Guangxi (Chinese: 广西; pinyin: Guăngxī; Wade–Giles: Kuang-hsi; pronounced )pronounced ), officially Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of southern China along its border with Vietnam. Formerly a province, Guangxi became an autonomous region in 1958.
Guangxi's location, in mountainous terrain in the far south of China, has placed it on the frontier of Chinese civilization throughout much of China's history. The current name "Guang" means "expanse" and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. It was given provincial level status during the Yuan Dynasty, but even into the 20th century it was considered an open, wild territory.
The abbreviation of the province is "桂" (Pinyin: Guì; Zhuang: Gvei), which comes from the city of Guilin, the former capital, center of much of Guangxi's culture, politics, and history, and currently a major city in the autonomous region.
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