The province is wider than tall, and irregular in shape. The north is more mountainous, and so is the southwest and part of the southeast. The coast is indented and includes small islands. The Xi River(2) system flows through the middle of the land. An ancient canal, no longer navigable, connects a northeast tributary to the headwaters of the Xiang, the main south to north river of Hunan and a tributary of the Yangtze(3). The northeast also includes the picturesque areas near Guilin--the famous rock formations, eroded from the karst which is common throughout much of the province.
From the point of view of spoken languages, there is no majority. But written Chinese links Yue(4) and Putonghua(5), and together these account for nearly two in three residents(6). The relative proportions of these two linguistic groups is hard to ascertain--the government's statistics focus on race instead. In general the Yue live in the southeast and east whereas the Putonghua live in the north and west.
The two largest minority languages, with perhaps one in three speakers between them, are Northern and Southern Zhuang.(7)
Religious patterns follow the nation: a syncretic blend of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Chinese folk religions. Many do not practice any religion, but some of these would, were it not for government oppression.
Nanning is the largest city and provincial capital, with over a million residents. It is famous for being the military supply center for wars in Vietnam. One of the other 12 cities (shi) with more than a million metropolitan residents is Liuzhou.
The Chinese were unknown here until the conquests of the Qin(8) Dynasty 2,200 years ago. The other groups here all speak languages in the Austro-Tai group(9), which originated in southeastern China. Two local sub-groups evolved: the Miao-Yao(10) family, currently spoken in Guizhou(11) and northwest Guangxi; and the Kadai(12) family. The Kadai group consists of the Kam(13)-Sui group--now spoken in Guizhou, Hunan and Guangxi; and the Tai(14) family, which includes the Zhuang languages. Part of the Tai migrated southwest into Yunnan and Thailand.
Religious history prior to the Chinese is unknown. By the time the Chinese arrived Confucianism, blended with folk practices, was the immigrants' religion, with Taoism added to the mix soon after(15). Buddhism was not welcomed by the government, but nonetheless became part of the national religion. Religion under communism has been discouraged.
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(1) Kuang-hsi in an alternate transliteration from Chinese; also known as Kwangsi; it could be translated as Wide West.
(2) The Xi is the main tributary of the short Pearl (Zhu) River of Guangdong (Kwangtung) Province. Locally the Xi's sections are called the Xun, the Qian and the Hongshui as one travels upstream. The Yu, its tributary, is at least as important as the main flow.
(3) Or Chang.
(4) Or Cantonese.
(5) Or Mandarin.
(6) Perhaps more, as it is unknown how many of the ethnic Zhuang now speak Chinese.
(7) Or Chuang or Juang or T'u-jen (People of the Soil). Racially they are one in three but some speak only Chinese. Southern Zhuang is also called Nung.
(8) Or Ch'in or Ts'in.
(9) Not all linguists accept the group's unity.
(10) Also called Man Meo or Hmong. Hmong is does not have derogatory overtones.
(11) Or Kuei-chou or Kweichow.
(12) Also called the Tai-Kadai or Zhuang-Dong family.
(13) Dong is the Chinese word for Kam.
(14) Or Thai. It means free. Also called Asam, Shan, Syam, Sien, Dai and Zhuang-Dai.
(15) Its literary roots are older.