Xiaoguwei
Xiaoguwei, formerly known in English as French Island, is an island in the Pearl River Delta of China's Guangdong Province. It is now administered as part of Xinzao (新造镇), a town in Guangzhou's Panyu District. The Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center now occupies the entire island.
| Population = 131,470 | population as of = 2010
| Xiaoguwei | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 "Part of the Canton River" in 1841, a map showing Guangzhou and its surrounding islands during the First Opium War. Xiaoguwei ("French Is.") lies in the southeast, Changzhou ("Dane Is.") to its north, Henan ("Honam Is.") to its west, and Pazhou ("Whampoa Is.") to its northwest. | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 小谷圍島 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 小谷围岛 | ||||||||||
| Postal | French Island | ||||||||||
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Geography
Xiaoguwei is about 17.9 km2 (6.9 sq mi).
History
During the Canton trade, Xiaoguwei was used by French crews for repairs and burials. It lay on the southeastern side of the Huangpu or "Whampoa" anchorage. French access to Guangzhou was, however, frequently blocked by the British Navy amid its colonial, revolutionary, and Napoleonic Wars.
Transportation
Xiaoguwei is connected with Luntou (仑头) in Haizhu District by tunnel. Bridges on the Nansha Port Expressway, a toll road, links it to Henan Island (Haizhu District) in the west and the rest of Panyu District to the south. A third bridge connects it to Haizhu's Yingzhou Ecological Park and a fourth to Huangpu District's Changzhou Island in the northeast.
The Guangzhou Metro has two stations on the island, the Higher Education Mega Center North and South Stations of Line 4.
Dozens of bus routes cross the island and connect its universities with downtown Guangzhou, the most important of which is Bus 381, which connects every university to the two subway stations. There are regular buses and express commuter buses using the toll roads and having fewer stops. Many of the express buses connect different campuses of the island's universities. In addition to these routes, some universities offer their own shuttle services for their faculty and staff.