Zhanjiang

Zhanjiang is a coastal city in southern China, located on the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong province. It is a prefecture-level city which administers the entire Leizhou Peninsula and lies directly opposite to Haikou, the capital of the Hainan province, across the Qiongzhou Strait. It is the southernmost port on the coast of mainland China, serving as a centre of commerce and navigation for much of southwestern China. The city's built-up urban centre consists of four districts: Chikan, Xiashan, Potou, and Mazhang. According to the 2020 census, the city's resident population was 6,981,236, down slightly from 6,994,832 in 2010—the highest decade-census figure to that date. More recent estimates (2023) place the total resident population at about 7,078,400, an all-time high, while the urban population of the built-up centre is estimated at roughly 3,402,700 (2023), also an all-time high. In 2007, the Chinese Cities Brand Value Report ranked Zhanjiang among China's ten most livable cities. Zhanjiang's culture is shaped by the Leizhou Peninsula, home to the distinctive Leizhou Opera (雷剧). The city also hosts a major base of the People's Liberation Army Navy.