Sanshui District, formerly romanized as Samshui, is an urban district of the prefecture-level city of Foshan in Guangdong province, China. It had a population of 622,645 as of the 2010 census. It is known for the "Samsui women", emigrants who labour in Singapore, and for a large fireworks explosion in 2008.

History

According to archaeology sites discovered within the region, there were human beings inhabited in the town of Baini (白坭鎮) Sanshui District about four thousand years ago. Sanshui County was established in the fifth year of Jiajing (1526) in the Ming Dynasty. It was merged into Nanhai County in 1959, revoked and restored in 1960, and reorganized into a county-level city in 1993. In 2002, it was reorganized into a district and belonged to Foshan City.

In February 2008, twenty fireworks warehouses exploded in Sanshui. In total over 15,000 cartons of fireworks were set off over a period of 24 hours. The loss of inventory was extensive enough that U.S. markets faced real shortages of supply.

Administration divisions

The neighbouring cities, counties and districts are Gaoyao, Dinghu District and Sihui in the west, Qingxin County and Qingyuan in the north, Huadu District and Nanhai District in the east and Gaoming District in the south-west. Sanshui administers 2 subdistricts and 5 towns:

Name	Chinese (S)	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2010)	Area (km)
Xinan Subdistrict	西南街道	Xīnán Jiēdào	283,819	178.00
Yundonghai Subdistrict	云东海街道	Yúndōnghǎi Jiēdào	29,953	56.00
Lubao town	芦苞镇	Lúbāo Zhèn	40,626	105.00
Datang town	大塘镇	Dàtáng Zhèn	46,704	98.23
Leping town	乐平镇	Lèpíng Zhèn	134,508	198.50
Baini town	白坭镇	Báiní Zhèn	64,425	66.46
Nanshan town	南山镇	Nánshān Zhèn	22,610	115.62

Economy

Oil, coal, and slate are found in the surrounding area. However, Sanshui is also an important producer of food for Guangdong Province, especially fruit. The mainstay of the former city's economy was the Jianlibao Company, which produced a soft drink made from oranges and honey. During the 1990s, Jianlibao was a popular drink throughout China and it even made it into the Hong Kong market. However, embezzlement by the company's senior management has reduced its success. Despite Sanshui's proximity to Guangzhou and other Pearl River Delta cities, it remains a relatively poor place with many people only earning a few hundred yuan a month.

Transportation

Sanshui is on the railway line from Guangzhou to Maoming. The district is served by G15 Shenyang–Haikou Expressway (which provides access to Kaiping and the southern suburbs of Foshan), G55 Erenhot–Guangzhou Expressway (which provides direct access to downtown Guangzhou), China National Highway 321 (which provides access to Zhaoqing) and China National Highway 324.

Climate