Guiyang is the capital of Guizhou province in the People's Republic of China. It is centrally located within the province, on the eastern part of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, and sits on the north bank of the Nanming River, a tributary of the Wu River. The city is situated at an elevation of approximately and covers an area of . According to the 2020 census, Guiyang had a total population of 5,987,018, with 4,506,134 lived in its six urban districts. Despite being the capital of Guizhou, it is not the largest city in the province, which is Zunyi.
Guiyang has a humid subtropical climate and is surrounded by mountains and forests. The area has been inhabited since at least the Spring and Autumn period and officially became the provincial capital in 1413, during the Ming dynasty. The city is home to a significant Miao and Bouyei ethnic minority population.
Guiyang has a diversified economy, historically known for aluminum production, phosphate mining, and optical instrument manufacturing. Following economic reforms, the service sector now contributes the majority of the city's economic output. Since 2015, targeted developments in big data have helped Guiyang rapidly emerge as a local innovation hub.
As of 2025, Guiyang is ranked among the top 150 science cities globally based on scientific research outputs, as tracked by the Nature Index. The city is also home to Guizhou University, a national research university under the Project 211 and designated for the Double First-Class Construction in certain disciplines.
History
The valley approximating present-day Guiyang has been inhabited since the Spring and Autumn period. Guiyang was a 7th-century military outpost under the Sui and Tang, when the area around it was known as Juzhou (). It grew into a city named Shunyuan () under the Mongolian Yuan dynasty sometime between their 1279 southwestern campaigns and 1283. By the time Guizhou became a full province in 1413, its capital at Guiyang was also known as Guizhou. It became a prefectural seat under the Ming and Qing.. Guiyang grew rapidly during the development of the southwest that occurred after the Japanese invasion of China during World War II. It has also grown rapidly since Deng Xiaoping's reform and opening up reached it in the 1990s.
Guiyang has been designated an ecological civilization pilot city.
Geography The city's heart is around the Dashizi (), a "big cross", and Penshuichi (, literally "Fountain Pool"), a traffic intersection, in the center of which there was a large fountain until early 2010, when it was paved over for better traffic.
Climate
Guiyang has a four-season, monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cwa), tempered by its low latitude and high elevation. It has cool winters and moderate-temperature summers; the majority of the year's of precipitation occurs from May to July. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to in July, while the annual mean is . Rain is common throughout the year, with occasional flurries in winter. With monthly possible sunshine ranging from 11% in January to 43% in August, the city receives only 1150 hours of sunshine, making it one of China's least sunny major cities. Average monthly relative humidity is consistently above 75% throughout the year. The moderate temperature together with other factors including air quality, wind speed, etc. made Guiyang to be ranked No.2 in the "Top 10 Summer Capitals of China". Extremes since 1951 have ranged from on 6 January 1970 (unofficial record of ) was set in January 1925) to on 5 July 1952.
Administrative divisions
The entire Guiyang municipality currently consists of six districts, one county-level city and three counties. The districts are Nanming, Yunyan, Huaxi, Wudang, Baiyun and Guanshanhu. The county-city is Qingzhen and the counties are Kaiyang, Xifeng and Xiuwen. The Gui'an New District, a non-administrative economic project, is situated to the southwest of Guiyang. It crosses over into areas under the jurisdiction of the neighboring city of Anshun.
Map Division codeEnglishChinesePinyinArea in km2SeatPostal codeSubdivisionsSubdistrictsTownsTownshipsEthnic townshipsResidential communitiesVillages 520100 Guiyang 8034国土资源局数字为8046.67平方公里 Guanshanhu District 550000 49 29 48 18 460 1166 520102 Nanming District 209 Xinhua Road Subdistrict () 550000 15 4 1 139 29 520103 Yunyan District 94 Guiwu Road Subdistrict () 550000 18 1 134 19 520111 Huaxi District 958 Guizhu Subdistrict () 550000 8 2 9 5 42 170 520112 Wudang District 686 Xintian Subdistrict () 550000 2 3 5 2 19 74 520113 Baiyun District 260 Dashandong Subdistrict () 550000 4 3 2 2 31 56 520115 Guanshanhu District 307 Jinyang Subdistrict () 550000 1 2 1 16 33 520121 Kaiyang County 2026 Chengguan () 550300 6 10 3 13 108 520122 Xifeng County 1037 Yongjing () 551100 4 6 1 13 161 520123 Xiuwen County 1076 Longchang () 550200 4 6 1 12 217 520181 Qingzhen 1381 Hongfenghu () 551400 1 4 5 3 41 299
Economy Guiyang is the economic and commercial hub of Guizhou Province. In 2017, GDP for the Guiyang region totaled 353.8 billion yuan, with per capita GDP of 74,493 yuan ($10,720); the local economy is growing at the approximate pace of 10% per year. The city is also a large center for retail and wholesale commercial activities with operations of major domestic and international general retailers such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour, RT-Mart, Beijing Hualian, Parkson, and Xingli Group () as well as consumer electronics and appliance sellers Gome and Suning. Wholesale operations include large regional produce, furniture, and industrial and construction machinery depots. Wal-Mart's southwest China regional vegetable and produce distribution center is located in Guiyang. Foreign brands have penetrated Guiyang rapidly, including McDonald's, Burger King, H&M, and Starbucks. Most of the time, they are located near the various shopping centers. The largest shopping centers are Hunter city plaza (), Huaguoyuan Shopping Center (), and Nanguohuajing (). Hydro-electric power generators are located along the city's main rivers including the Wu River. By 2007, the city's hydro electric plants supplied over 70% of the city's electricity. Coal is mined in the locality of Guiyang and Anshun, and there are large thermal generating plants at Guiyang and Duyun, supplying electricity for a portion of the city's industry. A large iron and steel plant came into production in Guiyang in 1960, supplying the local machinery-manufacturing industry. Guiyang has a sizable domestic pharmaceuticals industry, producing traditional Chinese as well as Western medicines. Guiyang has also completed the first stage of city-wide free WiFi. The free Wifi project, D-Guiyang, is a joint venture of the city government and technology companies including Alibaba and Foxconn.
