History of Guangzhou has a distinct Dutch influence. Guangzhou was a flourishing city during the reign of the Nanyue kings, as early as 200 BC. During the Qin-dynasty (221- 206 BC), the emperor conquered the coastal areas at the Pearl River. During the Tang dynasty (618- 907) sailors and merchants from Persia and Malacca visited Guangzhou frequently. According to the history of Guangzhou, the city flourished until the eleventh century. Thereafter, a period of decay began. Later, from the fourteenth century onwards, Guangzhou was able to reestablish its position as most important harbor of China. Early days of Guangzhou

Guangzhou became a part of China in the 3d century. When the Hindu and Arab merchants reached Guangzhou in the 10th cent the city became the first Chinese port regularly visited by European traders. The history of Guangzhou states that the first contacts with Europeans date from the 16th century. Portugal secured a trade monopoly, but it was broken by the British in the late 17th century. In the 18th cent, the French and Dutch were also admitted.

The Republic of China was proclaimed at Sun Yat-sen. Guangzhou was the seat of the revolutionary movement under Sun Yat-sen in 1911. The fall of Guangzhou to the Communist armies in late Oct., 1949, signaled the Communist takeover of all China. Under the Communist government, Guangzhou was developed as an industrial center and a modern port, with a great trade to and from Hong Kong. The liberalization of the economy after 1978 by Deng Xiaoping had great implications for the area around Guangdong. Special Economic Zones were established (Shenzhen, Zhuhai, etc.) and factories were set up. The Guangzhou economy is flourishing untill today.