houseboats. Since 1949, a tremendous amount of

urban renewal has occurred. Much of the new housing built: along the shores of the Pearl River accommodates the 60,000 previously wretched boat people.

The rich alluvial soil of the Pearl River Delta provides the Guangzhou region with its highly productive agricultural base. Some 92,000 hectares(227,000 acres) are under cultivation. In

addition to three rice crops a year, the area produces wheat, fruit, vegetables, sugarcane, and oil-bearing plants. Guangzhou municipality itself includes 33 townships (former

communes)and 16 state farms.

The city also has over 3,200 factories producing newsprint, refined sugar, ships, cement, steel, chemicals, automobiles, machinery, textiles, rubber goods, canned goods, and fertilizer.

Clothing (about one-third of which is exported), bamboo and rattan products, pottery, ivory, jade, and jewelry are also manufactured or processed here.

Guangzhou has over a dozen colleges and research institutes, including the renowned Zhongshan (Sun Yatsen) University, famous for its medicat school. It is also the home of the

Guangdong Province Historical Museum and several children’s cultural palaces.

Guangzhou has staunchly maintained its unique cultural traditions, including its distinctive earthy dialect, vernacular literature, lively music, colorful opera, and splendidly varied cuisine.