Pingxiang

Pingxiang, Wade-Giles romanization P’ing-hsiang, city, southwestern Zhuang Autonomous Region of Guangxi, China. The city is situated on the border with Vietnam. It was founded as a military outpost under the name Pingxiang during the Song dynasty (960–1279), and under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) it became a county and later a prefecture. It was, however, little more than an administrative outpost among non-Chinese tribal peoples. During the Qing dynasty (1644–1911/12) it was made a subprefecture. Because of Pingxiang’s strategic location, it often has been a major battlefield.

Pingxiang’s modern growth dates to the arrival of a railway from Nanning (Guangxi’s capital), which provides a through route from central China to Vietnam. The line crosses the border a short distance south of Pingxiang at Youyiguan. Construction of the line was begun in 1938 by the French, who completed it as far as Ningming; but, following the Japanese occupation of Nanning, work was abandoned in 1943–44, and much of the track was dismantled. The line was completed in 1951 and linked with the Vietnamese rail system in 1955. After this, Pingxiang rapidly grew into a commercial centre for international trade with Vietnam; it also developed some small-scale industries. A considerable part of Sino-Vietnamese trade passes through Pingxiang because the rail link there is superior to an older line that runs through Yunnan province to the west and because it also provides a direct route to Wuhan (Hubei) as well as connections to Guizhou and Sichuan provinces and to the Guangzhou (Canton) area of Guangdong province. Since the late 1980s the border trade in Pingxiang has been expanding rapidly, which has sparked steady economic and population growth in the region. Pop. (2005 est.) 100,000.