Published : 2025-05-13
Guangzhou is the capital of China's Guangdong Province and a major city in the Greater Bay Area.
But do you know that there is also a city called "Guangzhou" in the United States? And there are even more than one!
"Canton" originally referred to "provincial capital of Guangdong"
Why does the United States have a "Guangzhou"? It has to be traced back to history.
During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD) , China adopted a policy of closed-door diplomacy from 1757 during the Qianlong era until the defeat in the Opium War in 1842.
The "single port trade" policy had been enforced for nearly a century, allowing Western merchants to trade only in Guangzhou in China's southern coastal area. Westerners who travelled from afar referred to this place as "Canton."
The term "Canton" originates from a Western administrative division in, similar to a state or county.
In the context relevant to China, it initially referred to "the provincial capital of Guangdong."
At that time, Guangzhou was not yet a "city" in the modern sense, and its relationship with the "provincial capital of Guangdong" was different, though the distinction is somewhat complex to explain.
Later, "Canton" gradually evolved to refer specifically to Guangzhou, becoming its standard foreign-language name until the mid-to-late 20th century.
The shift away from this term came with the adoption of the "Guangzhou", which is based on Pinyin, the most common romanisation system for Standard Chinese.
Read more: Is the foreign name of Guangzhou "Canton" or "Guangzhou"?
Trade centre becomes a symbol of wealth
Incidentally, Canton Road in Hong Kong is also derived from "the provincial capital of Guangdong," not Guangdong or Guangzhou.
That being said, at the time Guangzhou's economy was developed and it was an eastern trade centre, it gradually became a symbol of wealth in the minds of many Westerners.
Some Westerners borrowed this "famous name" to name their places, which is why there are "Guangzhou" in the United States and other countries.
Of course, the place names in the United States are not in Chinese characters for Guangzhou (廣州), but "Canton."
According to media reports, there are more than 20 "Guangzhou" of various sizes in the U.S. alone.
Some have developed into small cities and still retain the name today, while others have likely disappeared in the course of history and are hard to trace.
The "Canton" in Ohio
Nowadays, some residential estates, shopping malls, or hotels borrow the names of famous cities in Europe and America, similar to how Westerners once borrowed the name Guangzhou.
Where is America's "Guangzhou" located? One such place is in north-eastern Ohio.
Based on various sources, Canton, Ohio has had settlements since the early 19th century and became a city in 1838.
The city got its name because the surveyor of the area wanted to commemorate a merchant he admired, who had transported goods from China's Guangzhou to the United States and had named his plantation Canton.
Today, Canton in Ohio is the administrative centre of Stark County, with a population of about 70,000.
Yes, the population scale of many foreign cities is not large and cannot be compared to Chinese cities.
In China, a population of 70,000 typically only corresponds to a township, while Guangzhou in China currently has a population of about 19 million, more than the entire state of Ohio.
Home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Additionally, if you like American football, you might know Canton, as it is the birthplace of the National Football League and the site of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
It should be added that although the city is named Canton, its translated Chinese name is "坎頓", which may not be easy to associate it with Guangzhou. In fact, today's Canton probably has no direct connection with Guangzhou, China.
Another relatively famous Canton in the U.S. is in the Midwest, Illinois, with a population of over 10,000. It is worth mentioning that in Illinois, in addition to "Canton," there is also a "Beijing" with a population of more than 30,000.
The founder of the city in the early 19th century named it "Pekin" because his wife thought it corresponded with China's capital Beijing from east to west, and had a similar latitude; "Pekin" is the French translation of Beijing.
