【Location•Area】Situated in the central and western part of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, Nanshan District consists of land, Neilingding Island, Dachan Island, Mazhou Island, Dafanshi Island, and Xiaofanshi Island, with its geographical coordinates of 22.24 degree to 22.39 degree north latitude and 113.47 degree to 114.01 degree east longitude. It borders Futian District to the east via Che Kung Temple, Bao’an District to the west via Nantou Anle Village and Chiwei Village, and Longhua District to the north via Mount Yangtai, and Shekou Port, Dachan Island and Neilingding Island to the south. It is adjacent to Yuen Long, Hong Kong across Shenzhen Bay in the southeast, facing Macao and Zhuhai across the Pearl River Estuary in the southwest.

The terrain is long from north to south and narrow from east to west. Its jurisdiction covers a land area of 185.3 square kilometers, with a coastline of 43.7 kilometers. It is 5.5 kilometers (linear distance, the same below) away from Yuen Long, Hong Kong in the southeast, 61.6 kilometers from Huizhou in the northeast, 61.3 kilometers from Dongguan in the northwest, 102.4 kilometers from Guangzhou in the west, and 59.1 kilometers from Macao in the southwest.

【Administrative Changes】In the pre-Qin period (befor 221 BC), the present-day Nanshan area was Baiyue lands. In the Qin Dynasty, it belonged to Panyu County, Nanhai Prefecture. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, it was controlled by Panyu County, Nanwu Prfecture, Nanyue Kingdom, and it belonged to Boluo County, Nanhai Prfecture during the reign of Emperor Wu in the West Han Dynasty. From the Three Kingdoms period to the West Jin Dynasty, it was subject to Boluo County, Nanhai Prfecture. In the 6th year of Xianhe in the East Jin Dynasty (331 AD), Donggong Prefecture having jurisdiction over 6 counties like Bao’an and Xingning was established by separating from Nanhai Prefecture, with the government seats of Donggong Prefecture and Bao’an County set up in Nantou City of the Nanshan area. During the Southern Dynasties, the Nanshan area was subordinate to Bao’an County, Dongguan Prefecture. In the Sui Dynasty, it belonged to Bao’an County, initially attached to Guangzhou General Administration, and later to Nanhai Prefecture. In the 2nd year of Zhide in the Tang Dynasty (757 AD), the government seat of Bao’an County was moved from Nantou to Yong (Guancheng Subdistrict, Dongguan today). Later, Bao’an was renamed Dongguan County controlling the Nanshan area, which was under the jurisdiction of Guangzhou Dudu Mansion. During the Post-Liang period of the Five Dynasties, it belonged to Dongguan County, Xingwangfu, the capital of the Southern Han Dynasty. In the 5th year of Kaibao in the Song Dynasty (972 AD), it was under the jurisdiction of Zengcheng County, Guangzhou Zhongdu Mansion. In the following year, Dongguan County was restored, and it belonged to Dongguan County under the control of Guangzhou Zhongdu Mansion. In the Yuan Dynasty, the Nanshan area was within the jurisdiction of Dongguan County, Guangzhou Road. In the 1st year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1573 AD), Xin’an County was established by separating from Dongguan County, with its seat of government set up Nantou Ancient City in the Nanshan area. The Nanshan area was under the jurisdiction of Xin’an County, Guangzhou Prefecture. From the 5th year to the 7th year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, the coastal Xin’an County was relocated and merged into Dongguan County, because the Qing Government ordered residents in China’s South-East coastal areas to move 50 li (later, increased to 80 li) to the interior. The Nanshan area was under the jurisdiction of Dongguan County, Guangzhou Prefecture. In the 8th year of Kangxi, the relocation order was annulled, and Xin’an County was restored. In the first year of the Republic of China (1912 AD), the Nanshan area was under the jurisdiction of Xin’an County, Guangdong Province. In January 1914, Xin’an County was renamed Bao’an County because it shared the same name with Xin’an County in Henan Province. The Nanshan area belonged to Bao’an County, Guangdong Province. Afterwards, its superior administrative regions changed incessantly. It was successively subordinate to Yuehai Road, Guangdong Province, Guangzhou Administrative Commission Office, Central District Rehabilitation Management Committee, Central District Appeasement Office, and Administrative Inspection Offices of District 1, District 4, and District 2. On October 16, 1949, Nantou of Bao’an County was liberated, and the Nanshan area was under the jurisdiction of Bao’an County, Dongjiang Commissioner’s Office. Afterwards, its superior administrative regions changed continuously. It was successively subordinate to Zhujiang Commissioner’s Office, Guangdong Central Administrative Office, Huiyang Prefecture, Foshan Prefecture, and Huiyang District. In December 1953, the government seat of Bao’an was moved from Nantou City to Shenzhen Town. In January 1979, Bao’an County was upgraded Shenzhen City, and the Nanshan area belonged to Shenzhen. In August 1980, Shenzhen Special Economic Zone was established, with the Nanshan area within the jurisdiction. In August 1981, the Nanshan area belonged to Luohu District. In June 1983, approved by the State Council and the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, Nantou District, a county-level organization, was set up, with the same administrative area with that of Nanshan District today. In August 1984, with the approval of Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, Shekou District was established in part of Nantou District. In January 1990, approved by the State Council, Nanshan District having jurisdiction over the original Nantou District and Shekou District was set up, which belonged to Shenzhen. In September of that year, Nanshan District was officially established, which has been carried on since then. The District Government is located at No.1, Taoyuan Road Nantou Subdistrict, about 17 kilometers away from the Shenzhen Municipal Government.

