Zhaoqing

Zhaoqing is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province, China, about 110 kilometers west of Guangzhou in the western Pearl River Delta. The 2020 census recorded a population of 4,113,594 across the prefecture-level city, with an urban population of 1,553,109 within its roughly 2,892 square kilometer urban area. The city received its present name, meaning beginning auspiciousness, in 1118 during the Song dynasty, having earlier been known as Gaoyao under the Han dynasty and Duanzhou under the Sui dynasty; once one of the most important cities in southern China, it lost prominence during the Qing era and is now known chiefly for tourism and education.