The most revered of China's five sacred mountains, and a key geological, religious, and cultural site in Shandong province; a world heritage site. Evidence of settlement dates back 400 000 years, and the area is rich in fossils, medicinal plants, ancient ruins, and temples.
Because it is estimated that over 75% of all overseas Chinese until the mid- to late-20th century claimed origin in Taishan, the city is also known as the "Home of Overseas Chinese" .
Taishanese speak the Taishan dialect or sei yap (four counties), a dialect of Cantonese usually considered to be similar to Standard Cantonese.
History
On February 12, 1499 in the 12th year of the reign of the emperor Hongzhi during the Ming Dynasty, Taishan was founded as Xinning County (新宁县) from land in the south-west of Xinhui County.
From 1854 to 1867 a genocidal war broke out mainly in Taishan County between the Punti and Hakka people with disastrous results for all sides.
In 1914, Xinning was renamed Taishan to avoid confusion with the Xinnings of Hunan and Sichuan.
On April 17, 1992, Taishan's status was upgraded from county (县) to county-level city (县级市).
Education
Education in the city of Taishan enjoys significant support from Oversea Chinese professionals and businessmen.
To honor their benefactors, these schools often bear their names or the names of their parents.
Primary and secondary education is generally excellent for the region.
The only university is the Deng Xiaoping-era Television University (电视大学), which mostly services high school dropouts and adults seeking additional educational credentals for jobs they have already have.
Local high school students usually try to attend universities outside the city, in Guangzhou and Jiangmen.
Administration
Taishan is under the jurisdiction of Jiangmen.
These townships (鎮) are:
Baisha (白沙鎮) Beidou (北陡鎮): separated from the other townships by Zhenhai Bay (鎮海灣) inlet Chixi (赤溪鎮) Dajiang (大江鎮) Doushan (鬥山鎮) Duhu (都斛鎮) Guanghai (廣海鎮) Haiyan (海宴鎮): contains an overseas Chinese farm (華僑農場) Nafu (那扶鎮) Duanfen (端芬鎮) Sanba (三八鎮) Sanhe (三合鎮) Shangchuan (上川鎮): islands; Tourism Open Integrated Experimental Zone (旅遊開發綜合試驗區) Chonglou (沖蔞鎮)These "natural villages" (自然村) include:
An Nan Jiang Chao (安南江潮) Bei Hou (庇厚)Demographics
Today, some 1.3 million people living overseas can trace their ancestry to Taishan, outnumbering those who now live in Taishan.
Among these are:
Gary Locke - Former Governor of Washington of Shuibu Adrienne Clarkson - Former Governor General of Canada of Sijiu Julius Chan - Former Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea of Annanjiangchao Village (安南江潮村) of Duoshan Jack Yan - Magazine publisher of New Zealand of Taishan since c. 1600 Chin Siu Dek (aka Jimmy H.
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