Geographical region of China
Place in China
Southwestern China
|
---|
Government-defined region of Southwest China(including Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Tibet)
(Red): Controlled by China ;(Light red):
Disputed territory
|
Country
|
China
|
---|
|
? Total
| 2,365,900 km
2
(913,500 sq mi)
|
---|
Population
| 192,979,243
|
---|
? Density
| 82/km
2
(210/sq mi)
|
---|
GDP
| 2022
[2]
|
---|
- Total
| ¥13.713 trillion
$2.039 trillion
|
---|
- Per Capita
| ¥71,060
$10,565
|
---|
Southwestern China
(
Chinese
:
西南
;
pinyin
:
X?nan
) is a region in the south of the
People's Republic of China
.
Geography
[
edit
]
Southwestern China is a rugged and mountainous region, transitioning between the
Tibetan Plateau
to the west and the Chinese coastal hills (?南丘陵) and plains to the east. Key geographic features in the region include the
Hengduan Mountains
in the west, the
Sichuan Basin
in the northeast, and the
karstic
Yungui Plateau
in the east. The majority of the region is drained by the
Yangtze River
, which forms the
Three Gorges
in the northeast of the region.
[3]
The narrowest concept of Southwestern China consists of
Sichuan
,
Chongqing
,
Yunnan
, and
Guizhou
, while wider definitions often include
Guangxi
and western portions of
Hunan
.
[4]
The official
government definition
of Southwestern China includes the core provinces of Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, and Guizhou, in addition to the
Tibet Autonomous Region
.
[5]
History
[
edit
]
Portions of Southwestern China, including the land that is modern day Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, were incorporated into China in 230 BCE by
Qin dynasty
emperor
Shi Huangdi
.
[6]
Independent states would continue to exert influence within the region, with notable examples being the
Nanzhao Kingdom
in the 8th and 9th centuries CE and the
Dali Kingdom
in 10th and 11th centuries CE. The region was largely pacified and incorporated into the Ming domain.
[4]
In the 13th century CE, the
Yuan dynasty
expanded its frontiers to include the
Tibet plateau
, which now defines China's current southwest frontier.
[6]
In the 18th century CE, control of the Tibet Plateau area was important in the
Great Game
confrontations between the imperial powers of Russia, Britain, and China.
[6]
After the warlord governments of China's Republican era replaced the
Qing dynasty
, government policy towards the southwest largely became one of inaction.
[7]
The
Second Sino-Japanese War
prompted the Nationalist government to focus increasingly on state-building tasks in the southwest.
[7]
The city of
Chongqing
served as the capital of Chinese resistance to imperial Japanese expansion.
After their defeat in the
Chinese Civil War
, parts of the
Nationalist army
retreated south and crossed the border into Burma as the
People's Liberation Army
entered Yunnan.
[8]
: 65
The United States supported these Nationalist forces because the United States hoped they would harass the People's Republic of China from the southwest, thereby diverting Chinese resources from the
Korean War
.
[8]
: 65
The Burmese government protested and international pressure increased.
[8]
: 65
Beginning in 1953, several rounds of withdrawals of the Nationalist forces and their families were carried out.
[8]
: 65
In
1960, joint military action
by China and Burma expelled the remaining Nationalist forces from Burma, although
some went on to settle
in the
Burma-Thailand borderlands
.
[8]
: 65?66
Western strategies to contain China in the 20th century CE included intervention in the Tibet plateau until almost the mid-1970s.
[6]
Tibet became an increased area of concern in China's southwest after the
Sino-Soviet split
when Soviet soldiers on the border of Mongolia and China threatened to close the
Gansu corridor
,
[6]
which would have left Tibet as the only reliable Chinese route to
Xinjiang
.
[6]
During the
reform and opening up
era, China began to look more seriously towards integrating its southwest regions.
[9]
China's increased focus on trade-led development and its transition to a
socialist market economy
helped trigger a reorientation to the southwest as its lagging development became increasingly seen as an impediment to growth.
[10]
China's southwest development initiatives reflect an awareness that economic engagement is the most cost-effective way to decrease political unrest and remedy underdevelopment along this frontier.
[11]
Demographics
[
edit
]
The diverse areas of Southwestern China carry strong regional identities and have been historically considered more rural than the more developed eastern regions of China.
[4]
Rapid development since the late 1970s has helped transform many parts of the region with modern advancements. In the early 21st century, Southwestern China contained 50% of the country's
ethnic minority population
which, in turn, formed 37% of the region's population.
[4]
Han Chinese
migration has been largely concentrated in the urban centres, while the rural areas are still predominantly made up of minority populations, including the
Zhuang
,
Miao
,
Yi
, and others.
Inhabitants of Southwestern China primarily speak a dialect of
Mandarin Chinese
known as
Southwestern Mandarin
. This variant uses the same written language as Mandarin but is only approximately 50%
mutually intelligible
with
Standard Chinese
. As of 2012, there were approximately 260 million speakers of Southwestern Mandarin.