【Landforms】Nanshan District is a landform of peninsula and bay, dominated by platform and plain and followed by hills and terrace. It is composed of a peninsula and nearby several islands. The terrain is roughly high in the north and low in the south, and can be divided into three levels of terrain from north to south, namely the northern hilly basin, the central low-hill platform area, and the southern low-hill flat area, declining from north to south. The main terrain proportions are as follows: platform area accounts for 40%, hills account for 30%, flat land accounts for 20%, and the rest are mudflats.

The northern hilly basin, customarily called Xili Mountains, belongs to hill area because the rest (including Mount Tanglang) are below 500 meters in altitude, with the exception of Mount Yangtai. The hilly basin encompasses three terrain plots of Rocky Mountains, Xili Reservoir area and Tanglangchuan planting and breeding land.

The central low-hill platform area is one between the south of Liuxiandong, Jiuxiangling, Mount Tanglang, Antuo Hill and the north of Nantou High School-Shenzhen University-OCT, featuring undulating hilly platform terrain and with a total area of more than 30 square kilometers. Apart from a small number of isolated granites mountains above 50 meters in altitude, the rest are 20-50 meters and 5-10 meters above sea level, with the highest hills of Robin’s Nest and Dawangshan in the platform.

The southern low-hill flat area refers to one between the south of Nantou High School, Dawangshan, Shenzhen University and the South China Sea, with a total area of more than 30 square kilometers. It can also be divided into the northern and southeastern flat land and the southwestern hilly area of Big Nanshan Mountain, each occupying half of the area.

【Climate】Located on the coast of the South China Sea, Nanshan District has a subtropical maritime monsoon climate. The four seasons is characterized by long summer and short winter, with an average length of 185 days in summer and 25 days in winter. Average sunshine hours for many years are 1,924.2 hours. The annual average temperature is 22.7℃. The number of days with the daily minimum temperature of less than 5℃ averages 2.9 days per year, and the number of days with the daily maximum temperature of more than or equal to 35℃ averages 3.3 days per year. The annual average precipitation is 1,976.8 mm, and the annual average precipitation days are 143 days. There are two rainy periods in a year, of which is the peak surface rain resulted from the landing of Pacific tropical ocean air masses in May and June, commonly known as “Dragon Boat Water,” and the other is typhoon rain in summer and autumn often leading to floods. The annual average wind speed is 2.6 meter per second. The annual dominant wind direction is the easterly, followed by the northeasterly and east-southeasterly winds, which are often harmed by typhoons. The solar radiation is rich, and the annual average solar radiation is 4,913 megajoule per square meter.

【Natural Resources】In 2017, the administrative area of Nanshan District had a land area of 187.53 square kilometers, a built-up area of 112.22 square kilometers, and an urban construction land area of 115.07 square kilometers.

Hills

The main hills in Nanshan District are Mount Yangtai, Mount Tanglang, Big Nanshan Mountain, Small Nanshan Mountain, and etc. Located at the junction of Nanshan District and Bao’an District, Mount Yangtai is the highest peak in Nanshan District, with 587 meters above sea level. It runs from east to west and has a slope of 25-34 degrees. Mount Tanglang, situated in the northern hilly basin, is the second highest peak in Nanshan District with an altitude of 430 meters. It runs from east to west and has a slope of 25-34 degrees. Located in the south of Nanshan District, Big Nanshan Mountain runs from the northwest to the southeast. As the main peak of the Nantou Peninsula, it is 336 meters above sea level, and has a slope of 25-34 degrees. Since it is tall and stands on the seashore, Big Nanshan Mountain looks towering and imposing.

