Overview of Lanhe Town

 Overview of Lanhe Town 

Lanhe Town, under the jurisdiction of Nansha District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, is located in the western part of Nansha District. It borders Dongchong Town and Dagang Town to the east, Dagang Town and Shunde District of Foshan City to the south, Shunde District of Foshan City to the west, and faces Shawen Subdistrict across the Shawen Waterway to the north. The town covers a total area of 74.61 square kilometers.

As the northwestern gateway to the national-level new district of Nansha, Lanhe Town is an old revolutionary base of Guangzhou and the hometown of the people's musician Xian Xinghai.

Legend has it that in the 19th year of the Kangxi era during the Qing Dynasty (1680), fishermen came here to collect oyster shells and discarded waste soil on the tidal flats. Through the action of tides, a sand ridge shaped like an olive pit—wider in the middle and tapered at both ends—was formed. Later, as the land developed into a village, it was named Lanhe (meaning "olive pit").

【Geographical Setting】

Lanhe Town is a typical large sand-field area formed from silt alluvium. Six external waterways—the Shawen Waterway, Xiqiao Waterway, Lijiasha Waterway, Lanhe Waterway, Qianhai River, and Dahuangtou Chong—traverse the entire area from west to east. Over 70 small rivers and streams crisscross the 23 villages, forming an interconnected network that divides the region into small land islands of varying sizes. The total area of water and land in the town maintains a ratio of 2:1.

Due to the branching dispersion of the West River tributary of the Pearl River system from northwest to southeast, prolonged alluviation from upstream gradually shaped the terrain, making it higher in the west and lower in the east. The construction of embankments for "polder fields" in the Lanhe area initially began in the westernmost regions, such as Qianhaisha (today's Gangang Village), Banmeisha (today's Banmei Village), Biesha (today's Zhangsong Village, Basha Village, Xinchong Village, and Lanhe Village), Niujiaosha (today's Niujiao Village and Lü Village), Hesha (today's Hesha Village, Shatou Village, and Renmin Village), Beidousha (today's Wan'an Village), and Dasha (today's Dasha Village). These areas became the earliest large sand-field zones formed through embankment construction and land reclamation. As a result, the terrain in Lanhe naturally tends to be higher in the west and lower in the east. The only hill in the town, Gangang Hill, is located in Gangang Village, with an elevation of just 22 meters.

【Administrative Division】

According to the latest statistics (based on the 2021 administrative division codes and recent planning), Lanhe Town administers:

1 community: Lanhe Community (Code: 440115105001, Town Center Area)

23 administrative villages: Lanhe, Xinchong, Basha, Zhangsong, Hesha, Dasheng, Renmin, Niujiao, Banmei, Wan'an, Gangang, Dacao, Zisha, Lücun, Duntang, Shunhe, Shangni, Xiani, Aowei, Yansha, Shajiao, Jiubi, Pingwen

2 farm residential areas: Minsheng Farm (Urban-Rural Integration Area) and Qisan Farm (Village)

The entire area is divided into 6 major functional zones, including an Urban Residential Service Zone, a Music and Cultural Industry Zone (leveraging the hometown of Xian Xinghai), and an Ecological Agriculture and Tourism Leisure Zone, forming a spatial layout of "One Core, One Axis, Six Districts".

【Population】

【History and Culture】

Lanhe Town is recognized as an old revolutionary base of Guangzhou and the birthplace of the earliest rural Party branch in Guangdong Province. In 1926, the first rural Party branch in Panyu—the Lanhe Party Branch—was established here, becoming a core hub for revolutionary activities in the surrounding areas. In 1928, the Provisional County Committee of the Communist Party of China in Panyu chose the Lanshenggong Temple in Lanhe as its base to lead the peasant movement. During the War of Resistance against Japan, the "Lanhe Squadron" led by Yang Zhong grew to over 300 members, conducting guerrilla warfare amid the river-crossed sugarcane fields. Their heroic deeds are commemorated today in the Yang Zhong Memorial Park in Dasheng Village. In 2021, Banmei Village was selected for the "Red Beautiful Village" pilot program by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. By reconstructing the Lanshenggong Temple site and creating a "Two Points, Two Routes" red tourism route (connecting Xinghai Park and revolutionary sites), the village has revitalized its role as a new base for red education.

As the hometown of Xian Xinghai, Lanhe Town is deeply committed to preserving the "Xinghai Spirit." Banmei Village has established the Xinghai Hometown Memorial Hall (2010), the Xian Xinghai Culture and Art Creation Center, and the "Road to Eternity" themed park, forming a cluster of red cultural landmarks. The memorial hall uses naked-eye 3D technology to recreate Xian Xinghai's process of composing the Yellow River Cantata. The village’s main road is named "Xinghai Road," and the exterior walls of residential buildings are adorned with music-themed murals. Through collaborations with children's palaces and banyan tree lecture halls, the village has developed unique courses integrating "music and Party building." In 2025, to mark the 120th anniversary of Xian Xinghai’s birth, the Northern Nansha Cultural Service Center is constructing a comprehensive exhibition hall for intangible cultural heritage and Xinghai culture, further strengthening the influence of this red cultural IP.

