Web 台山政府网 (Taishan Government Net) (in Simplified Chinese): info on official and unofficial aspects of the city
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