Bays

The main bays in Nanshan District are Shenzhen Bay, Shekou Bay, Chiwan Bay, Mawan, and Qianhai Bay. Shenzhen Bay, also known as Houhai Bay, is situated in the southwest of Shenzhen. It is an inland bay formed by Kowloon Peninsula on the east side and Nantou Peninsula on the west side in the Lingdingyang, with Shenzhen River and Dasha River flowing into. The bay mouth is about 6 kilometer wide, and the length from the bay top to the bay mouth is about 16 kilometers, where the Shenzhen Bay Observation Park was built. Shekou Bay, between Shishan Mountain and Shekou Mountain, has Shekou Port and Shekou Fishing Port. Chiwan is located in the southern end of the Nantou Peninsula, facing the sea and surrounded by mountains on three sides. Chiwan has a water depth of 13 meters and slight back-siltation. As Chiwan is a typical bay where sea water penetrates into the land, it has the conditions for building a deep-water port, and the Chiwan Port is constructed.  Mawan is located in the southwestern end of the Nantou Peninsula, on the east bank of the Pearl River Estuary and the north of Chiwan. It is 12-13 meters deep, navigable to seagoing vessels of 20,000-50,000 metric tons, with the Mawan Port constructed. Qianhai Bay is located in the west of the Nantou Peninsula, facing the Pearl River Estuary. It is the seat of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone approved by the State Council with some provincial administrative authority. The coastal tide range is moderate, and the Lingdingyang tide is irregular semi-diurnal tide.

Islands

There are Neilingding Island, Dachan Island, Mazhou Island, Dafanshi Island and Xiaofanshi Island in Nanshan District. Located among Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Hong Kong and Macao, Neilingding Island has a coastal line of 11 kilometers, covers a total area of 5.54 square kilometers, and is a continental island. The Island terrain is high in the east and low in the west, most of its hills are less than 100 meters in altitude, and the main peak of Mount Jianfeng is 340.9 meters above sea level. The Island is a national nature reserve, where Wen Tianxiang, hero of Anti-Yuan Dynasty, wrote a popular poem entitled “Passing Lingdingyang."

Rivers and Reservoirs

There are Dasha River, Xiaosha River and Shuangjie River in Nanshan District. The reservoirs include Xili Reservoir, Changlingpi Reservior, and four small (2) reservoirs of Niuqikeng Reservoir, Liuxiandong Reservoir, Qianjing Reservoir and Beidu Reservoir. As the second largest river in Shenzhen, Dasha River runs through the entire Nanshan District from north to south, with a total length of 18.8 kilometers and a drainage area of 81.3 square kilometers. Xili Reservoir is not only a water delivery hub of water sources in the east of Shenzhen, but an important drinking water resource for districts like Nanshan, Bao’an and Futian, with a rain catchment area of 29 square kilometers and a total storage capacity of 40 million cubic meters.

Animal and Plant Resources

Nanshan District boasts Alsophila spinulosa, a rare and endangered plant under first-class state protection, rare wild cycad species, and 314 species of wild animals such as birds, beasts, reptiles and amphibians. In the Neilingding National Nature Protection Reserve, there are Artocarpus hypargyreus and agarwood, two plants under second-class state protection, pythons, an animal under first-class protection, and 21 species of animals under second-class protection. Among others, there are three species of beasts, which are Macaques, pangolins and others. There are 15 species of birds, which are rock heron, kite, red-bellied eagle, crested eagle, sparrow eagle, common buzzard, osprey, peregrine falcon, falcon, red-collared green parrot, brown-winged cuckoo, small cuckoo, grass owl, collared owl, bar-headed owl. There is one species of amphibians, namely tiger Frogs, one species of reptiles, namely three-line closed shell turtle, and 474 species of insects.

【Population】In 2022, the population of permanent residents in Nanshan District was 1.81 million, of which the registered population is 928,100, and the non-registered population is 881,900. As the permanent population in Nanshan District comes from all over the country, they can speak various dialects, but Mandarin is usually used for communication.