Leveraging the national-level intangible cultural heritage of Xiangyunsha (Yunjia) dyeing and finishing techniques, Lanhe Town has built a full industrial chain integrating "production, study, and tourism." The core project, the Yunsha Xingyun Intangible Cultural Heritage Park (a national AAA-level tourist attraction), covers 171 mu and features a unique "five-in-one" experience system, showcasing 72 traditional processes. The park collaborates with Xian Xinghai’s former residence (located just 200 meters away) to develop the "Red Yunjia Symphony" themed tour route. It hosts 800 study tour groups annually, with a participation rate of 93%. The deep integration of Xiangyunsha and Xinghai culture has become a golden name card for Lanhe’s "agriculture + culture + tourism" initiative.

【Commercial Hubs】 

Lanhe Town, serving as the northwestern gateway of the Nansha New Area, has established a diversified industrial system supported by its solid industrial foundation and agricultural resources. On the industrial front, it specializes in wire and cable manufacturing, food processing, and feed production, while also fostering emerging industrial clusters such as health products and toy molds. By 2023, the town was home to 118 industrial enterprises above the designated size (ranking second in the district), with industrial output value increasing by 1.8% year-on-year.

In agriculture, leveraging its advantage as a "land of fish and rice," Lanhe Town maintains over 70,000 mu of cultivated land and has established three large-scale agricultural parks, including the Niujiao Village Orchid Base and the Hesha Xiangyunsha Creative Industrial Park. These parks generate annual revenues exceeding 100 million yuan, with the Hesha Xiangyunsha Industrial Park recognized as a "Guangzhou Agricultural Park." These initiatives have helped all 23 villages in the town meet provincial-level beautiful and livable village standards.

Furthermore, through intensive land use, the town completed 446 transactions of rural collective public resources in 2023, with a total transaction value of 258 million yuan and a value-added rate of 34.6%, significantly revitalizing the rural economy.

Building on the cultural legacy of Xian Xinghai and its intangible cultural heritage resources, Lanhe Town is deepening its integrated "agriculture-culture-tourism" strategy to create new engines for economic growth. As the hometown of Xian Xinghai and an old revolutionary base, the town has established landmarks such as the Xinghai Hometown Memorial Hall and the Xiangyunsha Intangible Cultural Heritage Industrial Park, with the Yunsha Xingyun Industrial Park designated as a National AAA-Level Tourist Attraction.

The cultural and tourism industry is closely linked with rural revitalization, connecting five villages and spanning 17.69 kilometers. It is expected to create local employment for 3,000 people. Meanwhile, Lanhe Town is actively integrating into Nansha District's strategic emerging industry layout under the 14th Five-Year Plan,承接 industries such as intelligent connected vehicles and high-end equipment. Leveraging the policy advantages of the Nansha Plan, the town is promoting the synergistic development of cultural tourism consumption and technology services, injecting sustained momentum into the regional economy.

Lanhe Town has planned and constructed a comprehensive educational system, including 1 senior high school, 3 junior high schools, 9 primary schools, and 23 kindergartens, achieving full coverage of education for all age groups. In 2023, the newly built Lanhe Town Central Kindergarten (main campus), designed to meet provincial first-class standards, was put into operation. It provides 240 additional student placements and is equipped with facilities such as a constant-temperature swimming pool and a planting garden. Leveraging the Xinghai culture, the kindergarten has also developed specialized music courses. Additionally, Lanhe Middle School, a public junior high school, has shown significant improvement in its senior high school entrance examination results in recent years. In 2016, it ranked first in average total scores among public junior high schools in Nansha District, highlighting its teaching quality advantages.

In terms of medical facilities, the new Lanhe Hospital commenced construction in 2019. Planned according to the Second-Class Grade A hospital standards, it covers an area of 60 mu and is equipped with 500 beds (200 in the first phase). New departments, including cardiovascular and neurosurgery, have been added, and the number of medical staff has expanded from 200 to nearly 500. This project is included in Guangzhou's primary medical construction plan. After the first phase was put into use in 2022, it has served Lanhe and surrounding areas, significantly enhancing primary medical diagnosis and treatment capabilities.

Infrastructure: Road Network Optimization and Comprehensive Upgrades

In transportation

Lanhe has established a system of "two horizontal and two vertical expressways + seven horizontal and seven vertical arterial roads," including the South Second Ring Expressway and Lanhe Avenue, with north-south expressway interchanges. In 2022, the renovation of North Lanhe Road was completed. The entire 5.3-kilometer stretch was paved with asphalt, and the drainage and greening systems were upgraded, addressing previous road surface hazards. This achievement marks the full asphalt coverage of the town's main roads, improving traffic safety and the rural environment. Public facilities have also been simultaneously enhanced, with plans for an elderly welfare home, sports venues, and cultural facilities, strengthening daily life services.

As the northwestern gateway of the Nansha New District, Lanhe Town is transitioning from a traditional agricultural town to a distinctive urban area integrating "cultural creativity and ecology," with its aquatic landscape and Xinghai culture as core developmental elements. In the future, it will continue to leverage the policy advantages of the Nansha National-level New District, deepen transportation connectivity and industrial upgrading, and build an exemplary livable and visitable sand-field water town.

In June 2021, the Party Branch of the Party Construction Office of Lanhe Town was awarded the title of "Advanced Grassroots Party Organization in Guangzhou" by the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee.

In September 2021, Lanhe Town was selected as one of the "2021 National Top 1000 Towns".

In October 2023, it was again listed among the "2023 National Top 1000 Towns with Comprehensive Strength", ranking 126th.

Produced By: Nansha Cultural Society

Editor: Xuan Wang

Photography: Xiaotie Chen

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