[12]
Administrative divisions
[
edit
]
GB
[13]
|
ISO No.
[14]
|
Province
|
Chinese Name
|
Capital
|
Population
|
Density
|
Area
|
Abbreviation/Symbol
|
Yu
|
50
|
Chongqing Municipality
|
重?市
Chongqing Shi
|
Chongqing
|
28,846,170
|
350.50
|
82,300
|
CQ
|
?
|
Chu?n (Sh?)
|
51
|
Sichuan Province
|
四川省
Sichu?n Sh?ng
|
Chengdu
|
80,418,200
|
165.81
|
485,000
|
SC
|
川(蜀)
|
Gui (Qian)
|
52
|
Guizhou Province
|
?州省
Guizh?u Sh?ng
|
Guiyang
|
34,746,468
|
197.42
|
176,000
|
GZ
|
?(黔)
|
Yun (Di?n)
|
53
|
Yunnan Province
|
云南省
Yunnan Sh?ng
|
Kunming
|
45,966,239
|
116.67
|
394,000
|
YN
|
云(?)
|
Zang
|
54
|
Tibet Autonomous Region
Xizang Autonomous Region
|
西藏自治?
X?zang Zizhiq?
|
Lhasa
|
3,002,166
|
2.44
|
1,228,400
|
XZ
|
藏
|
Cities with urban area over one million in population
[
edit
]
#
|
City
|
Urban area
[15]
|
District area
[15]
|
City proper
[15]
|
Prov.
|
Census date
|
1
|
Chongqing
[a]
|
8,894,757
|
12,084,385
|
16,044,027
|
CQ
|
2010-11-01
|
2
|
Chengdu
|
6,316,922
|
7,415,590
|
14,047,625
|
SC
|
2010-11-01
|
3
|
Kunming
[b]
|
3,140,777
|
3,272,586
|
6,432,209
|
YN
|
2010-11-01
|
4
|
Guiyang
|
2,520,061
|
3,034,750
|
4,322,611
|
GZ
|
2010-11-01
|
- Notes
- ^
Chongqing core area only, satellite urban area separated from Chongqing core area is not included.
- ^
Dongchuan is a satellite urban area separated from Kunming and it is not included.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Main Data of the Seventh National Population Census"
.
National Bureau of Statistics of China
. Archived from
the original
on May 11, 2021.
- ^
GDP-2022 is a preliminary data
"Home - Regional - Quarterly by Province"
(Press release). China NBS.
- ^
"A Study of Southwest China"
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
China's Southwest
(3rd ed.). Lonely Planet. 2007.
ISBN
978-1741041859
.
- ^
"A Study of Southwest China"
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Singh, Swaran (2016). "China Engages Its Southwest Frontier".
The new great game : China and South and Central Asia in the era of reform
. Thomas Fingar. Stanford, California:
Stanford University Press
. p. 167.
ISBN
978-0-8047-9764-1
.
OCLC
939553543
.
- ^
a
b
Singh, Swaran (2016). "China Engages Its Southwest Frontiers".
The new great game : China and South and Central Asia in the era of reform
. Thomas Fingar. Stanford, California:
Stanford University Press
. p. 151.
ISBN
978-0-8047-9764-1
.
OCLC
939553543
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Han, Enze (2024).
The Ripple Effect: China's Complex Presence in Southeast Asia
. New York, NY:
Oxford University Press
.
ISBN
978-0-19-769659-0
.
- ^
Singh, Swaran (2016). "China Engages Its Southwest Frontiers".
The new great game : China and South and Central Asia in the era of reform
. Thomas Fingar. Stanford, California:
Stanford University Press
. p. 152.
ISBN
978-0-8047-9764-1
.
OCLC
939553543
.
- ^
Singh, Swaran (2016). "China Engages Its Southwestern Frontiers".
The new great game : China and South and Central Asia in the era of reform
. Thomas Fingar. Stanford, California:
Stanford University Press
. pp. 152?153.
ISBN
978-0-8047-9764-1
.
OCLC
939553543
.
- ^
Singh, Swaran (2016). "China Engages Its Southwest Frontier".
The new great game : China and South and Central Asia in the era of reform
. Thomas Fingar. Stanford, California:
Stanford University Press
. p. 166.
ISBN
978-0-8047-9764-1
.
OCLC
939553543
.
- ^
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (2012).
Zh?ngguo y?yan ditu ji (di 2 b?n): Hany? f?ngyan ju?n
中??言地?集(第2版):??方言卷
[
Language Atlas of China (2nd edition): Chinese dialect volume
] (in Chinese). Beijing: The Commercial Press. p. 3.
- ^
GB/T 2260 codes for the provinces of China
- ^
ISO 3166-2:CN
(
ISO
3166-2
codes for the provinces of China)
- ^
a
b
c
??院人口普??公室、?家??局人口和社?科技??司? (2012).
中?2010年人口普?分??料
. Beijing: 中???出版社 [China Statistics Press].
ISBN
978-7-5037-6659-6
.