In 2016, Guiyang was named as the Best-Performing City in China by the Milken Institute owing to the city's "growth in jobs, wages, gross domestic product (GDP)." Guizhou Province saw the third-fastest growth among China's 31 regional districts in the first half of the year, growing by 10.5%. This growth is attributed to Guiyang's investments in computing and big data. Due to tax incentives and state support, multinational corporations such as Foxconn, Microsoft, Huawei, Hyundai Motor, Tencent, Qualcomm and Alibaba have opened offices in Guiyang.
Demographics
Guiyang is populated by 49 different minorities, the most populous of which is the Miao people and ethnic Han.
According to the Seventh National Census in 2020, the city's Permanent Population (hukou) was 5,987,018. Compared with the Sixth National Census, the ten-year decrease was 1,664,407, a decrease of 38.5%. Among the permanent residents of the city, 4,794,071 people live in cities and towns, accounting for 80.07%; The rural population was 1,192,947, or 19.93%. Compared with the Sixth national census in 2010, the urban population increased by 1,861,786, the rural population decreased by 197,379, and the proportion of urban population increased by 12.23 percentage points.
, the total population of Guiyang municipality was 4.3 million, among which 2.9 million were urban residents.
Culture Language Besides ethnic minority languages such as Miao and Bouyei, the people of Guiyang speak a variety of Southwestern Mandarin. It differs from common Mandarin for the retroflex sounds it lacks. Compared to Mandarin which has five tones (four and a non-stressed tone), Guiyang's local language only has three tones. Many old characters from ancient China are still used within Guiyang's language, which sound like Korean or Japanese. For example, "" (to go) is pronounced as "kèi", fourth tone, instead of the Mandarin pronunciation "qù" and 做 (to do) is pronounced as "zo", fourth tone, rather than the Mandarin pronunciation "zuo".
Cuisine Provinces in China are known for the different specialities they offer, and Guiyang is most known for its spicy food as well as the following dishes: Gaoba porridge (), a sweet dessert. Fish in sour soup (), a Miao dish with roasted fish and various vegetables. Huangba (), a sweet wrap made of rice that can be steamed or fried Huaxi Vermicelli (), a dish that consists of beef vermicelli, that is frequently eaten as a breakfast in Guiyang. Siwawa (), a dish that can be vegetarian or a mix of pork scraps and vegetables, where the ingredients are enclosed in rice wraps. Ice jelly with sesame seeds and peanuts (), usually eaten in summer, with siwawa or barbecue Chang-Wang noodles (), made up with pig's intestines and pig's blood. Qingyan's pig's feet (), mostly found in the old town of Qingyan, pig's feet symbolize good luck. Potato cake (洋芋粑; Yángyù bā): Mashed potatoes fried into pancakes, seasoned with chili powder, a common street snack. Beef in Sour Soup (酸汤牛肉; Suāntāng niúròu): Sour soup is not only used to cook fish, but is also often stewed with beef, which is appetizing and refreshing. Since the mid-2000s, Guiyang has developed a coffee culture, with as of 2025 over 3,000 coffee shops in the city, the highest density among cities in China.
Tourism
Being the capital of Guizhou, a very old and traditional province of China, Guiyang is shaped by its history, and still possesses many historical sites that attract many tourists: The Jiaxiu Pavilion (): The Jiaxiu Pavilion is located in the southern tip of the Guiyang Nanming River, which is the city's emblem and its symbol. It was initially built in 1598 during the Ming Dynasty and was destroyed multiple times in history. It was being rebuilt most recently in 1982. Qingyan Ancient Town (): Qingyan Ancient Town is located in the southern tip of Guiyang. It was originally built in the year 1378, during the Ming Dynasty. It is known its beautiful Chinese ancient architecture.
Xifeng Concentration Camp (): Xifeng Concentration Camp was the largest, highest-level prison of all the prisons set up by the Military commission of the KMT government during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, and it was added by the state council to the list of major historical and cultural sites under state protection, in 1988. Confucian Center (): the Confucian center is a non-public and educational organization affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. The Confucius Institute promotes and teaches Chinese culture and language around the world. The Confucian Temple, in the center of Qufu city, was built in 478 BC. Xifeng Hot Spring (): Xifeng Hot Spring is located in the northeast of Xifeng County. The hot spring is surrounded by many mountains, upon which rich slopes grow a profusion of pines, firs, bamboos and other plants. This beautiful place has offered its advantages for sanatoriums, hospitals and villas.