A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO GUIZHOU PROVINCE

Location

Guizhou Province, called Qian or Gui for short, is located in the eastern part of southwest China’s Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, with Hunan Province to its east, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to the south, Yunnan Province to the west, and Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality to the north. Its central location at the southwestern China makes it a crucial hub for the region.

Geography

Guizhou is a mountainous province. It covers an area of 176,100 square kilometers. The Province is more than 1,000 meters above ea level. The average sea level is 1,100 meters, adding to its rich mountainous topography. Actually, as much as 92.5% of the Province’s total area is characterized by mountains with its world-famous Karst rock formations of special appeal.

Climate

Because of its high altitude and relatively low latitude, which means it is influenced by southeasterly monsoon, the climate in Guizhou varies greatly in different regions. Generally, however, the weather is mild and humid. Abundant moisture makes chilly temperatures and severe heat rather rare. With an average air temperature of 5.2C in January and 24.3C in July, Guizhou is an ideal summer resort.

History

Guizhou is one of the birthplaces of mankind. There were human beings living on the land as early as about 500,000 or 600,000 years ago and created the antediluvian civilization. In 1382 AD, Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty established a military administration in the area. This was the first provincial military administration in Guizhou. In 1413 AD, Era Yongle of the Ming Dynasty established an administration, and for the first time, Guizhou became a province of China.

Population and Ethnic Groups

Apart from the Han people, there are many other minority groups living in Guizhou. Different ethnic groups account for 36.77% of the Province’s total population of 37.5 million. Guizhou is the home to 49 minority peoples, 17 of which view the Province as their cultural home. There are 10 minority groups including Miao (Moung), Buyi(Bouyi), Dong, Tujia, Yi, Gelao, Shui, Hui and Bai, whose populations are more than 100,000. In total, Guizhou has the country’s third biggest population of minority groups.

 

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO GUIZHOU UNIVERSITY

Guizhou University’s predecessor, Guizhou Institute of Higher Learning, was founded in 1902. In the process of its development, the name of the university was changed as Provincial Guizhou University, National Guizhou College of Agriculture and Engineering, and National Guizhou University. In November 1951, Mao Zedong, then Chairman of the country, inscribed in person the Chinese name of Guizhou University. In August 1997 it was merged with Guizhou Agricultural College, Guizhou Institute of Arts, and Guizhou Agricultural Cadre-Training School. Seven years later in August 2004,it was merged again with Guizhou University of Technology and became the current new Guizhou University. In September 2005, the state Ministry of Education approved Guizhou University to develop in line with the criteria of the “Project 211”(Project 211 is the Chinese government’s new endeavor aimed at strengthening about 100 institutions of higher education and key disciplinary areas as a national priority for the 21st century).

Guizhou University covers a total area of 4237.3 mu, and is composed of 4 main campuses in different areas in Guiyang City. Its floorage amounts to 998,800 square meters and its libraries hold a collection of 3.8 million books, journal, etc.

The University consists of 24 colleges, containing 112 undergraduate specialties, 10 PhD programs, 133 Master’s programs and 6 Master’s programs for specialized subjects. All are authorized to confer degrees. The disciplines cover 11 branches of learning: philosophy, economics, laws, education, liberal arts, history, science, engineering, agriculture, medicine and administration. Presently, the total number of full-time students is 47,950, of which 4,360 are postgraduate students. The University has turned our 150,000 all kinds of qualified personnel’s.

The University adheres to the policy, “developing itself by relying on talents”, and consistently makes great efforts to improve the teaching and research capability of its faculty. Now, its full-time teachers number 2,372 (299 full professors and 714 associate professors).

The University has one state-level engineering and technical research center, 4 key laboratories jointly constructed by the State Ministry of Education and the Provincial Government, 24 provincial key disciplinary areas, 23 provincial key laboratories, 4 provincial bases for humanity and social science studies, and 3 state-level postdoctoral research stations for major projects, 91 natural science research organizations and 21 humanity and social science research organizations.

Guizhou University has always placed importance on the development of international cooperation and exchanges, so far, the University has established cooperative and exchange relations with more than 40 academic institutions in about 20 countries and regions, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Israel, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. To maintain and develop these relations, Guizhou University receives visitors from these institutions and other areas.

Guizhou University has been granted the status of Educational Aid Center for Asia and Africa (there are only 10 in the country) and one of the universities to recruit international students under Chinese Government Scholarship by the Ministry of Education of the People Republic of China.

Figuratively speaking, Guizhou University is getting out of the surrounding mountains and gearing itself along international standards. It is aiming to fulfill its dream of becoming one of the leading universities in the country, taking great strides to rejuvenate the Guizhou Province.