Its location in southern China, along its border with Vietnam, and mountainous terrain, has made it one of the border frontiers of Chinese civilization. Even into the 20th century it was considered an open, wild territory. The current name "Guang" itself means "expanse", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in 226 AD. It was given provincial level status during the Yuan Dynasty and in 1949 was reformed as one of China's four minority autonomous regions.
The abbreviation of the province is (Gui), which comes from Guilin, former capital, center of much of Guangxi's culture, politics, and history, and currently a major city in the autonomous region. Located in the southern part of the country, Guangxi is bordered by Yunnan to the west, Guizhou to the north, Hunan to the northeast, and Guangdong to the southeast. It is also bounded by Vietnam in the southwest and the Gulf of Tonkin in the south.
Guangxi is a mountainous region. The Nanling Mountains are found in the northeast border, with the Yuecheng Mountains and Haiyang Mountains being its shorter branching ridges. Nearer to the center of the region are the Dayao Mountains and the Daming Mountains. To the north there are the Duyao Mountains and the Fenghuang Mountains, while on the southeast border there are the Yunkai Mountains. The highest point is Mount Mao'er located in the Yuecheng Mountains, at 2141 m.
Many rivers cut valleys through the mountains. Most of these rivers form the tributary basin of the West River |
