Maoming

The city is named after Jin dynasty Taoist scholar and doctor Pan Maoming (290–371), born in Gaozhou. The local area was renamed by imperial decree in honour of Pan in 598 A.D. during the Sui dynasty.

During the early development of Chinese civilization in the Wei and Yellow River valleys and across the North China Plain, the area around Maoming was held by the Baiyue. After the Qin invaded in the late 3rd century BC, the area was divided into Nanhai, Xiang, and Guilin. Maoming County was established c. 600 under the Sui. Under the Qing, it comprised part of Gaozhou Prefecture.[2] Following the Chinese Civil War, Maoming became the primary community in the area and was raised to county-level city status in 1959.

In 2014, the city was the site of popular protests against p-Xylene, a chemical based on benzene that was being produced by local industry.[6] Since the 18th Party Congress and the ascension of Party general secretary Xi Jinping, Maoming has been one of the "hardest hit" areas of the anti-corruption campaign. It was seen as a city where buying and selling official positions was rampant. The 2014 investigation by central inspection authorities found that some 159 local officials had taken various forms of bribes.[7] The former Communist Party Secretary of Maoming, Zhou Zhenhong, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for corruption in relation to the p-Xylene scandal. Two other former party secretaries, Liang Yimin and Luo Yinguo, were removed from office and sentenced to prison, respectively.[6]

The prefecture includes a large number of minority groups, including the Yao, Zhuang, and Miao, giving it diverse cultural activities and folk arts. The people of southern Maoming speak a Min dialect brought by Putianese immigrants which is especially closely related to the Leizhou dialect while the people of northern Maoming speak the Gaoyang dialect of Cantonese, as well as Mandarin. In addition, Hakka dialect is also spoken by a certain percentage of the Maoming people.

The prefecture-level city of Maoming administers 5 county-level divisions, including 2 districts and 3 county-level cities.

Map
Maonan Dianbai Gaozhou (city) Huazhou (city) Xinyi (city)
Name	Simplified Chinese	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2010 census)	Area (km2)	Density (/km2)
Maonan District	茂南区	Màonán Qū	820,934	507	1,619.2
Dianbai District	电白区	Diànbái Qū	1,615,505	2,227	725.4
Huazhou	化州市	Huàzhōu Shì	1,178,873	2,354	500.8
Xinyi	信宜市	Xìnyí Shì	913,717	3,081	296.6
Gaozhou	高州市	Gāozhōu Shì	1,288,724	3,276	393.4

• Defunct Maogang District

Situated in the southwestern coastal area of Guangdong, Maoming has under its jurisdiction Maonan District, Maogang District, Dianbai County. The city administers the smaller cities of Xinyi, Gaozhou, and Huazhou at the county level.

Maoming's coastline is 220 kilometers long. The "First Shoal of China" resort is 25 kilometers (16 mi) from downtown Maoming.

Maoming was called one of "the top 100 developed cities in China" and the "National Garden City". Maoming is one of the largest petrochemical production areas in South China, and one of the largest fruit production areas. Other major industries include tilapia culture and processing, winter-planted vegetable production, and other energy, material, and heavy-chemical industrial production.

Major Economic indicators (2012)[4]

GDP: RMB 195.118 billion (US$31.81 million), 10.6% up

GDP Composition:

• Primary Industry (Agriculture) 19.1%
• Secondary Industry (Industry & Construction) 37.2%
• Tertiary Industry(Service) 43,7%

GDP Per Capita: RMB 33,537(US$5467.93), 8.9% up

Unemployment Rate: 2.5%

Fixed Asset Investment: RMB 18.01 billion (US$2,64 billion), 23.5% up

Utilized FDI: US$31 million, 44.2% down

Total Import & Export: US$673 million, 9.1% down

Export: US$532 million, 7.4% up

Import: US$141 million, 42.5% down

Sales of Consumer Goods: RMB 60.1 billion (US$8.8 billion), 20.3% up

Maoming is home to the No. 1 Shoal of China Vacation Area (中国第一滩), Chicken Island (Guangdong) (放鸡岛) and Tianmashan (天马山) Eco-tourist Area, the Temple of Madam Xian (冼太庙 ; Xiǎn Tài Miào) in Gaozhou, and the Genzi Litchi Cultural Tourist Area.

The No.1 Shoal of China Vacation Area is 25 kilometers (16 mi) from the downtown Maoming, in the Maogang District. With miles of fine beach outside the shelter belt, tourists can enjoy parachute gliding and sailboarding. It is also a national training center for beach volleyball, and often hosts national and international competitions.

Chicken Island is the largest island in Maoming, covering an area of 1.9 km². This tourist resort is a diving center, boasting clear and pristine sea water. It is known for its coral reefs and recreational scuba diving. Skin diving, deep diving, and explorational diving are available as well.

The Temple of Madam Xian was constructed in 1535 in memory of Madam Xian, who was the female leader of the Baiyue Tribe. The temple is rich in cultural and historical objects, such as ancient statues, sculptures, and stone inscriptions.

Maoming is a famous litchi production area. The Genzi Litchi Cultural Tourist Area is situated in Genzi, a small town in Maoming.

Maoming's most popular local specialty foods include Huazhou Baiqie Chicken (白切鸡), Gaozhou Salted Chicken (盐焗鸡 yánjú jī), Fenpi (粉皮), Genzi Beef Rice Noodles and Xinyi Huaixiang Chicken.

Downtown Maoming is a comfortable walking city, great for just wandering into shops. A downtown park comes alive at night as couples and families stroll.

Maoming is accessible from Guangzhou (approximately four hours by train or a first class bus). Two train stations serve Maoming, one downtown that provides the connection to Guangzhou and points to the north, and one a few minutes south of town that connects to the south and west.

Notable people:

• jiang, mao shen (江茂森)， born in 1901, and died in 1982. historian, also a senior member of Chinese nationalist party(KMT)
• Tonyee chow hang tung (鄒幸彤) : vice chairperson of Hong Kong alliance in support of patriotic movements of China
• Alexandra Wong fung yiu (王鳳瑤)， social activist of Hong Kong, ms Wong has a nickname: senior lady Wong(王婆婆)
• Wong sun (黃新)： born in 1926, and died in November, 1999, Wong was a male actor of Hong Kong television broadcasting company (TVB)
• chiu, miu ling (招妙玲)， Hong Kong actress, she has a nickname: big sound woman (大聲婆), Chiu was died around 2013.
• Cheng, siu ping (鄭少萍 )： Hong Kong actress, Cheng migrated to USA around 1990s.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maoming.

• Government website of Maoming (in Chinese and English)
• Bureau of Statistics of Maoming
• China Knowledge